Property taxes are a critical source of income for both state and local governments. Property owners nation-wide are subject to taxes on their properties, both commercial and private. Property values and their associated taxes in the state of Florida are highly unique and require an intimate understand of the state's tax code. If a property owner feels that their property taxes are too high based on the states valuation of their property value, they can file a property tax appeal to reduce the valuation of their property and the associated taxes. Such appeals are not a common occurrence in Florida. According to an article in the Palm Beach Post, less than five percent of property owners typically file a property tax appeal in the state of Florida. However, when these appeals are filed and they are successful, the results can be dramatic. Richard Nilsen, the co-founder of a company called Mattress Giant filed a challenge on the county's $14 million valuation of his property and netted himself a savings of $124,000. Such results are, of course, not typical as the average value of an individual's property rarely approaches such a valuation, but the underlying message remains the same: property tax appeals in Florida can yield significant financial rewards if pursued appropriately.

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Georgia Tax Appeals. http://www.fair-assessments.com 404-644-1667 The leading Georgia property tax service focusing on commercial property tax reduction. Commercial real estate tax is a major expense that must be challenged regularly.

Property tax assessment is serious business. In Florida, the specifics span from the state constitution to local regulations. Section 4, Article VII of the Florida Constitution mandates that property appraisers use the "just value" assessment method. The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that "Just Value" and "Market Value" are legally the same. Other value considerations can include investment value and going-concern value, although they must be related back to "just value" to hold water. 

When appealing assessment results, wiggle room can often be found in the principles of value applied including:

In Florida, property owners have the right to appeal decisions they feel are unfair. Filing a petition to the county Value Adjustment Board can be done in a number of circumstances including:

• When in disagreement with the property appraiser's assessment of your property's value
• When you have experienced a denial of your application for an exemption including as a homestead, as a veteran, or as a senior citizen.
• When receiving a denial of your application for any property classification such as agricultural or historic.
• When you have been denied your application for tax deferral.

If this happens, you can take one or more of the following steps:

According to Georgia state law all property tax assessment notices were to be in the mail by July 1. That means for some counties the property tax appeal deadline will be mid August. Most of the Metropolitan Atlanta counties had appeal deadlines that have already passed. If you didn't get your Georgia tax appeals filed in a timely manner there's always next year. Also, according to George state law you will be getting an assessment notice every year.

The bottom in the real estate market has been called over and over again since the market peak in 2007. Once again, the so-called experts are out in force, saying that the data doesn't lie, the housing market is in recovery. But with an unemployment rate that is still over 8% and economic shocks, such as European debt crisis and the fiscal cliff, looming at the end of this year I doubt there will be any sort of robust recovery in the housing market.

Your DeKalb County tax assessment appeal deadline for 2012 is July 13, or this coming Friday. You can get the uniform Georgia property tax appeal form by clicking on the link. Your DeKalb County tax assessment appeal only needs to be post-marked by July 13, and I recommend that you send this certified mail. Many people are unaware that you do not have to pay for a return receipt when you send certified mail. If anyone ever denies having received something you sent certified mail you can go to the post office and pay for the (electronic) signature after delivery.

The DeKalb County tax Assessors have caused quite a stir this year in that many taxpayers were dismayed to see their tax assessments rise to heights or sink to depths they thought impossible. It would not surprise me if some taxpayers appeal because they think their values are too low, especially those people that are trying to sell their houses. Real estate appraisal is an inexact science and the mass appraisal process the assessors use is even more questionable. For some reason, however, people look at the tax assessment when they are buying a home. 

In regard to Florida property tax assessment, all real and personal property in Florida and all personal property belonging to residents of Florida is subject to local property taxes, unless the property is specifically exempted. Property is assessed for each calendar year according to its value on January 1. The state is prohibited from imposing a property tax on real estate or tangible personal property. However the state does impose a property tax on intangibles. Real property is defined as land, buildings, fixtures and all other improvements to land.

Florida property tax assessment law requires that property is assessed at its just valuation, which is determined by considering the property's present cash value, highest and best use, location, size, cost, including the present replacement value of any the improvements, condition, and income, as well as the net proceeds of the sale of the property, after deduction of all reasonable fees and costs and allowing for unconventional financing arrangements. A County appraiser is required to physically inspect all property every five years, although the owner or taxpayer may request an earlier inspection.

You still have approximately three weeks to appeal your DeKalb County tax assessment. The dealine to appeal is July 13 for most county tax payers. After DeKalb County's recognition that some of the tax assessments that were sent out were erroneous they said they would send out second notices on up to 4,000 homes. These corrective notices should have another 45 day appeal period from the date of notice. If you get a second notice and you do not have 45 days to appeal I would like to hear about it. 

Some home owners are complaining that their DeKalb County tax assessment is now too low. I know that the assessment on my house is below market value but I'm not complaining. I figure the County will increase my value in 2013 or 2014 or whenever they think they have enough market data to increase it. It is the people that are trying to sell their real estate that are the loudest about low DeKalb County tax assessments. Although home buyers should put little faith in the tax assessment they often do. Because I am not ready to sell I will keep my mouth shut and enjoy the smaller tax bill.

There is still time to send in a property tax assessment appeal to the Atlanta GA Tax Assessor. The 2012 appeal deadline is June 28 and there is no provision in the Georgia tax law for relief if you fail to appeal within the designated appeal period. You get 45 days from the date of notice, no ifs ands or buts. 

There is still time to appeal your valuation notice from the Fulton Tax Assessors. The deadline to appeal is June 28. The Fulton tax assessors usually receive more property tax appeals than any other county in the Atlanta metropolitan area. They are currently still working on their 2011 appeals as well as court cases from prior years. There is hope that they will get to their 2012 assessment appeals sometime soon so that this property tax appeal season doesn't drag on well into 2013.

As a former manager for the Fulton Tax Assessors, I know about the volume of appeals they get. Every appeal form or letter is put into a separate file for every real estate parcel appealed. Each appeal is logged into the computer system. This process, by itself, is very time-consuming. With a large number of appeals being filed in the last week, you can bet that many of the appeal folders that are given to the appropriate appraiser won't even be completed until the end of July. If you try to talk to the appropriate appraiser about your property tax appeal they may tell you that they don't have the appropriate file to work with you.