While home prices are falling, you may find yourself disappointed with your property tax assessed value as reflected on the annual notice of assessment. Fortunately, you can exercise your right to appeal the tax assessor’s assessed value either on your own or with the assistance of a Gwinnett county tax consultant. Here are the pros and cons of hiring a Gwinnett tax consultant.
Pros
Many of the Gwinnett county tax advisors are attorneys, accountants, or certified appraisers. These tax professionals file and handle the property tax appeal on your behalf. Why would you pay these people your hard-earned money to file an appeal in your behalf when you can just do it on your own? The rules and regulations set by the tax authorities allow for it so there’s no reason not to do so.
But there are plenty of reasons to hire a Gwinnett tax consultant for property tax appeal purposes. First, you will likely have little to no time to pour into the entire appeal process, which will involve meeting tight deadlines, gathering voluminous documents, and preparing for hearings. You can rely on the tax advisors to attend to these nitty-gritty details on their time while you attend to other matters in your life.
Second, you will have tax experts who can provide for a definitive opinion about your property’s assessed value including whether you are being overtaxed or not. This is especially important for districts where the so-called equalization rate is used in the determination of the property taxes owed; the equalization rate refers to the percentage of a property’s market value. Gwinnett County tax consultants usually have certified appraisers for this part of the job.
For example, if your home has an appraised value of $200,000 and the Gwinnett equalization rate is 40%, its assessed value will be $80,000. But when research shows that your property should only have an appraised value of $150,000 per the independent appraiser, its assessed value will only be $60,000 and your taxes will be lower. It’s then in your best interest to file a protest but do so with good preparation to make it worth your while.
Third, your tax consultants will provide more information about the tax appeals process while also handling the details especially the documents, meetings, and hearings. You can save yourself the trouble of understanding and dealing with the complicated rules and regulations of the appeals process.
Cons
But you should also consider whether you will actually benefit from hiring a Gwinnett tax consultant for your tax appeal. Keep in mind that these tax professionals will demand payment for their services. You have to weigh the pros (monetary and non-monetary benefits) and cons (monetary costs) before making your decision.
For example, if the projected tax savings will be lesser than the professional fees charged by the tax experts, you should just learn the process on your own. You can ask questions from tax experts without engaging their full services, thus, saving on costs.
Fair Assessments, LLC is owned by a Georgia Appraiser IV with three decades of property valuation, assessment and appeals experience.
