The Fulton County tax assessors, also officially known as the Fulton County Board of Tax Assessors, is the county organization responsible for the determination of fair market values of all real and business personal property in its jurisdiction for property tax purposes. As a tax authority, the Board has several roles and responsibilities established by state law to carry out its functions in the tax system.
As a taxpayer who has the responsibility to pay your property taxes and the right to appeal your property’s assessment, you should also know the basic concepts behind taxation in general and property taxes in particular, especially the tax terms. This will give you a better chance at understanding the requirements for a winning appeal, too.
Functions of the Board
The Fulton County tax assessors has the responsibility of estimating the values of the real and personal property within its jurisdiction. These values are known as fair market values. This is the amount of money that a willing seller would accept and a willing buyer would offer for a property. The Board determines the assessed values of the property by applying the statutory 40% of the appraised values. The Tax Commissioner than uses the assessed value for the computation of the property taxes due from each property owner.
For example, if the appraised value of your house and lot is $100,000 for 2016, then its assessed value will be $40,000 ($100,000 x 40%). Your tax bill will then be computed based on the $40,000 assessed value.
Aside from the determination of the appraised and assessed values, the Board also has the responsibility of correcting the property owners’ returns. Its goal: To ensure that the Fulton County Tax Digest correctly reflects all of the real and personal property’s fair market values.
In order to accomplish this goal, the Board performs several functions including the identification of taxable property; appraisal of real property created due to growth including new houses, lots and businesses as well as improvements to existing real property structures; revaluation of existing property due to market changes; the preparation of the tax digest; and the notifications to property owners about their assessments as well as the appeals you may file.
Tax Digest Matters
The heart of the functions of the Fulton County tax assessors is the Tax Digest. Basically, it is the official list of all the taxable real and tangible business personal property within the county. The list also contains the assessment on the taxable property and the amount of taxes due, as well as other relevant information including status of appeals, homestead exemptions, and basic owner information.
The Board works toward ensuring that the tax digest is fair and equitable. Any concerns, complaints, and questions about it can be directed to the Board, such as in the case of appeals.
Yet another important concept in property taxation is the millage rate, a rate usually set on an annual basis by the county. A tax rate of one mill means a tax liability of one dollar for every $1,000 of assessed value.
The determination of the mill rate is relatively simple. The Fulton County tax assessors and the county commissioners require two figures (A) a dollar amount necessary to fund the county government; (B) a dollar figure of the assessed value of all the taxable property in the county. The millage rate is determined by dividing A by B.
