You may think that your accountant has all of your tax preparation needs covered for you. However, if you own your home, a boat, an airplane, or any other piece of large property that can be taxed, you may need to talk with someone who specializes in property taxes. Property tax consultants can help taxpayers in a number of ways.

The Fulton County tax assessors have begun work on the 2013 property tax appeals. Some Fulton County property owners have received no change letters from the tax assessors regarding their 2013 appeals while some have been offered reductions in what is called a 30 day letter. After you receive a reduction offer from the tax assessors you have 30 days to either accept the reduced value or appeal to the second level of appeal, which is the Fulton County Board of Equalization.

Recently, some of the 2013 property tax appeals have been scheduled to be heard by the Fulton County Board of Equalization. As recently as last month, the Board of Equalization was continuing to work on 2012 property tax appeal hearings and even a few 2011 property tax appeal hearings were being heard. They are not done with 2012 hearings, however. It appears that the Fulton County Tax Assessors staff is frequently using the board of equalization hearing as a tool to gain access to properties.

As of July 1, 2013, any appeal related adjustments to value are subject to these new provisions. The taxpayer may be charged interest on tax amounts due when the taxpayer owes the county money after the property tax appeal is resolved. Likewise, the tax commissioner may owe interest on refunds owed the taxpayer after the property tax appeal is resolved.  

As stated in Georgia law, before tax bills are released, all counties should have already issued an Annual Assessment Notice to all taxable real estate owners. This Tax Assessment Notice should be distributed April - June of each year.

You asked for the best and you got it! Property tax appeal options. In our continuing efforts to be the property tax appeal resource center we have established several options for single family residential property tax appeals. We know that some of you don't have the time or resources to develop a property tax appeal case and aren't all motivated by the same cost/benefit profile. As a result of numerous inquires on what we charge, and the desire for other payment options, we now have four different single family residential tax appeal services options.

For those that are averse to contingent fees because you dont know, ultimately, how much you will pay, we now have a Gold Level flat fee option. For a one-time $350 fee Fair Assessments will perform the work it is known for. Regardless of tax savings generated there are no additional fees (unless you want to file your appeal to court).

The Hall County tax assessor sent out year 2013 property tax assessment notices on April 14. The appeal filing deadline for all counties in Georgia is now 45 days, so you have until May 27 to file a Hall County property tax appeal. A client of ours was thoroughly shocked when he got his 58% increase in Hall County, GA property tax assessment for tax year 2013. This was a community retail center, so it will be interesting to see if the Hall County tax assessor hit just certain property types, or whether many properties throughout Hall County, GA, were increased in value.

It is possible that the Hall County tax assessor is sticking it to commercial property owners and giving residential property owners a break. It has yet to be seen. During the recovery from the great recession the commercial real estate sector has been doing quite well, due to the low level of interest rates in the economy and institutional money seeking out higher rates of return with relative safety. Commercial real estate, especially the apartment sector has been especially desirable for institutional money and all commercial real estate capitalization rates have fallen since the height of the recession.

ATLANTA (MARCH 14, 2013) -- Companies and individuals thinking about filing a property tax appeal for 2013 are in luck.

Given that it is January 2013 it is time to start talking about Gwinnett County property tax in 2013. As you may be aware the effective date of appraisal in Georgia for property tax purposes is January 1 of every year. Currently, the tax assessors personnel are verifying sales that took place during calendar year 2012 that they will use to change values for tax year 2013. According to the Case-Shiller home price index for Atlanta Georgia home prices have risen approximately 10.5% since February 2012. However, this is an average and not all market areas have risen.

For example, based on data from AtlantaREValues.com, values in the Brookwood elementary school district in Snellville, Georgia declined 32% from the market peak to trough, and values have declined 11% in 2012 as compared to 2011. Overall values in this market area are considered weak. In Riverside elementary school district in Suwanee Georgia values also declined 32% from peak to trough and were down 5.3% in 2012 as compared to 2011. Values here are also considered weak. In the Gwin Oaks elementary school district in Lawrenceville, Georgia values declined 44% from peak to trough but values were up in 2012, approximately 14% over 2011. In Freeman's Mill elementary school district also in Lawrenceville, Georgia values declined 38% from peak to trough and recently values have been stable.

This article contrasts the work done by Fair Assessments, LLC vs. Appraisers. During the recent real estate depression (some might say ongoing) many people saw that there was money to be made in property tax reduction work and got into the business. Many of the people/companies that have gotten into this work are real estate appraisers. Some people might think that this is a natural extension of what appraisers already do for a living. They might be wrong. 

The appraisal business has changed a lot since I did this work twenty years ago. The government, in the name of protecting federally insured institutions and the public, has (unintentionally) driven down the price of a real estate appraisal. There are a handfull of large companies that make software for appraisers, and some of them saw a way to make more money by providing marketing services to appraisers. One that I am aware of, a la mode inc., pushes it's print and email marketing software to appraisers that "will proactively help you get new clients that pay higher fees."

For residential property tax appeal consulting the cost falls in a narrow range. Your best bet is to find the most qualified consultant that you can. Typical residential flat fees may be $350 or higher. Alternatively, many companies charge $250 up front and 25% of whatever tax savings are generated. Some offer $150 +/- plus a third of the tax savings generated. Generally speaking qualifications are more important than saving a few dollars in up-front cost.

Beware of companies that send you a letter or postcard that says "this is how much we think we can save you $." You can be reasonably certain they are using a database of old values to generate these postcard savings estimates. I would be very cautious about this, especially if there’s a high flat fee involved. Some of these companies may charge $350 or more, and if you’re in a city or county that reappraises on an annual basis, spending that much money may be a losing proposition. If they get a reduction that doesn't cover their service fees, and the County increases your tax assessment the next year, then you have just wasted your money.