Tricks for Fulton County Property Tax Reduction

Posted by Jill Noelle Olandria on Jun 16, 2015 11:30:00 AM

The following tips for Fulton County property tax reduction require achieving a good balance between increasing the beauty of your home for your own enjoyment and decreasing its fair market value for tax reduction purposes. You have to decide which home improvement projects can increase the beauty of your home without resulting in substantial increases in its appraised value.

#1 Study Your Property Tax Card

You can request the Fulton County Tax Assessor’s office provide your property tax card, which contains detailed information about the property. The information usually includes the lot size, living area and gross area of the structures, and the types and number of fixtures in the structures including the main residential building and its outlying structures (e.g., shed, gazebo). This information was accumulated over many years of annual assessment inspections conducted by the Tax Assessor’s Office and its appraisers.

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The information contained in the card is of crucial importance in your Fulton County property tax reduction efforts. While reviewing your property tax card, you should be vigilant about possible errors made by the appraisers during the annual assessment inspections and by the clerks in their entries. The possible errors include discrepancies in lot size, house dimensions, and home improvements, which will affect property appraisal values and taxes.

You should discuss these discrepancies with the tax assessor and/or appraisers. These government officials will either conduct a re-evaluation and/or make the necessary corrections to reduce your property taxes.

#2 Look to Your Neighbors’ Property Cards

As part of your Fulton County property tax reduction efforts, you can also snoop onreview your neighbors’ property tax cards. You may request information about the appraised and assessed values of your immediate neighbors’ homes from the Tax Assessor’s Office along with your request for a copy of your property tax card.

With the information, you can make comparisons between the appraised values of your home and those of your neighbors’ homes. For example, you have a 4-bedroom home with a 1-car garage valued at $250,000 while your neighbour has a 4-bedroom home with a 2-car garage, a shed and a swimming pool valued at $220,000.  

You must then ask questions about the discrepancy considering that your property has fewer amenities. You may ask for a reassessment of your property and, thus, increase your chances for a Fulton County property tax reduction.

#3 Work with the Appraiser

While you are not obligated by law to be present during the annual assessment inspections conducted by the authorized appraisers, you are well-advised to work with them. Keep in mind that the appraisers will likely only see the superficial good points of your home, such as the new trim on your door, or the new paint on your windows, or the refurbished play set on your lawn, while overlooking the bad points, such as the warped roof.

While walking around your property with the appraisers, be sure to point out both the good and bad points of your home. You can contribute to the fairest possible valuation of your property in this manner and, hence, boost the success of your Fulton County property tax reduction efforts.

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