Three steps to cutting property taxes
- 23.04.2008
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With home prices retreating, you’d think property taxes would too. But don’t count on it - by the time you see lower taxable values, your local government may be in enough of a squeeze to raise the rates that apply to those taxable values.
While you may not be able to control local tax policy, you can at least do something to see if your property-tax assessment is realistic. According to Pete Sepp, an official at the National Taxpayers Union, as many as 60% of homes are overassessed.
From the April issue of Kiplinger’s magazine, here are three ideas for making sure you’re not overpaying - and for making your case if you are:
1.Look for errors. Find out how your district levies taxes - on 100% of the market value or some fraction of it - by calling the assessor’s office. Fractional assessments are less common than they used to be, but plenty of localities still use them. Especially at 70% or 80% of value, owners may not realize their assessments are out of line. Go to the assessor’s office or Web site to see the property card that lists the details of your home. Check each item for mistakes, from the number of bathrooms to the square footage. Valuing properties is an inexact science; in addition, when paper records were transferred to computers, many errors were made or retained. If there’s a mechanical error, the assessor may fix your assessment on the spot.
