Want to appeal your taxes in Yardley, Newtown & Bucks County?
As many of you know, I have written a number of blog posts, about the process of filing a real estate property tax appeal, anywhere in Bucks County. I have had home owners calling me, about real estate tax appeals, everywhere from Lower Makefield Township, Yardley, Newtown, Upper Makefield Township, and all over Bucks County.
As we get closer to the filing deadline, for 2010, I thought it would be helpful to give you some updated information on the process.
I have actually posted, on my blog, the form that needs to be submitted to the tax office, in order to notify them of your intent to file an appeal of your real estate taxes.
The issue for the current year, however, is that the formula that the County will use, to equate your assessment to fair market value, from a tax standpoint, has changed. This has been confirmed for me, through a couple of sources, but the change is pretty significant, and unfortunately, will drastically reduce the number of home owners that will be succesful in their appeals.
In order to determine how your assessment equates to fair market value, from the County tax assessor perspective, you will take your assessment, and divide it by .109. The rate last year, was .097.
For example, if your current assessment is 47,440, you would divide that by .109, which equals 435,229. If, in your opinion, your house is worth more than that, it would mean that you can make a case for lowering your taxes. Using the same assessment, and using last years equalizer, the amount would have been over 488,000! You can see that the change, by approximately 12%, in the equalizer that the County is now using, will have a very significant effect on who is able to appeal their taxes, this year.
Although, as I have mentioned in previous posts, the process is extremely easy, it is a good idea to check your assessment, and look at the equalizer, to see whether it appears as though you have a case.
Please note, that I am not an appraiser, nor a tax advisor, so it may be wise to consult a professional, if you are considering filing a real estate tax appeal. I offer this information, only as a public service, to provide direction for those people who are considering filing tax appeals.
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Continue Reading > Add a Comment |