Grieving your own taxes

DH and I bought our house about 4 years ago and have since grieved our taxes every year through a company. I am wondering how easy it is to grieve the taxes ourselves?

Does anyone have any experience with this? Can anyone walk me through the process?

Thanks!

Grieving your own taxes

I have done it successfully twice. You must have a valid point that you can prove as to why you believe your taxes are too high. Most towns have a Tax Grievance Day when people can go in person to complain about their taxes. Some villages do also. You will need to be able to show why you feel your taxes ought to be reduced or are unfair, that means bringing some paperwork to back up your reasoning.

I went to my town hall and got information from the tax assessor's office to back up my argument. I had pages from the tax rolls printed out for 25¢ a page - both the tax map showing my property's location and any showing the properties I was using as comparables. I also would get copies of those properties listings on the tax rolls which gives a description of their square footage, rooms and amenities (2,100 sq ft, 4BR, 2 & 1/2B, FPL, garage, etc.). It's not hard and I found that the staff in the office was helpful.

Armed with that information, I could go to Grievance Day ready to show what other houses around me were paying, the size of their lots and the buildings on them, and was able to easily compare them to mine - I yellow highlighted the relevant properties to make it immediately clear.

One time I was being charged a premium for being waterfront when I was not. My tax bill was the same as someone who had hundreds of bulkheaded waterfront and a far bigger house. Another time I was assessed for a larger more up to date building than I had. I had to prove that the assessment was incorrect. In both cases my taxes were rolled back. In one I had to also appear in front of a judge at a later date, but it was easy and he was very nice. He gave me the maximum reduction allowed by law. I went alone, but I noticed others brought their lawyers that day.

Message edited 10/29/2013 2:12:02 PM.

Re: Grieving your own taxes

It's easy to do. However, an argument that you're paying more than your neighbors is not a valid argument. You have to prove: (1) there is a discrepancy on the Assessment roll (i.e., they are taxing something that isn't there, etc.); or (2) the assessed value of your home is incorrect because it does not reflect the proper value of your home.

Re: Grieving your own taxes

Re: Grieving your own taxes

Actually the best evidence is your recent sales price (if you are a new owner). The next best evidence is a recent appraisal followed by a comps run.

Re: Grieving your own taxes