A common statement made to the Assessing Office is “I think my property assessment is too high. What can I do about it?” Property owners are justifiably concerned about rising property taxes. But how can anger at higher taxes be turned into effective protest and a successful appeal of assessed value? Act according to important principles and you may halt rising taxes and file a successful appeal. Even if you can't change anything, you will understand more about what really needs to be changed.
Separate the issue of higher taxes from the issue of the accuracy of the
assessed value of your property. Elected officials, school boards, and other
special taxing authorities establish your tax bill. Assessors estimate the
market value of your property. An increase in value doesn't mean your taxes
will go up.
·
Find
several properties similar to yours (called comparables), preferably in the
same neighborhood.
·
Find
out what their assessed values are or the prices at which they sold, and/or if
they have sold recently.
Common
questions relating to assessment of property:
What is market value?
Finding the market value of your
property involves discovering the price most people would pay for it in its
present condition. It's not quite that simple, because the assessor has to find
what this value would be for every property, no matter how big or how small.
This process is also done each year on new and improved properties, because the
market value of almost everything changes from one year to the next - as we all
know. Towns in New Hampshire have traditionally not maintained assessments at
100% of market value on a yearly basis.
Why have property tax?
Properties are appraised so that those of us who want the advantage of having schools, fire and police protection, and other public benefits (which means just about all of us) can absorb our fair share of the cost, in proportion to the amount of money our individual properties are worth. The property tax should be part of a well-balanced revenue system. It is a more stable source of money than sales and income taxes because it does not fluctuate when communities have recessions.
When the community spends your tax
dollars on better schools, parks, and so on, your property values rise. Some of
the windfall benefits you receive are recaptured by the property tax.
How property is appraised?
To find the value of any piece of
property the assessor must first know what properties similar to it are selling
for, what it would cost today to replace it, how much it takes to operate and
keep it in repair, what rent it may earn, and many other dollar facts affecting
its value, such as the current rate of interest charged for borrowing the money
to buy or build properties like yours. Using these facts, the assessor can then
go about finding the property's value in three different ways.
·
SALES COMPARISON APPROACH
The first method compares your property to
others that have sold recently. These prices, however, must be analyzed very
carefully to get the true picture. One property may have sold for more than it
was really worth because the buyer was in a hurry and would pay any price.
Another may have sold for less money than it was actually worth because the
owner needed cash right away. The property was sold to the first person who
made an offer. When using the sales comparison approach, the assessor must
always consider such overpricing or under pricing and analyze many sales to
arrive at a fair valuation of your property. Size, quality, condition,
location, and time of sale are also important factors to consider.
·
COST APPROACH
A second way to value your property is based
on how much money it would take, at current material and labor costs, to
replace your property with one similar. If your property is not new, the
assessor must also determine how much it has depreciated. In addition, the
assessor must estimate how much a lot like yours would be worth if vacant.
·
INCOME APPROACH
The third way is to evaluate how much income
your property would produce if it were rented as an apartment house, a store,
or a factory. The assessor must consider operating expenses, taxes, insurance,
maintenance costs, and the return most people would expect on your kind of
property.
Why do assessed values
change from year to year?
When market value changes, naturally so does assessed
value. For instance, if you were to add a garage to
your home, the assessed value would increase. However, if your property were in
poor repair, the assessed value would decrease. The assessor has not created
the value. PEOPLE MAKE VALUE by their transactions in the market place. The
assessor simply has the legal responsibility to study those transactions and
appraise your property accordingly.
If my assessed
value doesn’t change (or it goes down), why am I paying more in taxes?
or
I haven’t done
anything to increase the value of my property, but I’m paying more in taxes –
why?
The
assessor's office has nothing to do with the total amount of taxes collected.
The assessor's primary responsibility is to find the fair market value of your
property, so that you may pay only your fair share of the taxes. The amount of
taxes you pay is determined by a TAX RATE applied to your property's ASSESSED
VALUE. The tax rate is determined by all the taxing agencies - town, county and
school district - and depends on what is needed to provide all the services you
enjoy.
The
assessors office also keeps track of ownership changes, maintains maps of
parcel boundaries, keeps descriptions of buildings and property characteristics
up to date, keeps track of individuals and properties eligible for exemptions
and other forms of property tax relief, and, most important, analyzes trends in
sales prices, construction costs, and rents to estimate the value of all
assessable property.
What are my rights
and responsibilities?
If
your opinion of the value of the property differs from the assessor's, by all
means go to the office and discuss the matter. The assessor will be glad to
answer the questions about the appraisal and explain how to appeal if you
cannot come to an agreement. The assessor’s office relies on the property owner
for information. You can help by providing accurate information.
If
you feel your property assessment is in error, you may file for abatement.
To file
for an abatement (appeal) under NH State Law, RSA
76:16, a property owner must:
Key
Points to Remember about filing for Abatement:
Municipalities may abate taxes for “good cause shown”, per RSA 76:16. Good cause is generally established by showing an error in the physical data, assessment calculation, or a disproportionate assessment, as well as other grounds.
A
physical inspection property will be conducted for 99% of all abatements filed.
This includes inspection of the exterior and interior of any structures, and
land inspection. Refusal to permit such inspection can result in your abatement
application being denied, regardless of the property owner’s reason for filing
an abatement application.
Property
owners should be aware that by filing for abatement does not mean your assessed
valuation will change. Some corrections or changes to property assessments can
result in a higher assessed valuation. Filing for abatement also does not mean
that the Town will find in your favor.
Filing for abatement does not stay payment of collection of taxes. Property taxes are still due by the date stated on the bill, and you will be charged interest on any unpaid amount not paid by the due date. If your application is approved, you will be refunded the amount, with 6% interest.
Deadlines:
“Notice
of Tax” refers to the date the BTLA determines to be the date the last tax bill
was sent by the Town of Hollis. Since the Town of Hollis bills twice yearly, you
must appeal after the second issue bill and not before. The second issue
tax bill establishes the final tax liability for the year.
The
property owner must file the abatement application with the Assessor’s Office
no later than March 1st. Date of filing is the date the application
is hand-delivered to the Assessor’s Office, the date postmarked by the Post
Office, or receipted by an overnight delivery service. Any abatement applications dropped off at Town Hall after the close of
business (3:00 pm) on March 1st will be considered untimely filed.
If March 1st falls on a weekend, the deadline will be the next
business day, in accordance with State Law.
The
Town of Hollis has until July 1st to notify the property owner of
the decision to approve or deny the abatement application. This is referred to
as the “decision notice.”
If
the Property Owner does not agree with the decision of the Town, the property
owner may file an appeal with the BTLA or the Superior Court, but not both:
(a) receiving a decision notice from
the Town of Hollis concerning the abatement application; or (b) after July 1st
if there has been no response from the Town of Hollis; and
The
text of NH RSA 76:16,”Apportionment, Assessment and Abatement of Taxes” may be found at http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/V/76/76-16.htm
. Other statutes may apply.
If
you have additional questions, please contact the Assessing Office at (603)
465-9860 or via email
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Updated 9-30-10 cmc
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