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TAX APPEAL FILINGS
In 2009 nearly 16,000 tax appeals were filed in
the State of New Jersey. The record of 16,300
was set in 1992 so wee are almost there. In
Ocean County, appeals have tripled and in Essex
County, the number of appeals nearly doubled.
The deadline for filing a tax appeal for 2009 is
Thursday, April 1, 2010, however, in those
municipalities undergoing a revaluation and
reassessment which may be concluded by the
statutory deadline, the April 1 filing deadline
might be extended. If the filing deadline is
extended, the taxpayer will receive a written
notice from the its tax assessor listing the
revised filing date. All tax appeals must be
received by the filing deadline. Do not mail
your appeal to your local County Board of
Taxation on the deadline date – you will be
out-of-luck. The form must be received by the
deadline date.
In order to prepare for the filing of a tax
appeal by the next review date, you must be sure
of the following:
1. Research – you cannot focus on the
attributes of your own home and disregard
how your property sits in the general scheme
of the surrounding neighborhood. You must
find “comparables” or “comps,” that can be
used to justify a reduction in your
assessment. If, one of your neighbor’s homes
has sold for a value less than what your
equalized assessment is, it may be used as a
“comp.” However, no two properties are alike
and there are many variables to take into
consideration. Therefore, it is extremely
important to conduct thorough research
either on the Internet or through a licensed
real estate broker. You should also consider
hiring a licensed appraiser for a
professional opinion.
2. Make Sure you have Correct Information –
In every municipality the tax assessor
maintains a property record card for every
property within the taxing district. The
property record card identifies the
characteristics in each property within the
taxing district. This provides an excellent
starting point for anyone looking to lower
their taxes. If a home similar to yours has
sold for a value less than what your
equalized assessment is, and that home is
very close in comparison to yours, you may
be able to use that as a “comp.” There are
times when a property owner may justify a
reduction in taxes merely by correcting a
mistake on the property record card.
3. Be prepared to appear before the Board
with an expert to prove your contention with
regard to lowering your taxes.
In
order to prepare for the hearing on your
complaint, it is suggested that you have a
licensed qualified, appraiser to testify on your
behalf.
Once a decision comes back from the county board
of taxation in the form of a judgment, you then
have 45 days within which to file a complaint
with the Tax Court Management Office. Again, the
date the Tax Court Management Office receives
the complaint is the filed date, not the date
your complaint was mailed.
A
regular complaint costs $200.00 to file for the
first parcel and $50.0 for each additional
parcel. Small Claims fees are $35.00 for the
first parcel and $10.00 for additional parcels.
A CIS must accompany the complaint to the tax
office.
If
you need help filing those tax appeals, let us
know. We can help!
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