Filing A Property Tax Appeal
Your local appraisal district provides a form for you to formally appeal this year’s property taxes. The deadline to appeal is May 31st, 2010 OR 30 days after the assessed value is mailed to you – whichever is later.
Reviewing the County Record
After filing the appeal, the record card on your property should be reviewed for accuracy. This card is generally maintained in the Central Appraisal District office.
Establishing Your Property Value
There are several different ways to establish the value of your property:
Sales Comparison Approach
This is the most common approach for houses, land, and owner-occupied commercial buildings. In this approach, sales information from properties comparable to yours are used to assess the appropriate value of your home. Review boards give great weight to comparable sales data.
Income Approach
This approach is commonly used for income properties where investors are using the property as a source of income. To establish the property value using this method, potential gross income is estimated by comparing the rent of nearby properties to the actual income gained from your property. Once the Net Operating Income is calculated, it is used to establish the market value.
Cost Approach
This is generally used for new constructions up to three years old. Here, the purchase price of the land is added to the construction of cost of the building. If the final sum is less than the assessed value, your taxes will likely be reduced. If the final sum is more than the assessed value, your taxes will likely remain the same.
The Hearing
Once the data for your property has been gathered, it must be properly presented. The first hearing is called an Informal Hearing. This is where most appeals are settled. A meeting with an appraiser is held and your data will be presented to the appraiser. If the negotiations lead to a settlement then the process is over. If you choose not to accept the settlement offer then you can proceed to the Appraisal Review Board (ARB). This is a three-member panel that will hold a hearing and reconsider your case. You and the appraiser will each have an opportunity to present your evidence and have the ARB make a determination. After the ARB determination you can either accept their assessed value as final, request binding arbitration (for assessed values under $1 million with market value being the only disputed issue), or request a Judicial Appeal (best for homeowners with assessed values over $1 million).
