Tax Appeal 2014 Advice by Larry Stempler Attorney at Law
Information Provided by:
Pablo Lopez of Century 21 All County Real Estate (Clifton NJ) - Search for Homes.
It's the beginning of a new year and municipalities will soon be mailing notices of assessment to
New Jersey property owners (all types of properties including commercial, residential, industrial,
investment), many of whom will decide to appeal their property taxes Since property values have
dropped considerably due to the economic downturn, many properties are overvalued.
Therefore, many owners will file an appeal in the hopes of lowering their property tax payments.
Before making the decision to appeal, it is important to understand the municipal procedure for
calculating property tax rates. The municipality approves an annual budget and then divides that
budget by the assessed value of all properties located in their taxing district, resulting in the
annual tax rate. Individual property taxes are then calculated by multiplying the assessed value
of your property by the tax rate. A property owner cannot appeal the tax rate; however, they may
appeal the property's assessed value. A reduced assessment will result in lower taxes.
In order for a tax appeal to be successful, the property owner must prove that the assessed value
is at least fifteen percent (15%) higher than the market value as of the prior year. For a 2014
appeal, it would be the value as of October 1,2013. To launch a successful appeal, the taxpayer
must prove that the assessed value is unreasonable compared to the current market value of the
property.
Many property owners opt to
use an attorney to handle the appeal. The attorney will
determine if the property is, indeed, a good candidate and if so, will handle the process,
including:
appraisal expert who is generally required to testify to support the claim,
- File the tax appeal with the county board of taxation
- Negotiate with the municipal assessor and/or attorney
- Appear at the county tax board hearing, if required.
If the appeal is not successful at the county level, the matter may be appealed to State Tax Court
where a new hearing will be required; an appraisal and supporting documents must be submitted
to comply with a more complex set of court rules. If a property is assessed in excess of
$1,000,000.00, the property owner has the option to file a direct appeal with the State Tax Court,
thereby eliminating the county board.
Property tax appeals can be complex; most property owners will
consult with an attorney to
handle the appeal. There are deadlines, filing requirements and fees which must be adhered to.
At
Stempler Law Center, we take great pride in working with property owners in their appeal of
taxes and have had a great deal of success in obtaining refunds as a result of reduced
assessments. We do a preliminary analysis to determine if the property is ripe for an appeal and
only accept those properties that we determine have a high likelihood for success. Our fee is
generally based on a contingency basis; hence, paid only if the appeal is successful.
Please call today for a complimentary tax appeal analysis.
Author:
The Stempler Law Center is located at:
704 Passaic Avenue
West Caldwell, NJ 07006
(973) 882-9300
Information provided by Pablo Lopez of Century 21 Elite Realty, authorized use by Larry Stempler 2014.
