Q. How do you tell if a client's Property Taxes are too high?
A. While New Jersey property owners on average pay the highest property taxes in the country, the answer to this question really depends on whether a property is assessed too high. If the property is properly assessed, then even if the taxes are high, they are not too high compared to what the other owners in the municipality are paying. If, however, the assessment is too high, then the property owner is paying more property taxes than they should, and hopefully we can help.
Q. What is an assessment and how is it determined?
A. All taxable property in a municipality is assigned a value by the local assessor. This assessed value, or "assessment" should reflect the actual market value of a property, multiplied by a percentage, called the sales ratio. Every town has a set sales ratio. Market value is what a property is actually worth; the price an individual parcel would sell for if sold today. To see if the assessed value of a property fairly reflects its market value, you would take the assessed value and divide it by the town's sales ratio. This number is supposed to approximate the true market value of your property. If the value assigned by the assessor, multiplied by the sales ratio is significantly different from what other properties are selling for, you have the basis for a tax appeal. One note, the assessed value is determined on October 1st of the prior year, so for 2010, the date you should be looking at for determining value is October 1, 2009.
Q. What is a Tax Appeal hearing and who will hear my appeal?
A. In most cases, an appeal of your assessment is filed with the County Board of Taxation. The County Board consists of 3 to 5 members, called Commissioners, who are appointed by the Governor. The Commissioners are appointed primarily to hear disputes involving assessments. If you dispute your assessment, a hearing will be held. At the hearing, the municipality is the opposing party and will be represented by the municipal attorney. The assessor and/or an appraiser may appear at the hearing to represent the municipality as an expert witness for the municipality.
Q. How can we help?
A. We are attorneys trained in reviewing tax appeals and determining if there is a viable appeal. We can work with you to determine the best course of action for your client, and whether the use of Comparable Sales will work or if an appraisal will be required. We can review proposed Comparable Sales to determine which properties can be used and which ones cannot. We will accept cases on a contingency basis, which means that if there is no reduction in the assessment, we do not collect a fee (other than the filing fee charged by the County Tax Board or the Tax Court). We can accept cases in all 21 counties in New Jersey.
FOR PROPERTIES ASSESSED AT OVER $1,000,000, the procedure may vary from that described above.
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