Who Assesses Your Property Taxes?
Tax assessment, or valuation, is the function of estimating the value, generally to calculate a tax liability, of a particular property, and in some cases determining the purpose, and/or use, of the property. This is typically performed by an individual called the tax appraiser. The procedure typically incorporates a review of the current condition and real market value of the property, as compared to a recent similar property, to determine what its value would be. A tax certificate, certified by the county where the property is located, is provided to the appraiser when this function is performed.
| Who Assesses Your Property Taxes?
Tax assessment, or valuation, is the function of estimating the value, generally to calculate a tax liability, of a particular property, and in some cases determining the purpose, and/or use, of the property. This is typically performed by an individual called the tax appraiser. The procedure typically incorporates a review of the current condition and real market value of the property, as compared to a recent similar property, to determine what its value would be. A tax certificate, certified by the county where the property is located, is provided to the appraiser when this function is performed. Click here for more information about Phoenix bankruptcy attorney
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Generally, the tax assessor serves as the neutral third party who determines what the property’s fair market value is. This is based upon information provided by the taxpayers, submitted in accordance with the law, which qualifies for an exemption from the valuation process. The exemption may be applied to a specific expense or to a category of expenses that are not itemized in the original statement of information prepared by the assessor, known as a tax map. Applying the tax map to the original items provided to the assessor relieves the taxpayer of making the determination of value.
The tax maps that are prepared by the local government agencies are referred to as assessments. When these are made, they are used as a basis for calculating property taxes. These maps are reviewed periodically to determine if the assessments are still accurate according to current market conditions. Whenever an assessment needs to be updated, it is sent to the county where the property is located for inclusion in the assessor’s final assessment report. If there is a change in the assessment value, the new value will be appended to the final assessment.
Assessments are required by the state law and are typically paid by property owners within a year after the property is put on the market. This allows real estate agents to properly list the property for sale. If a home has been assessed at its fair market value, sellers will not have to pay property taxes. This is good news for the seller, but it is bad news for the local government agency that imposes the assessment. Because the amount of money involved is usually very large, the government agency has a financial interest in ensuring that it collects the maximum amount of money possible. It’s in their best interest to ensure that they accurately determine property values so that they can make accurate assessments of tax liability.
Local governments have the responsibility of maintaining public infrastructure. Schools, roads, parks, trash collection and emergency services are all part of the services provided by these local governments. Unfortunately, many of these services are funded through property taxes. Without proper funding, these programs would not continue to operate. Because of this, local governments have a financial interest in collecting accurate property assessments and, when necessary, making adjustments to them to ensure that they accurately reflect current market values.
Market changes happen every day. In many areas of the country, homes and businesses have seen a drop in home sales and commercial growth over the past two years. One of the main reasons for this is the real estate market recession. Many home owners and business owners have found that they were incorrect in their assessment of their property’s fair market value. Because the market has fallen so far, these homeowners and business owners are owed an updated appraisal that reflects the fair market value. By correctly providing this information to their local government agencies, they are taking responsibility for their taxes.