How to protest your property taxes
If you think that the properties you own shower ever-shining dollar glows to your valuable wallets, then you are to lament it soon. When it’s time to pay your real estate taxes, all those money-rendering glows vanish off with a glance at the massive tax figures. It’s quite a bittersweet situation for property owners like you gaining and losing at the same time. Please don’t give in. You still have options to ward off those bad lucks coming in forms of chunky tax dollars. Just count on raising a property tax protest at your county’s appraisal district. Believe it or not, you may turn the tables with a sound proof. On what grounds can you protest Thank goodness! You have too many reasons to jerk up the appraisal district for property tax reduction. You can raise a protest, on the basis of: • • • • • • • •
incorrect property value unequally appraised property denial of exemption (related to your older age or disability) wrongly taxed property due to incorrect taxing units wrong owner name entry in appraisal records incorrect property inclusion in appraisal records failure to send lawful notice by the chief appraiser or ARB Inappropriate actions taken up by appraisal district, chief appraiser or ARB that are adversely affected you.
Don’t dilly-dally and be decisive The question: ‘Can I do things right to reduce property taxes?’ often haunts you. At start, you may find it difficult to take risks to protest property taxes. Mind that without pain, there’s no gain. Be sure that you are the goer and getter of fruitful results. First up, plan up how to garner attention of staff in your county’s appraisal district. Step in their way for an informal talk, and ask them why your property tax is overbilled. If you put up a good show, the staff is likely to show you a way to break yourself free from tax burden. Walk an extra mile …. If having a word with appraisal district staff is not helping you, then go an extra mile to the appraisal review board (ARB) or Comptroller’s office to get a property tax protest form. You may also get the form online. Just fill in the form and if your property is a single-family residence, file the notice of protest before May 1; and for others, before June 1. However, if you still prolong the submission date, it calls for a valid reason for legal clearance. Check for any untimely issuance of tax bills that delayed your filing date. At best, don’t let anything stall your date of filing.
Get in touch with CAD … Wait up for a prompt message from appraisal review board alerting you to get ready for hearing. Don’t run breathless for hearing as soon as you sense the start signal. Because, you still have 15 more days to prep up for hearing. Meantime, have a prior discussion with the appraisal district that would send out essential data such as Comptroller’s Property Taxpayer Remedies pamphlet, ARB procedures, comparable sales data, etc. before hearing date closes in. Pick up a second hand … If you are uneasy with the legal proceedings to protest property taxes, then get a helping hand of an experienced agent to help you gear up for hearing. Before that, you have to sign an Appointment of Agent for Property Tax Matters form to declare your new hire. But, this is not normally done in an informal hearing.
No slip out Don’t forget that you should not talk with ARB members outside the hearing about the protest. If you do so, it would cause serious problems for those members. Law has it that both sides have to be served fairly. If you don’t act on par with this legal baseline, it’s sure to open a Pandora ’s Box. Get on time … Don’t be in a hurry-burry before heading to the hearing panel. Make your presence on time; otherwise, you would put a bad impression on the panel members. To top it all, the members have a lot on their plates, and they tend to move on to other hearings in roster. Make it simple … Speak squarely with the hearers and never try to beat about the bush. Do not take it far beyond the appraisal realm and make them confused. Tax rates, budgets, and local politics are not their cup of tea and referring to those quirky terms is like putting yourself in a fix. Bring stuffs to the table … Do not give out a higgledy-piggledy mess of evidences to the panel. Make sure everything is organized in a sensible manner for better understanding. Moreover, it saves precious time and makes way for other proceedings. Also, don’t miss to produce necessary photographs and related documents that would complement the presentation. Mind that you may get a leg up on property tax protest with such concrete evidences.
After verdict … If you can hardly go with the final order of ARB, then say ‘bring it on’ in a district court or State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH). By either way, you have to write for an appeal within 60 and 90 days respectively after you receive ARB’s order. Binding arbitration also opens the door to lower property taxes through appeal. Watch out! Only by doling out $450 to $1,500, this last phase of appeal will kick-start. Doing this at the expense of spending big time and money may offset more on tax savings. Moreover, you have to pay up your property taxes not in dispute in advance. Everything adds up to your money woes, and you really have to think ahead before taking a leap. The bottom line is that you can dig up hidden tax savings by raising a prompt property tax protest if you really set your heart on it.