Appeal Your Property Assessment Notice
Team Kelowna Homes recently distributed a guide to appealing your Property Tax Assessment. Here is a quick extra from their article:
- How Your Property Taxes are calculated.
- Is your Assessment fair?
- How to Appeal your Assessment
Tax Assessors calculate what they “think” is fair market value of every property in the municipality. The value is calculated on July 1st of the previous year.
The Municipal Government makes it’s budget for the year. It divides that budget into the total assessed value of all the properties in that municipality. The result is what is called the “mill rate”. This mill rate is expressed as so many dollars of taxes per year per $1000 of assessed property value.
In most cases you can appeal the assessed value of your property not the the property tax itself. Once you have accepted the assessors “opinion” of your property value, the calculation of the property tax is automatic.
Tax Assessors employed by the Government determine the value of your property based upon the price that they “think” the property will fetch in the open market. They do no t physically check each property each year but rather feed information throughout the year into a database as well as property sales in that area throughout the year which determines their “blanket” appraisal value. Building permit applications made to the municipality throughout the year is also included in determining your property value. The process of “mass assessments” is not an exact science and there is room for error and this is where you may have cause toe challenge the assessed value.
First step to an assessment value appeal is to follow the assessment appeal check list and then consult with your local Assessment Office. Present evidence on one or more errors on how the Assessor evaluated your property. If you still disagree then the Appeal will be sent to a higher authority. There is a small chance that your Assessment Appeal could result in a higher assessed value than the original.
Assessment Appeal Check list:
- Compare your previous year’s assessment. Does your new assessment seem fair?
- Note the important deadlines for filing an appeal
- Familiarize yourself with tax terms which will assist with speaking with the Assessment Officer
- Visit the Assessment Authority and review all public records (deeds, title, roll and field report cards).
- Obtain the facts on the sale prices of other properties comparable to yours.
- Review how the assessor has described your property record. Note any blatant inaccuracies. Lots size measurement or square footage of living space (or non living space). have they erred in describing any of the features?
- Write a letter describing the inaccuracies you described. All appeals must be in writing.
The compliant step-by-step guide can be accessed by:
1-877-356-9313
Online at www.bsr.gov.bc.ca/parp
Thank you to www.Kelownahomes.ca for these very useful tips!!