Challenging Tax-Based Values
Taxes on homes or other property in Massachusetts are typically based on two pieces of information, including the town’s property tax rate and the assessed value.
Obviously, the tax rate is set in stone and is not something that is going to be changed once it is put in place for that particular, fiscal year. Of course, what changes is the assessed value of the home.
If you are a Massachusetts homeowner, appealing a Massachusetts property tax bill is something you may want to consider if you feel the assessed value is way off base on your home.
We are going to discuss in brief below how the taxes are determined on your home. If you feel you are getting over-taxed on your home, you must know how to appeal high property taxes. Knowing how to file for a tax abatement and win is easy when you understand how your property value is determined.
Follow the guide I have prepared, and you will understand what you need to do.
How is an Assessed Value Calculated
To appeal the property tax bill, you will need to understand how your local tax assessor calculated the assessed value of your property.
A Real Estate assessed value is typically calculated on a year-to-year basis in most communities, although it is possible it could be every few years for some.
What you need to clearly understand is that the assessed value of a property is NOT the same as these things:
- An appraised value by a lender
- A market evaluation by a Realtor, which is often called a BPO or broker price opinion
- The actual market value
It is easy to understand why the general public can get confused on the assessed value vs. fair market value issue because even many Real Estate agents don’t know the difference! How do I know this?
From some of the crazy statements, I hear from hanging around the office water cooler or even some of the silly advertising that you find in the Multiple listing service or other advertisements.
For example, “Come look at this…