M id A tlantic Real Estate Journal — 2022 Forecast —January 21 - February 17, 2022 — 17A
www.marej.com
2022 F orecast
By Thomas Olson, Esq. andMichael Realbuto, Esq., McKirdy, Riskin, Olson &DellaPelle, P.C. How to successfully handle a property tax appeal
I
n today’s current economic climate property owners will want to reduce expens -
supporting evidence for the appeal. You must present the County Tax Board with
be required, and submitted in advance of the hearing, to prove that your property is over-assessed. Sales of compa - rable properties or comparable leases of similar properties are usually the best evidence to determine a particular prop - erty’s value. For income pro - ducing properties, an income capitalization approach using market rental values will ordi - narily be used. However, if the tax assessor requests actual income and expense informa - tion for an income producing property, your appeal may be dismissed if you do not timely
respond to such a request. County Tax Board hearings and decisions for all properties are to be issued within three months of the filing deadline unless extended by the New Jersey Division of Taxation. Judgments are usually mailed out shortly thereafter. Recent legislation now allows County Tax Boards to decide appeals on the evidence presented with no appearance required. IV. Appeals from the Coun- ty Tax Board Following the decision of the County Tax Board, you may then appeal that decision to
the New Jersey Tax Court. You have forty-five (45) days from the date the County Tax Board’s decision was mailed to file a complaint with the New Jersey Tax Court. Under New Jersey’s “Freeze Act,” a reduced assessment will be “frozen” for two ad - ditional years (three years in total including your appeal year) unless the municipal - ity undergoes a revaluation or reassessment of all of its properties during one of the freeze years or there is a sub - stantial change in the value continued on page 22A
es wherever possible. It is important for New Jer - sey property o wn e r s t o understand that property taxes are not fixed expens -
concrete rea - s o n s w h y you bel ieve your pr op - erty is over- a s s e s s e d . Did the as - s e s s o r l i s t your property at a greater
Thomas Olson Michael Realbuto
es. Successfully appealing your tax assessment may create opportunities for thousands of dollars in yearly savings. Here are some basic guidelines to help increase your chances of winning a tax appeal: I. Review your assessment Before you challenge your property tax assessment, you should determine whether your property is over-assessed. Not every municipality as - sesses its properties at 100% of true market value and it is important to be familiar with the applicable ratio in effect for each tax year. These ratios are released on a yearly basis and are available on the N.J. Division of Taxation’s website. You should review your as - sessment every year and iden - tify whether your property is over-assessed. II. Know the Rules and Deadlines Filing a property tax appeal requires strict adherence to state procedures and dead - lines. In some circumstances, your appeal will be filed with the County Tax Board in the county where your property is located. In New Jersey, ap - peals generally must be filed on or before April 1st, or with - in 45 days of the mailing of the Assessment Notice. Some oth - er counties follow an earlier deadline, and a few will have a later deadline if a municipal- wide reassessment has been performed. If your property is assessed at over $1 million, or the added or omitted as - sessment exceeds $750,000, you may file your property tax appeal directly with the New Jersey Tax Court instead of with the County Board of Ap - peals. It is crucial to research and follow all state tax appeal deadlines and procedures. The filing fee for tax appeals depends upon the assessed value of the property but will range from $5 to $250. III. Prepare your Appeal After you file your appeal, the next step is to prepare
square footage than it has? Are you being assessed based on a misinterpretation of the real estate market? Substan - tial supporting evidence will
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