Ways to Lower Your Property Taxes
The methods that local governments use to assess property tax differ from municipality to municipality.
The first thing you need to do, in order to find ways to lower your property taxes, is to find out how the municipality in which you reside determines property value.
Review you property tax information.
The municipality that governs your property tax, in most instances this is the county or parish, keeps records on your property.
These records include things like lot size, square footage, number of rooms, additions or modifications, and architectural style of the home.
Review this information to be certain its correct.
If you have had recent additions or improvements that you do not see recorded here, you may want to avoid asking about it, because making them aware of these improvements could actually raise your property taxes.
If you are thinking of making major home renovations like building a pool, adding a deck, or even constructing a shed, remember that these improvements will, no doubt, raise your property taxes.
In some areas this list extends to include property improvements like replacement windows, aluminum or vinyl siding, painting, and fencing.
If your home is scheduled to be assessed, you might want to limit its appeal by not doing any cosmetic improvements to the outside of your property until after the assessment.
You also want to avoid interior improvements like new appliances, flooring, or counter-tops before an assessor comes.
When undergoing a tax assessment, many homeowners simply allow the assessor to roam the property on their own.
Instead, take your assessor on a guided tour, making sure to point out the bad things about the property as well as the good.
In this manner you might make it more likely to get a more realistic property assessment and possibly lower your property taxes.
If you think that your property is being valued too high, you can appeal to your tax authority.
You will probably be granted an opportunity for a hearing, at which time you must be prepared to back up your claims with solid documentation.
Local governments are not likely to reduce property taxes unless you can make a very persuasive argument for them doing so.
A guaranteed way to lower your property taxes is to move to a smaller property.
Perhaps you are of retirement age and your children no longer live with you.
If your property taxes are too high for you to pay and the struggle is impacting your quality of life, you might want to consider moving to a smaller home in the same general vicinity, or moving to a new location where property taxes are lower.
The first thing you need to do, in order to find ways to lower your property taxes, is to find out how the municipality in which you reside determines property value.
Review you property tax information.
The municipality that governs your property tax, in most instances this is the county or parish, keeps records on your property.
These records include things like lot size, square footage, number of rooms, additions or modifications, and architectural style of the home.
Review this information to be certain its correct.
If you have had recent additions or improvements that you do not see recorded here, you may want to avoid asking about it, because making them aware of these improvements could actually raise your property taxes.
If you are thinking of making major home renovations like building a pool, adding a deck, or even constructing a shed, remember that these improvements will, no doubt, raise your property taxes.
In some areas this list extends to include property improvements like replacement windows, aluminum or vinyl siding, painting, and fencing.
If your home is scheduled to be assessed, you might want to limit its appeal by not doing any cosmetic improvements to the outside of your property until after the assessment.
You also want to avoid interior improvements like new appliances, flooring, or counter-tops before an assessor comes.
When undergoing a tax assessment, many homeowners simply allow the assessor to roam the property on their own.
Instead, take your assessor on a guided tour, making sure to point out the bad things about the property as well as the good.
In this manner you might make it more likely to get a more realistic property assessment and possibly lower your property taxes.
If you think that your property is being valued too high, you can appeal to your tax authority.
You will probably be granted an opportunity for a hearing, at which time you must be prepared to back up your claims with solid documentation.
Local governments are not likely to reduce property taxes unless you can make a very persuasive argument for them doing so.
A guaranteed way to lower your property taxes is to move to a smaller property.
Perhaps you are of retirement age and your children no longer live with you.
If your property taxes are too high for you to pay and the struggle is impacting your quality of life, you might want to consider moving to a smaller home in the same general vicinity, or moving to a new location where property taxes are lower.
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