Property Tax Crisis

If you live in Marion County, you are well aware by now of the property tax crisis so many of us are in right now. Because we are in this "perfect storm" property owners are biting the bullet and some are seeing their taxes increase over 100%! Why is this happening and what can you do?

There are many reasons why our taxes are rising. First, this is a "trending" year, which means every two years property owners' home values will be increased due to trending or appreciation. Second, our property taxes are now based on market valuation instead of component valuation, which means taxes SHOULD be more uniform and less subject to interpretation, which is good, in theory. Third, due to rising city costs, increased revenue is needed and property taxes were considered by our legislature as the best place to find it. Fourth, inventory taxes have slowly been phased out since 2003 and that revenue needs to be replaced somehow. The inventory tax was considered to be unfair to many people and businesses paid approximately 60% of the tax burden. This leads to the fifth reason taxes have gone up and that is due to the fact that the legislature decided to balance that more by increasing property taxes.

There are more reasons why taxes have gone up, but time and space prevent me from discussing further. However, what to do now? Have your taxes gone up significantly? First, what was the gross assessed value the assessor states on your reassessment card? Does it seem reasonable? If it does, you are stuck paying those taxes. Do you have all of your exemptions filed? The two most common are homestead (you can have one of these only on only one property in the state) and mortgage (if you have more than 11 payments remaining on your mortgage or if you have a home equity line of credit you have have one of these). If you don't have these or others filed--file them!!

If you feel the assessor has your home valued too high then get a couple of broker price opinions (BPOs) to support your belief complete with comparables and a letter explaining the reason for the valuation. This valuation should be based on 2005 values as that is the last year for which the assessor has sold data on which to base your assessment. You have 45 days to go to your local assessor's office and file a protest letter. Attach your BPOs as evidence and, in many cases the assessor will change your assessed valuation right on the spot, if he/she agrees with your reasoning. If he/she doesn't agree, you can appeal to the next level and you will need to get that information from the assessor.

Should you have any further questions, visit our website at www.Welcome2Indy.com or call us at 317-558-6817. Good luck!!!!