How To Win Your Property Tax Appeal And Assessment

Have you ever moved into a new home and loved everything about it but the amount of property tax? Do you know that with a few simple tips or guidelines you could get a property tax appeal and get your property tax reduced by up to 500$ or more?

To win your property tax or assessment appeal, you must ensure that you meet up with the requirements for an appeal, and possess all necessary documentation and evidence.

Tax and assessment appeals are two different types of appeals. You can file an assessment appeal to the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) or the Assessment Review Board (ARB), when you disagree with the Current Value Assessment (CVA) of your property, while a tax appeal is filed to the treasurer. Typical reasons for filing a tax appeal include:

• The tax class for the property has changed during the year (e.g. non-residential property is converted to residential)
• The land has become vacant
• The building on the land was razed by fire, demolition or is otherwise rendered reasonably unusable
• Repairs or renovations to the land prevented the normal use of the land for at least three months within the year
• You were overcharged taxes due to a gross or manifest error that is factual in nature, but not an error in judgment in assessing the property
• You were unable to pay taxes because of sickness or extreme poverty

Always remember you do not need to retain a tax consultant to appeal your property assessment. This can be done on your own.

How to appeal your property assessment:

#1. Compare your assessed value with similar properties in your neighborhood to determine if it’s overvalued.
#2. Visit AboutMyProperty.ca to learn more about your property assessment.
#3. Request the Comparable Properties Report from MPAC (Municipal Property Assessment Corp).
#4. Request your home appraisal from your lender and request a report of similar properties that have recently sold from your real estate agent.
#5. When filing your Request for Reconsideration, include compelling reasons and supporting documentation, such as recent home appraisals and photos.

What to include in the notice of appeal:

#1. Your full name, your mailing address, telephone number and fax number (if available), and those of your lawyer or agent (if applicable).

#2. The taxation year(s) under appeal or the assessment number.

#3. The date of the reassessment or confirmation (if applicable, please attach a copy), the grounds for the appeal, the date of your appeal and your signature.

Conclusion

To win your tax appeal or assessment, follow the guidelines or steps in this article and we guarantee you that as long as your grounds are genuine and void of any form of manipulation, you have a great chance of having your tax successfully reassessed and reduced.