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What to Do if You Received a Nassau County Tax Impact Notice?
Nassau County homeowners are experiencing an increase of irritation and skepticism amidst receiving tax impact statements both in their mailboxes and online. These property reassessments, made by the county, detail possible increases in property value for over 50% of homeowners.
Sent out November 1st, tax notices revealed the new assessments to all county residents. Estimated tax bills were also published online on November 20th. These property tax changes are expected to take effect in 2020-2021.
The uproar over the property tax increase has been tremendous – residents have been contacting county officials in the assessment department since 2010 and county meetings open to the public have become filled with concerned residents. The Nassau County website has also hit 11 million in views November, nearly doubling the view count from October.
Due to failed attempts to fix over-assessments by the counties, numerous tax grievances have been settled. These settlements have caused homeowners, who have not filed tax grievances, to bear the weight of the property tax issue.
Legislator Steve Rhoads (R-Bellmore) stated that residents feel “betrayed” and that homeowners have “been encouraged to participate in the grievance process”. Rhoads went on to say that property owners feel “as though they’re being punished for doing what the system was set up to tell them to do”.
Democrat County Executive Laura Curran, who encouraged the reassessment process of the counties homes, states she has found support with many of Nassau’s residents. The County Executive says that the reassessment will help the county decrease the amount of borrowing it needs to do in order to keep up with the successful tax challenges in court.
Toward the end of 2017, Nassau’s tax liability measured in at a whopping $569 million. In order to ease this financial responsibility, the county plans on borrowing upwards of $300 million dollars. Curran states that without the reassessment, the county will get “deeper into debt”, which the entire county will then have to appease.
Curran lowered the level of assessment from .25 to .1 percent starting in September. Controversy has risen over this recent change of market value used to calculate tax costs for homeowners.
According to county-provided data, Curran’s reassessment program is expected to see a tax increase for 52% of homeowners and a decrease for 48% of homeowners. With these changes, upwards of 11,000 residents will have increases of more than $5,000, while approximately 39,000 residents will see an increase of around $3,000.
A potential hike in property taxes could mean trouble for the housing market in the counties affected. Potential homebuyers factor in costs associated with buying property, including its yearly taxes. A higher tax rate could deter potential buyers from both personal and commercial property in Nassau.
With the negative responses stemming from impending tax increases, Nassau County Assessor David Moog has sent four new tax specialists to meet with residents and address their concerns. The offices have experienced quite a bit of traffic – 14,000 residents have either called or emailed and 4,000 people have physically visited the locations.
Meris Davis, a tax specialist working in one of the offices, said that her experience with resident feedback has been positive. She states that homeowners leave the office feeling informed, not with “the wool pulled over their eyes”.
Nassau County is showing residents the new market values of their properties. The reassessment notices also show the homeowners their 2017-18 taxes and tentative 2020-21 taxes.
Moog states that more homeowners will see their homes market value rise, after many years of fixed assessments. According to the County Assessor, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the property taxes will rise, as well. He states that residents that continually filed for tax grievances throughout recent years will face the largest increase.
Bottom line, we have interviewed hundreds of Nassau homeowners and commercial property owners who have attended meetings at one of the many Nassau Assessment satellite offices regarding the tax impact notices that they have received. What are those property owners advised to do by Nassau Assessor’s Office you ask? They are advised to file a tax grievance.
Nassau County 2020-21 Reassessment Tax Impact Notice
These are confusing times to be a Nassau County taxpayer. Recently you may have received a 2020-21 “Tax Impact Letter” regarding your home’s new assessed value and corresponding tax liability.
The Tax Impact Notices are designed to illustrate how your property taxes will change once the new assessment is in place. In actuality, the notice is based on the 2017/18 tax rates making the estimate suspect at best, completely misleading at best.
I believe the notices should have have been based instead on the school and county budgets taking into account the massive tax rate increase that will be necessary to accommodate the new ratio of .10. Part of the County Executive’s plan is to bypass New York State’s longstanding law of increasing your assessment by no more than 6% per year. This will have disastrous consequences for many Nassau homeowners. My hope is that Ms. Curran will rethink think this proposal.
One thing is clear, the tax rate for many neighborhoods is going to increase substantially if Nassau moves forward with its current plan. This will be especially true without the proposed 5-year phase-in, should the NYS Legislature decide not to pass the proposed law to make the phase-in possible. In fact, this bill has yet to be even introduced to the NYS Legislature.
I strongly advise all Nassau homeowners to file a tax grievance application for the 2020-21 tax year before this year’s April 30, 2019 filing deadline.
Bottom line, Nassau Homeowners will not know the full extent of the countywide reassessment until October 1, 2020 far after April 30, 2019, legal filing deadline has passed.
If you would like to submit an application for us to grieve your 2020-21 tax year, legal filing deadline April 30, 2019, simply click the orange “Apply Today” button below.
As always, should you have any questions, please feel free to contact our office at (516) 342-4849.
Regards,
Adam B Heller
President & CEO
Heller & Consultants Tax Grievance LLC
Grieve your 2020-21 property taxes now before April 30, 2019, legal Deadline
Remember NO REDUCTION=NO FEE
Nassau County 2020-21 Re-assessment & How It Affects You
These are confusing times to be a Nassau County taxpayer. Recently you may have received a 2020-21 “Assessment Disclosure Notice” regarding the county’s recent reassessment from Nassau County Department of Assessment.
The letter you received pertains to the 2020-21 tax year, these tax bills are not released until October 1, 2020 (School)/January 2, 2021 (General). It is impossible to project the actual effect the reassessment will have on you or any homeowner in Nassau County in these early stages, we won’t really have all the pieces to the puzzle until the 2020-21 tax rates are released. One thing is clear, the tax rate for many neighborhoods is going to increase substantially if Nassau moves forward with its current plan. This will be especially true without the proposed 5-year phase-in, should the NYS Legislature decide not to pass the proposed law to make the phase-in possible.
We strongly advise all Nassau homeowners to file a tax grievance application.
Bottom line, Nassau Homeowner’s will not know the full extent of the countywide reassessment until October 1, 2020.
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Remember NO REDUCTION=NO FEE
Nassau County Grievance Filing On Property Tax
As of 2 January 2018, The Nassau County Department of Assessment carried out an assessment on each property in the region. At times, the assessments might be inaccurate. The question here is “What would you do if you got an inaccurate property assessment?”
Well, you can make an appeal whereby you fill an application with the Assessment Review Commission. You should do so not later than 1 March 2018. Grieving an assessment applies to everyone inclusive of contract vendees, property owners, and lease tenants.
Unfortunately, if you fail to file your grievance within the deadline, you can’t file for one in that year. Luckily, at Heller & Consultants, we can assist in knowing whether you have additional open tax years in the past.
If you do, our responsibility is to include your tax years in the current year. Then we’ll negotiate them together. However, you should always beat deadlines to avoid losing lots of money on inaccurate taxes.
At Heller & Consultants, we don’t charge our customers upfront fee when they grieve their Nassau county property taxes. Instead, we take the fee from their return – only when they get the reduction.
Tax rates in Nassau County have increased because of the DAF (Disputed Assessment Fund). Nassau and Suffolk counties were the ones with highest rates on property tax in New York.
Most people hesitate to file a grievance because they think their taxes will increase. The law prohibits the rise of taxes whenever someone files a grievance.
Since you can’t do it alone, you can let Heller & Consultants help you out. Unlike others, we make no money until you get a reduction. So we’ll always work hard to help you obtain your reduction.
You don’t have to file the first application or submit any supporting documents. We always do that for you. Along, we’ll engage with the ARC (Assessment Review Commission) in Nassau County.
Some of our customers had filed grievances in the past but were denied a reduction. Well, if you are one of them, there’s hope. We’ll help you make a new, fresh grievance application. Since every new year, comparable values come up; they might favor you this time around.
Every commercial property is eligible for official assessment review. These commercial properties include movie theaters, hospitals, supermarkets, hotels, office buildings, and country clubs, among others.
You don’t have an idea of where to start? Heller & Consultants are experts at reviewing commercial and residential properties. We determine the market value and take you through the filling process for a grievance. Most essentially, we keep customers up-to-date on the progress.
Here are simple steps to follow:
First, visit http://Irv.nassaucountyny.gov/ to see what market value the assessors estimate your property. We advise you to do so at least each year – before the deadline.
If assessed inaccurately, then allow Heller & Consultants to get you the reductions. We have the expertise and experience of property values. For more than 25 years, we have dealt with grievances on commercial real estate.
In case we evaluate that your property was over-assessed, we’ll file a grievance- right away! Then the process of tax reduction starts.
The objective of assessors is to assess a property’s value as opposed to determining property taxes. At times these assessors might give a lower property value than the one given by a municipality. In that case, then, you should file a grievance with the assessment review commission and the assessor. Your aim is to obtain a reduction on the basis of your application.
In the event that the commission denies your application, then you can file an Article-7 petition. However, you should do so within 30 days after which the final roll is declared.
Perhaps you’ve heard about tax certiorari. This refers to the process of applying for a grievance and challenging a tax assessment on the property. It is a formal review with 2 stages:
1. Administrative review: this is the grievance procedure done at the municipal level with the ARC (Assessment Review Commission). Here the ARC might plan a conference or ask for financial documents to support your application.
Our experts will review as well as submit any documentation that ARC will request. In most cases, we’ll negotiate on your behalf – just to obtain the least assessment possible.
2. Judicial Review: this is a petition application with the Supreme Court in Nassau County. We’ll submit an Article-7 petition in case the settlement negotiations don’t bear fruits.
Nonetheless, you must undergo an administrative review process for you to take the judicial review.
The bottom line
The good thing with Heller & Consultants is that we’ll walk you through the entire process. All you have to do is to provide us with the right property information and we’ll do the rest. We’ll keep you updated about your filing. After getting the tax reduction on your commercial property, we’ll proceed to get the refund for any overpaid tax. Lastly, we’ll make sure your tax bills on the property are accurate.
Save Money By Appealing Your Property Tax Assessment
Many homeowners are not aware that it is possible to reduce the property taxes that they pay. Each year, they nonchalantly look or wince at the escrow notice on their mortgage and pay up without giving it a second thought. Just 2% percent of all homeowners appeal their property tax assessments (the first step when it comes to reducing taxes) in spite of the huge potential in money savings.
To make things even worse, the National Taxpayers Union reports that assessors overvalue 60% of all properties. Generally, it is surprisingly easy to get some relief on property taxes. The local assessor in your area can help you out on this. Below are five measures you can take:
Examine the description of your property
Your assessor may have stated that your property has four bedrooms instead of three, which is the correct number. This mistake can be rectified by submitting building drawings or having them visit your home. Naturally, a reduced amount of living space translates to a decrease in the tax bill. The description of your property must be spot-on in regards to rooms, amenities and total square footage.
Are you eligible for any exemptions?
If you are living in your home and have not rented it out, you automatically get a “homestead” exemption.
Veterans, seniors and the disabled can also get exemptions. To know whether you qualify, contact your assessor or check their website.
Have you been over-assessed?
The best indicator that you need to appeal is if the assessor’s market estimate of your property exceeds what you believe you can get if you sold it. This estimate may be unclear, but you should always appeal if you feel that you are being over-assessed.
To learn how much your property might be worth, talk to your local real estate agent or visit Zillow .com. But remember that market values are usually estimated. The actual value of your home is the amount of money a buyer ready to pay for it at the close of the selling transaction.
The assessors will give you a 30-day window to appeal the assessment notice. You will be forced to wait until the following year if you do not begin the appeal process during this period.
In addition, you will be required to know the equalization factor (a number used when multiplying the assessed value of your property) of your county. Among other things, the equalization factor is an indicator of the prevailing market conditions.
Sadly, it is not possible to contest the final tax bill straight away even though you may definitely complain (failing to pay your tax bill can make you lose your house). To compute your annual property tax bill, the total equalized assessed value of your property is multiplied by the local tax rate.
Generally, you can use three properties of similar square footage and characteristics with a lower assessment to support your assessment appeal case. While you need to have like-for-like comparisons, you will probably be required to follow the tax appeal process in your county.
Your home has unique problems
Let us assume there was a natural catastrophe in your locality and a tree fell on your home or there are additional damages that you have not yet repaired. Or there was flooding in your area. You may note down these problems and make a request for a lower assessment.
You conducted a sale recently and you have an up-to-date appraisal
In case a qualified appraiser says your home is overvalued, that is normally sufficiently strong evidence. Furthermore, you can get a new appraisal even though it could cost you a few hundred dollars. But it could be worthwhile if it supports your case for a lower tax assessment.
Remember, you are not appealing your property tax bill directly. This is because it is not much you can do by the time you receive it. Tax rates are fixed by local organizations such as school districts, villages, and various other agencies. There is not a lot that you can do unless they reduce their rates or levies.
At any rate, it is always useful to appeal. It might not be possible to reduce your tax bill but it is advisable to try it. The assessment procedure is generally unclear and it is not always standardized. You should challenge it if it is unjust.
Need Help Reducing Your Property Taxes? We can Help – Suffolk – Nassau