I reached out to Heller to see if my taxes could be grieved. Justin provided me with information about the process and was optimistic that they could be grieved. Justin was incredibly effective and informative and clearly has a passion for helping the community fight high taxes. I was provided updates throughout the process and won the fight. My experience could not have gone smoother, thanks to Justin for being my guide throughout the process. I will be referring him to help a few friends who need the service. I am extremely grateful for the help and the time spent on my case. Justin is an outstanding professional with years of knowledge. He is a real estate superstar!
Tammi Schmidt has been extremely insightful and knowledgeable. I never knew getting a break on my taxes was even an option until Tammi informed me and explained how seamless it was. Highly recommend using her services.
This office "Heller & Consultants tax Grievance" did a great Job than expected. In particular, 'Michele Lagrassa" kept her promises and always answered even to the smallest details and questions. I definitely want to recommend this office to all home owners for taxes Grieving.
Professional, dedicated and will stay with you till your every question is fully answered. HELLER saves me big money on my taxes every year. HELLER provides tax savings that I can spend on my grandchildren while retired on a fixed income.
Filing your tax grievance on your own is certainly possible and in order to do so, you’ll only have to assess the market value of your property, followed by filling out your Grievance petition and finally writing a letter in support explaining your position. However, in doing so we highly recommend that you hire a professional who can help you with it. While it’s not actually mandatory that you do so, in our experience we have come to the conclusion that someone who has a lot of experience in this is going to help you go through the process a lot easier. So with that in mind, here are 5 reasons we believe hiring a professional to file your tax grievance is a good idea:
1. You only pay if you’re successful
In general, professionals are going to represent their clients in a tax grievancecomplaint for fees that range between forty and fifty percent of the tax savings in their first year. For the client, this is a great deal. On top of that, you don’t need to worry about paying anything unless you’re successful. Therefore, the has every incentive to improve his client’s tax savings.
In the event the client is successful, he is going to take advantage of the minimized assessment for a very long time and be required to pay the professional a small part of the savings he makes in the first year. Depending on the lawyer you hire, some of them may charge a lower fee based on the savings paid out over more than 1 year (for instance, one example would be twenty-five percent of each year’s savings for a total of 24 months). This is still a great deal. On the other hand, our recommendation is that you don’t hire professionals who charge upfront fees or professionals that charge a fee higher than approximately fifty percent of 12 months’ worth of tax savings.
2. Professionals can handle all the work on establishing a market value
Establishing market value can be difficult when filing the grievance, but luckily your professional has access to public records, but also to the info provided by the licensed real estate appraisers. He can also provide you a great evaluation of whether pursuing your tax grievance is a good idea and that’s because someone with a lot of experience in this can accurately gauge the tendencies of the local boards when evaluating various kinds of petitions.
3. Professionals are well accustomed to the Grievance Day hearing
Professionals can easily speak in open hearings and it’s highly recommended that you let one represent you on this day. For a layperson, the entire process can be quite confusing, but your attorney will certainly be able to successfully go through it.
4. It takes a lot of time to grieve your taxes
Tax grievances can be very time consuming, since they involve a lot of research, filling out forms, writing support letters and finally preparing for and attending the hearing. Therefore, if you think you cannot handle this on your own, then it’s best to hire a professional to help you with it.
5. If you don’t win the grievance, the professional can handle your appeal
If you’re not successful, then you should consider hiring a professional in order to help you handle the grievance appeal on your behalf. In fact, it’s highly recommended that you hire one to represent you in the first administrative hearing in front of the board. This way, he’ll learn more about the facts and use that information to better represent you, his client. So if you’re going to need to pay for hiring a professional anyway in the event your petition isn’t successful, then you may want to consider hiring one to handle your case in its entirety.
It’s true that the US tax code is indeed intimidating and because of that, many Americans don’t really want to dig through IRS forms and receipts each spring. The good news is that if you’re the proud owner of a home, then you can take advantage of many deductions that can save you a lot of money in taxes this year. Because of that, it’s certainly not a good idea to let the fear of paperwork intimidate you.
If you’re looking for the best tax breaks, you could easily get the biggest bang for your dollar from your home deductions. If you overlook them, then they may just cost you.
For instance, let’s take the most popular deduction, the interest that you have to pay on your home mortgage. Collectively, US taxpayers get a break of approximately one hundred billion dollars a year from this item alone.
As a homeowner, you certainly have access to such breaks plus many others which can save you a lot of money every year. Here are the 7 biggest ones we think you should know about.
Mortgage Interest
This is the most popular break for taxpayers. So if you have a thirty-year mortgage on a two hundred and fifty thousand dollar home, this is going to result in approximately ten thousand dollars interest payments over the first year. You should also not forget about the condo or vacation home you bought, since you can easily use the interest you paid on those, as well.
Real Estate Taxes
The deduction for local properties is yet another great tax break for Suffolk and Nassau County homeowners and the good news because you live on Long Island, it can be pretty high. In a lot of ways, this tax break is more common than many others, including the mortgage interest deduction. While many people own a property and do not have a mortgage, everyone pays real estate tax.
Mortgage Insurance
If you’ve borrowed and do not have twenty percent equity in your home, then you have to get PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance). This is required for the protection of the lender, in case the loan defaults. PMIs usually costs between point five and one percent of the entire loan amount per annum, so if you have a large loan balance, then deducting these payments can add up fast.
Mortgage Points
When you have 1 point on your home mortgage, that point is valued at one percent of the total loan amount and it has to be paid upfront to the lender in order to minimize your total interest rate. Because of that, many lenders pay points for the purpose of getting a better lending rate and the good news is that they’re also going to get a tax break.
However, it’s only possible to deduct the amount of the points paid in the year you’ve paid them, so if you bought a home in the past year and paid points, then make sure you don’t miss this break.
Casualty Losses
If your home is damaged by fire or a storm, then you can offset some of the losses thanks to the tax break provided by the IRS. Even if you do have a home insurance policy, you cannot double-dip and get compensated twice for the losses. However, if you have a great insurance policy, you may still receive some tax benefits. You can easily find out how much (if any) of your losses are tax-deductible by doing some simple math on Form 4684.
Home Office
In case you’re self-employed and own a home that meets IRS standards, you can take advantage of some pretty great tax benefits. For example, let’s say that your home office represents five percent of your home’s entire square footage. In this case, you’re eligible to deduct five percent off your property’s taxes, insurance, utilities, but also general repairs. Just keep in mind that there are strict rules in place on what constitutes a home office that sees exclusive or regular use. Because of that, you need to speak to your tax consultant or check Publication 587 to verify whether you qualify for this deduction or not.
Cost Basis
As a single taxpayer, you can sell your main residence for a two hundred and fifty thousand dollar tax-free gain, while if you’re married, then you can do so for double that amount. However, if you managed to maintain accurate records of any capital expenses on your property, then it’s easy to increase the tax-free gains beyond those limits. While $500 thousand dollars sounds like a lot of money, over a thirty-year mortgage there can be a major appreciation in your real estate market. As a result, even if this year you won’t actually use the documents from your capital improvements, make sure to keep them until you plan on selling your property.
Residential Energy Credit
When it comes to big-ticket systems, such as geothermal heating units and solar panels, you get a thirty percent tax break from the REEPC (Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit). This also includes smaller amounts on items such as water heaters. It’s true that compared to the rest of the breaks, these ones are smaller, but the good news is that they’re a credit and not a reduction.
Filing your tax grievance on your own is certainly possible and to do this, you’ll only have to carefully research the value of your property, proceed with filling out your Grievance petition and lastly, you just have to write a letter in support that details your position. While doing so on your own may seem easy and simple, there’s plenty of room for mistakes and that is why we recommend that you hire a professional firm who can help you with this. In our experience, they have a much better track record of grieving taxes successfully compared to homeowners. To support our opinion and recommendation, below we’re going to take a better look at some of the top 5 reasons why it’s best that you retain a lawyer for the purpose of filing your tax grievance.
Tax grievance can be very time consuming
Because the tax grievance process can take quite a bit, firms need to charge clients a small fee. They need to conduct proper research, fill out forms, write supporting letters, and finally prepare for the hearing and attend it. While this is not an extremely difficult process, it does take a lot of work and time. If you think that you can’t cope with these on your own, then you may want to hire a property tax grievancecompany to do it for you.
Unless you’re successful, it’ll cost you nothing
The majority of grievance companies are going to represent you in a tax grievance complaintfor an amount that ranges between forty to fifty percent of the first year’s tax savings. While that’s a great amount, you won’t need to pay anything if you aren’t successful and your firm will certainly be very happy to help increase the tax savings you’re eligible to receive. If you’re successful though, you’re only going to have to pay the company a small amount of your first year’s worth of savings and benefit from reduced assessments for a number of years. Depending on the firm, some may charge you a smaller amount of the savings paid out over 2 or 3 years. While that’s still a good deal, it’s not recommended to hire companies that charge you upfront and more than half of 1 year’s worth of tax savings.
Property tax grievance companies are familiar with the Grievance Day hearing
Not everyone is comfortable speaking in an open hearing and if that’s the case for you, then you could hire a representative to do it for you. While the Grievance Day isn’t a very daunting atmosphere, it’s best that you hire a professional who can speak on your behalfif being in this position is uncomfortable for you. The process can also be a bit complicated for a lay individual, yet with a representative on your side, everything is going to be a lot easier.
Firms will handle everything on establishing market value
Establishing market value is the hardest part of filing the grievance. To get help, you can contact your local real estate agent to find similar properties, yet a professional tax grievance firm has access to public records as well and these can contain property sales that weren’t recorded using the local multiple listing systems. On top of that, a firm can give you a good estimation of whether pursuing your tax grievance is a good idea or not and that’s because they have a great sense of the tendencies in the local boards when evaluating various kinds of petitions.
If you don’t win the grievance, the grievance company can handle your appeal
Last but not least, if you weren’t successful with your grievance, the representative can handle your appeal. Having a professional representing you in the first administrative hearing before the board guarantees that your firm is going to be up-to-date with the facts. Therefore, if your petition isn’t successful and you’ll need to hire a professional anyway, you may want to have someone who can actually handle your case from start to finish.
For more information about tax grievance, please select your county below:
Suffolk County’s real estate market is still recovering which should make most every Suffolk homeowner’s property values decline further this year. The one silver lining in that dark cloud- you might have a great shot at lowering your property taxes. If you think you’ve been over assessed, you have a right to protest the assessment – which could mean tax dollars in your pocket. Let’s face it, in this economy, every dollar counts!
The 2014 Tax Grievance season is here and it is setting up to be a big one! This is mainly due to another dismal year in the yet to recover Suffolk County housing market. A bad thing if you are trying to sell, a great opportunity if you are thinking about grieving your taxes!
No one will visit your home
Your property taxes can only be reduced, it is against NYS law to raise them due to a tax grievance filing
Studies have shown that for every $1,000 in lower property taxes, the home’s value increases by $10,000-$20,000
NO REDUCTION=NO FEE which means we fight for every last dollar!
Even if you’ve been denied in prior years, since it costs you nothing and comparable values change each year, give it a shot. You have nothing to lose, except…Your taxes!
We handle everything from completing the necessary legal paperwork to going to NYS Supreme Court. Simply fill out our 1 page Online Application by clicking the “Apply Now” button on this webpage, and we handle the rest.
Bottom Line:
If you have been on the fence about grieving your property taxes (even if have done it in the past, you will likely qualify again), due to the continued decline of the Real Estate Market, 2014 is the year for you to fight back and grieve! To make it even more appealing Heller & Consultants Tax Grievance doesn’t charge any upfront fees. Even better if the grievance is unsuccessful, you pay nothing. Contact Heller & Consultants Tax Grievance by calling (631)782-3177, or click on the “Apply Now” button on this page.
Author: Justine Lorelle LoMonaco | Published: Monday, January 27, 2014
Discovering that your home is being taxed at a higher value than it is worth means it’s time to start grieving. But don’t worry—that doesn’t mean investing in a box of tissues and complaining. Filing a grievance against the town’s valuation of a home can reduce its taxes for the following three years.
To begin the process, a homeowner needs to establish that the home has been appraised at a higher price than current market value. This can be done by proving that comparable homes in the neighborhood sold within the last year for less than your home’s value (as indicated on the tax bill). Attorney Dale Allinson, real estate tax partner at Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman, said a key for homeowners to remember is that both Nassau and Suffolk counties have specific grievance deadlines; March 1 for Nassau and May 20 for Suffolk.
Successfully grieving taxes can take anywhere from a year to two years. Suffolk County homeowners grieve for the current year’s taxes and can expect to wait another 12 to 15 months to receive their refunds. Nassau homeowners file for the next year’s taxes and usually do not receive refunds because the county generally tries to resolve the case and adjust the bill before it comes out. Before filing, homeowners should gather the necessary paperwork; forms can be found on each county’s website. “You need proof of the recent market value of your home,” Allinson said. “You can research comparable sales in your neighborhood, but the best evidence is if you have recently purchased your home [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][for a certain value].” Residents must initially complete the pages of NYS Form RP-525 and submit it to the county’s assessor’s office. If denied, the RPTL-730 can be submitted to the county clerk’s office.
If the thought of all that paperwork and court time is overwhelming, homeowners can leave the filing in the hands of a specialized property tax grievance firm. According to Adam Heller, founder and CEO of Heller & Consultants Tax Grievance , this can save the homeowner headaches as these services usually take care of everything. “In Suffolk County, the overwhelming majority of cases are declined at the Board of Assessment Review. This requires taking the town to Small Claims Assessment Review, a division of the New York State Supreme Court,” Heller said. “Unless the consumer is familiar with the NYS Supreme Court system and has access to an appraisal completed by a licensed appraiser, they will likely be better suited to have a property tax grievance company handle the process.”
Heller said last year he saved a client in Nassau $21,589 a year while someone else with a similar house on the same street only trimmed $3,500 a year off the property tax. He pointed to the importance of starting the process with the right assessment. Most grievance services charge up to 50 percent of first year’s savings, plus a $75 appraisal fee and a $30 court fee.
Allinson and Heller agree that the sooner the process is started, the better. “What I hear from my clients all the time is that they wish they started the process sooner because it is so lengthy,” Heller said. “You can’t grieve past tax years, so they should begin right away.”
Help #1-Makes your home more attractive to a buyer by reducing the annual property taxes burden.
Help #2-We will issue you and your agent a letter to show potential buyers. The letter will state that the property taxes are being professionally grieved in addition to showing annual projected savings.
Help #3-Reducing property taxes by only $1,000 annually would allow a buyer to spend up to $20,000 more on a home.
Help #4-Because the buyer will enjoy the future property tax savings, they pay the fee.
Help #5-The second question a buyer asks is how much are the property taxes? The first is what is the asking price?
The Heller & Consultants Tax Grievance
“Long Island Property Tax Grievance Professionals”
Serving Nassau and Suffolk Counties
Phone: 631-782-3177 ext 171
Fax: 631-782-3174
Suffolk County’s real estate market is still recovering which should make most every Suffolk homeowner’s property values decline further this year. The one silver lining in that dark cloud- you might have a great shot at lowering your property taxes. If you think you’ve been over assessed, you have a right to protest the assessment – which could mean tax dollars in your pocket. Let’s face it, in this economy, every dollar counts!
Discovering that your home is being taxed at a higher value than it is worth means it’s time to start grieving. But don’t worry—that doesn’t mean investing in a box of tissues and complaining. Filing a grievance against the town’s valuation of a home can reduce its taxes for the following three years.