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Can I Grieve My Property Taxes Every Year?

NY Property Grievance Info, Property Tax Grievance, tax calculations

For those living on Long Island, property taxes may already account for their highest house-related expense. According to tax-rates.org, the average yearly property tax paid by Nassau County residents amounts to about 8.26% of their annual income. And in Suffolk County, it amounts to about 7.57% of their yearly income. When property taxes go up, this adds more of a financial burden for many who own a home in Nassau County or Suffolk County.

Let’s take a look at more stats from tax-rates.org. Nassau County has one of the highest median property taxes in the U.S. and is ranked 2nd of the 3,143 counties in the U.S. in order of median property taxes. Suffolk County comes in at number 12 in order of median property taxes.

There are many advantages to living on Long Island, including the closeness to NYC and all it offers for work and cultural opportunities. And Long Islanders have access to many beautiful beaches on the Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. But high property taxes are a constant concern for homeowners. However, there is a way to reduce your tax burden and make living in your Long Island home more affordable. It’s filing a tax grievance every year.

How did property taxes come to be?

Property taxes date back to colonial times in the U.S. By the late 1790s, 14 of the 15 states taxed land, with four also taxing inventory (i.e., livestock). Delaware was the one state that did not tax property by instead the income from it. States had different definitions of what could be taxed. Some would tax quantity, others quality. Some would tax all of the property, and some would tax specific objects. By the end of the Civil War, many state constitutions had adopted that property taxes be more uniform and assessed based on value.

Today, property tax is based on your municipality’s tax rate, as well as your property value. Your school district (which accounts for two-thirds of property tax levy) and other tax districts set annual budgets. Your share of the taxes that will be raised for school and general municipal purposes like renovating school buildings, adding school programs, building roads, or hiring police in your community is based on an annual property assessment. The more your home is worth, the higher your taxes will be.

Is it really possible to get my taxes lowered?

If you never grieve your taxes, your tax bills will most likely never go down, only up. For your tax bill to not go up, you need to have your assessment lowered. The way to do that is to file a property tax grievance. And yes, you can file a tax grievance every year. A property tax grievance is a formal complaint filed contesting a town’s assessed value of a specific property. After you file a tax grievance, the local BAR (Board of Assessment Review in Suffolk) or ARC (Assessment Review Commission in Nassau) will review your assessment to see if a reduction is justified. If the BAR or ARC denies your grievance, you can file an appeal in the NYS Supreme Court, SCAR division within a 30-day time frame to determine if your house is overvalued for tax purposes.

Will I get penalized if I grieve my property taxes every year?

The important thing to know is that your assessment will never increase because you file a tax grievance every year. That’s the law in the state of New York. There is no disadvantage to grieving your taxes every year, but you may or may not get a reduction. But just because you may not get a reduction one tax year doesn’t mean you can’t get a decrease the following year. And reductions can and do happen multiple years in a row.

Grieving Your Taxes is Easier with the Help of a Tax Grievance Company

You can file a tax grievance on your own, but there is an easier way.

Hiring an experienced tax grievance specialist provides you with the knowledge necessary to win your tax grievance case. It’s worth it to make sure you get the best representation possible. Without the training and education of a tax professional, you may not get your desired outcome. When it comes to filing a tax grievance, there is legal terminology involved. If misunderstood, it can lead to incorrectly filing, missing deadlines, and not having the upper hand with local court systems. At Heller and Associates, we have extensive experience filing grievances in Nassau County and Suffolk County and have saved homeowners thousands of dollars each year since 2007. We have many clients who grieve their taxes every year.

Whether you Stay or Plan to Go – Grieving your Taxes is a Good Idea.

If you are thinking about selling your home in a year or two, you may think, why should I bother grieving my taxes? Because lower taxes make your property more marketable. Taxes are a significant consideration for people who are in the market for a new home. If your property taxes are higher than others in your neighborhood, prospective buyers may overlook your property and search for other properties with lower taxes.

Get Help Filing Your Tax Grievance

If you are in Suffolk or Nassau County in Long Island and need assistance in appealing your property’s value and getting a better rate on your property taxes, give us a call in Nassau County: (516) 342-4849 or Suffolk County: (631) 302-1940. We will explain everything involved and not charge you a penny until we secure you a lower tax rate.

Long Island Property Tax Myths and Misconceptions

Long Island Tax Grievance, NY Property Grievance Info, tax calculations

Getting a notice every year that your property taxes are going up can be frustrating. What’s more, researching online to see how property taxes work and if you can lower your property taxes can often be confusing. There are many property tax myths circulating the internet. The tremendous amount of tax information on the web can make it hard to distinguish between reliable advice and what’s wholly illegitimate or even harmful to your wallet. One of the most significant issues with misinformation is the complex-sounding terms associated with the topic, which makes it challenging to understand tax-related issues. If you have property tax-related questions, read on to distinguish myths and misconceptions you might have heard from the facts.

Myth #1: The State of New York Determines Your Property Taxes

This statement is false. Your property taxes help fund road maintenance, schools, and police and fire departments within your community. The more facilities, police officers and fireman, and better equipment you have, the more funding your community will need. In New York, municipal governments determine your property taxes, not the state. Local governments assess tax rates by dividing the total amount of money that has to be raised from the property tax (the tax levy) by the taxable assessed value of real property in the municipality.

Myth #2: The Local Assessor’s Office Determines Property Taxes

This myth is false. Your property taxes are not determined by the assessor’s office in your township. The job of the assessor is to determine the market value of your property. How does your local assessor come up with a number? The market value assessment of a property depends on where you live in New York. For example, Nassau County and New York City will assess properties at total market value. However, in Suffolk County and many other counties within the Empire State, property value is estimated at a uniform percentage of market value.

Myth #3: Long Island Taxes Are High Because of High Assessments

The answer is neither true nor false. Although a high assessment of your property may contribute to a high property tax bill, your town’s tax rate determines how much you will pay in property taxes. Consider the following hypothetical example. If property A was worth $500,000 and the tax rate in town A was 2%, then the tax bill would be for $10,000. However, if property B was worth $320,000 and the tax rate in town B jumped from 2 to 3%, the owner would be paying a $9,600 tax bill. Although there is an almost $200,000 market value contrast between both homes, there is only a $400 difference in what each property owner pays in taxes. You can have a high tax bill, even if your property has a low assessed value, if the county in which your property is located has a high tax rate.

Myth #4: If my assessment goes down, so will my property taxes.

Unfortunately, this is not necessarily true. Let’s say that your town sees an overall decrease in home values. If your town’s tax levy remains the same, you will still owe the same amount of taxes. Using the same reasoning, if your town’s home values overall increase, but the tax levy remains the same, your taxes won’t go up.

Myth #5: There is no property tax relief available for Long Islanders

There are exemptions available to help lower a portion of your property taxes, but not everyone qualifies. Common property tax exemptions include a senior citizens exemption, a veteran’s exemption, and exemption for persons with disabilities. Most exemptions are offered by local option of the taxing jurisdiction. You can contact your town tax office to determine what exemptions are available in your community.

Myth #6: I Don’t Have Any Control Over My Property Tax Bill

Believe it or not, your property’s assessment is actually the one factor you have some control of when it comes to your property tax bill. First of all, making improvements to your property can affect your assessment. So, if you want to keep your assessment down, you should limit the upgrades you make on your property.

Secondly, you can file a tax grievance if you live in Nassau or Suffolk County and feel that you’re overpaying in property taxes.

What is a tax grievance? When the municipality you reside in assesses your property for more than it’s worth, you have the right to request a tax grievance, which is an appeal of your property value’s assessment.

You can either file your own tax grievance or hire a tax grievance company to act on your behalf. If you hire a tax grievance company, they will determine if your municipality has over-assessed your property or that your taxes are higher than they should be. In that case, the company will begin the tax reduction process for you. However, if the tax grievance company cannot determine that your property has been over-assessed, you will be informed of no viable tax grievance case.

Myth #7: I Can Only Grieve My Property Taxes Once

False. You can file a tax grievance every year. You may or may not get a reduction, but according to New York State law, you’ll never have your assessment increased as a result of filing a grievance. If your grievance fails in one tax year, it doesn’t mean you won’t be successful the following year. In fact, it is possible to get a reduction multiple years in a row.

Need Help with a Property Tax Grievance?

If you’re a homeowner in Suffolk or Nassau County and want assistance filing a property tax grievance, give us a call in Nassau County: (516) 342-4849 or Suffolk County: (631) 302-1940 or apply online here.

Property Taxes in Nassau County & Suffolk County

Nassau Property Tax Grievance, Property Tax Information, Suffolk Property Tax Grievance, tax calculations

It’s no secret that Long Island property taxes are high. In fact, New York City suburbs pay the highest taxes in the nation. While the average effective property tax rate in Manhattan is just 0.88%, and the statewide average rate is 1.69%, Nassau County and Suffolk County average over 2%, according to SmartAsset. It is important to note that property taxes provide the most resources for Long Island municipalities to fund public schools, deliver road maintenance, and finance police and fire departments. In New York State, municipal governments assess your property taxes.

How Are Property Values Assessed in Nassau vs. Suffolk County?

Nassau County and New York City will assess properties at full market value. For all other counties, state law requires that each municipality assess property at a uniform percentage of market value. For example, if the market value of your home is $400,000, but assessments in your community are at 20% of market value, your property assessment should be $80,000. The municipality’s assessment of your property will be equal to a set percentage of market value as determined by the local assessor’s office.

How Does My Jurisdiction Determine Tax Rates?

Initially, a tax jurisdiction will adopt a budget. After adopting a budget, the taxing jurisdiction notes the amount of money collected from state aid, sales tax, and other sources of revenue other than property tax. The total amount calculated from these various streams of income will be subtracted from the budget. The remaining number is called a tax levy, or the total amount of money raised from property owners within the jurisdiction. The tax levy directly influences what you will pay in taxes.

How is My Property Tax Rate Determined?

The jurisdiction divides the tax levy by the total taxable assessed value of properties within your municipality. So, the tax rate is equal to the tax levy divided by all taxable assessments in the jurisdiction multiplied by $1,000. (Tax rates are typically based upon $1,000 of assessed value.) For example, you live in the hypothetical town of Smallville, which carries a tax levy of $1,000,000. The town’s taxable assessed value of all the properties within its jurisdiction is $20,000,000.

($1,000,000 ÷ $20,000,000) =.05

.05 x $1,000 = a tax rate of $50 per $1,000 of assessed value

So, if your property in Smallville has a taxable assessed value of $250,000 you would divide that amount by 1,000 and multiple by $50.

$250,000 ÷ 1,000 = $250 250 x $50 = $12,500.

Your property taxes in Smallville would come to $12,500.

What are Long Island Property Tax Rates?

Much like assessing your property value, local governments also set property tax rates instead of the state of New York. Therefore, property taxes vary by location. You should note that your property tax will equal the final assessment amount determined by your municipality multiplied by the local property tax rate. So, if your tax jurisdiction determines that the value of your property is $200,000 and the tax rate is 2%, your tax bill comes out to $4,000. Read on to learn more about the property tax rates in Nassau and Suffolk County.

What is the Nassau County Property Tax Rate?

In Nassau County, the average tax rate is 2.24%, according to SmartAsset. It might be helpful to recall that tax rates vary by municipality, and the tax rate for one town might differ slightly from the next even if they are located in the same county. If the Department of Assessment valued your property at $500,000, then your property tax would come out to $11,200. The tax money is used to fund schools, road maintenance, and police and fire departments in your township.

What is the Suffolk County Property Tax Rate?

In Suffolk County, the average tax rate is 2.37%, according to SmartAsset. If your market value is $500,000, the local assessment office will assess your property value at a percentage of market value. If assessments in the community are at 90% market value, then the house is assessed at $450,000. Therefore, in Suffolk, if the tax rate is 2.37% and your property is assessed at a percentage of the market value for $450,000, then your property tax bill comes out to $10,665. Of course, this example does not reflect the actual market value of your community.

Can I Dispute My Property Assessment and Taxes?

If you’re a homeowner in a town located in either Nassau or Suffolk County, you may feel that the local Department of Assessment has valued your property for more than it’s worth. If this is the case, you may benefit from filing a tax grievance in Suffolk or Nassau County. Read on to learn more about how to grieve your property taxes in Long Island.

What is a Tax Grievance?

When the municipality you reside in assesses your property for more than it’s worth, or you feel like you’re already paying more taxes than you can afford, you have the right to request a tax grievance. You can either file the tax grievance yourself or hire a tax grievance company. If you choose to hire a tax grievance company, the company will conduct its own assessment of your property. If it determines that your municipality has over-assessed your property or that your taxes are higher than they should be, then the tax grievance company can begin the tax reduction process for you. However, if the tax grievance company cannot determine that your property has been over-assessed, you will be informed that there is no viable tax grievance case. Moreover, your neighbor’s tax assessments do not determine the taxes on your property. Other homes in your neighborhood may be under-assessed by the municipality, but you cannot compare your neighbor’s property value to the value of your property.

Can I File a Tax Grievance for My Business in Nassau County or Suffolk County?

Similar to your personal property, a property tax reduction can also be made for a commercial property. The general guideline is that a grievance may be filed if a municipality imposes a tax on a property and the property owner pays the taxes. If your commercial property is located in Nassau County, but you live in Suffolk, then you can still file a tax grievance in the town’s jurisdiction where your business is located. Regardless of whether you want to file a tax grievance on a commercial property or personal property, a tax grievance company works hard to get you the lowest tax reduction possible.

Need Help Grieving Your Property Tax in Long Island?

If you’re a homeowner in Suffolk or Nassau County, you know how expensive paying Long Island property taxes can be. If you need assistance in appealing your property’s value and reducing your property taxes, give us a call in Nassau County: (516) 342-4849 or Suffolk County: (631) 302-1940. We will not charge you a single penny until we have your taxes reduced.