The Law Office of Michael D. Mirne announces to New Jersey Residents that it is Tax Appeal Season Again
Ocean, New Jersey (PRWEB) September 18, 2017 -- Autumn is in the air and we are once again concluding another Tax Appeal Season. We would like to thank our clients and our appraisers for a great season of tax appeals in 2017, in which we saved our clients nearly $10 Million in Tax Assessments. Additionally, due to our improved methods of gathering and analyzing comparable sales data prior to tax appeal hearings, we have increased our success rate to over 80% for this year’s tax appeals.
As the 2017 tax appeal season draws to a close, we would like to remind our clients that the 2018 tax appeal season is just starting. Beginning on October 2, 2017, our office will start accepting tax appeals for the 2018 tax year. However taxpayers in municipalities that are being re-assessed or revalued should wait a few additional weeks until after their 2018 tax assessments are finalized before considering whether or not to file a tax appeal. This information should be published no later than November 1 for Monmouth County properties and no later than January 15 for properties in other counties. Please also keep in mind that filing deadline for Monmouth County Tax Appeals is January 15, 2018. The filing deadline for tax appeals in all other counties will remain at April 1, 2018.
Since nearly all judgments on Monmouth County Tax Appeals are under the cloud of the new Assessment Demonstration Program (ADP), residents of Monmouth County often ask us for information regarding how ADP will affect their prior appeals.
Monmouth County's Tax Assessment Demonstration Program was created in 2014, ostensibly as a method of ensuring that all taxpayers are paying their fair shares of property taxes. Under the ADP, real estate tax assessments are revised annually to bring each and every tax assessment to 100% of true market value (as established as of October 1 of the pretax year). ADP also sets forth provisions to allow for a 5-Year Data Collection Cycle in order to increase the frequency at which real property data would be collected or verified.
By conducting annual revaluations, the County Tax Board will effectively remove "fractional assessments" from all of its municipalities. All properties in Monmouth County will now be theoretically assessed at 100% of true market value. The old method of dividing an assessment by the town's equalization ration to determine the true value assessment would, therefore, no longer be necessary in Monmouth County. Similarly, the arithmetic hurdle of adding 15% to the equalization ratio to determine whether the assessment is within the "Chapter 123 corridor" is also no longer necessary. However, with annual revaluations comes a consequence for all taxpayers who had previously filed appeals.
One of the main byproducts of the Assessment Demonstration Program is the removal of the Freeze Act. Historically, taxpayers who have won their appeals can rest assured that their assessments will not be raised again for three years. The taxpayer would receive the reduction in assessment for the year of appeal, plus an additional two years following the appeal. However, one of the big exceptions to the Freeze Act is that it ceases in any cases where there is a municipal-wide revaluation or re-assessment. Since the Assessment Demonstration Program mandates annual revaluations, the Freeze Act will not be applicable in most Monmouth County towns. Please note that this is also the case for any town (regardless of the county it is in) in which a revaluation or re-assessment has taken place.
Taxpayers who suspect that their assessments (or equalized assessments) exceed the actual value of their properties are encouraged to contact the Law Office of Michael D. Mirne, L.L.C. for a free consultation.
Michael Mirne, Law Office of Michael D. Mirne, L.L.C., +1 (732) 859-8489, [email protected]
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