Talk:Property Tax Assessments

From Peachtree Corners

Several neighborhoods in Peachtree Corners are currently being notified of property tax re-assessments. Mailings are going out in three batches, on April 6, April 20 and May 4 respectively. Increases of 30% and greater are being reported. If you received one of these notices and think it is out of line with current values, you have 30 days to appeal.

The process for appealing involves sending a letter to the tax appeals board. The letter must contain any and all reasons for your objections, and any factual material you have regarding your property and comparable sales in your area. It must also include your PIN number (on your assessment notice) and a contact phone number. You can also request a written copy of the information the county used for coming up with the new value. They have 10 days to respond to that request, and since you are working with a 30 day deadline for the appeal, it's best to file your appeal and request for written information in the same letter. This gets your appeal on record and should still allow you to gather additional information for your basis.

Property owners have had success with appeals based on comparable sales values. Other successful challenges have been mounted by citing diminished use of property because of public utility right-of-ways, such as power easements. The board will review appeals as simple as "I think it's too high", but your chance of a successful appeal will be greater if you include factual information.

If you have information on other successful appeal tactics, please add them to the discussion ((just click the + sign next to the edit tab above). Thanks.

Useful links for appeals

Two useful links regarding the appeals process were referred to me:

Property Tax Guide For The Georgia Taxpayer Taxpayer Bill of Rights (http://www.etax.dor.ga.gov/ptd/adm/taxguide/rights.shtml)

and the county GIS database (http://www.co.gwinnett.ga.us/cgi-bin/gwincty/egov/ep/gcbrowse.do?channelId=-20600&pageTypeId=536880236). The GIS database is particularly helpful in determining if the assessed value of your home is in line with other homes in your neighborhood. I've used this tool to compare homes in my neighborhood and found that values are all over the map.

I don't believe that the county is deliberately trying to rate the assessments too high, but given the sheer size of the task their method for determining the value has a "one size fits all" approach. It's up to the individual property owner to challenge the assessment.

Great Information

Thanks James for adding this page! I added a little about possible exemptions. My assesment went up 25% since it was last assessed in 2005. Ack! Appeal time! --Richard 22:07, 18 Apr 2007 (EDT)

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4438 E. Jones Bridge : +45%