So You Want to Appeal Your Tax Assessment…

If you pay property taxes, then it is important for you to know how to appeal your tax assessment if you feel it is not an accurate reflection of your property’s value. And in this economy, every cent counts. That’s why Caroline County’s Tax Assessment Appeals Board is preparing to host the state’s first free information session on how to appeal your assessment.

There are three Board members for Caroline County: Mike Feldman, Roger McKnight, and Fil Morrison. Each member has to go through a process of being appointed to the Board, which includes asking the Caroline County Commissioners for a recommendation to the Board, and then being vetted by the state and eventually appointed by the Governor. This ensures that Board members are experienced, trustworthy, and well-informed.

The Board’s main focus is to find the “fair market value” of your property. They call themselves “honest brokers” because, as Board Chair Fil Morrison puts it, “the Board is acting as a mediator between the state and the appelant…all we’re trying to do is come up with the fair market value.” They take into consideration sales of comparable properties from a three-year window to try and come to that fair market value amount. Morrison stressed that as seperate entities from the State Department of Assessments and Taxation, they do not have any skin in the game, so you can trust them to give as fair an assessment as possible. What they cannot look at when considering an appeal is past assessments or values of your property or the tax assessment of other properties around you (so no, you can’t use your neighbor’s lower property tax assessment to appeal yours!).

So you want to appeal your tax assessment? You can start the process by speaking with the assessor about your tax assessment. If after this conversation you still believe you’d like to appeal, you can indicate that on the back of your assessment form. The Appeals Board will then hold a hearing where you can explain your reasoning and provide proof that the State incorrectly assessed your property. If you still don’t agree with your assessment value after the decision of the Appeals Board is handed down, you can take your appeal to tax court.

If you want more indepth information on this process, there will be a meeting at the Caroline County Public Library on Monday, January 5, at 7:00 p.m. with a presentation by the Board members walking you through the process step by step. Katrina Wiggins, who oversees all of the Tax Assessment Appeals Boards in the state, will be there as well. Whether you plan to appeal in the near future or not, Morrison said the session’s purpose is to “help people” and “make this process as easy as possible for them, so that they can feel good about the process and understand it.” The event is free and open to the public.