Home values have dropped. Have your Property Taxes?

Home values have been declining over the past few years, but your property taxes could still be going up. As we read in the headlines, many city and county governments are facing budget deficits. During the housing boom years these governments may have expanded their spending to meet future needs that have never come. You can fight back and lower your taxes.

Taxing bodies use different formulas for calculating property taxes, but they are all bases on your properties assessment. Some will base the assessment on the whole value of the property, some base it on a percentage (ie 1/3 of value). This assessment is then multiplied by the local tax rate to create your property tax bill.

During the real estate boom, assessments rose fast leading to higher and higher tax bills. Now that real estate values are dropping the assessments are not dropping at the same rate. The National Taxpayers Union, a consumer group whose goal is to lower taxes, estimates that as much as 60% of real estate in the United States is over-assessed. What can you do about it?

Most all taxing bodies that levy property taxes provide an appeal process. They do not however make this process easy for the average homeowner. It can take an expert in real estate to find all the information that is required to file an appeal. Fortunately, PropertyTaxDragon.com can help. Enter your address above and we can show you what your current assessment is as well as what your neighbors are paying. This information is useful in filing an appeal. We can also show you what you could save by filing an appeal and where to get help with filing.