Biggest Mistake To Avoid In Winning A Property Tax Appeal

Q: Our neighbor’s house is bigger than ours and they put in a new kitchen and deck but their assessment is lower than ours. Shouldn’t we be able to file and win a property tax appeal? Claire, East Orange, NJ

A: The first thing to remember when you file a property tax appeal is that you may not be successful.  If you do decide to file a property tax appeal, one of the biggest mistakes to avoid is using your neighbor’s house as evidence in your tax appeal.  The commissioner presiding over the hearing is unlikely to allow other property assessments as evidence in the tax appeal hearing. A lower assessment on a better house could be evidence that the better house was under-assessed, but it’s not evidence that your property is over-assessed which is what you need to prove to win a property tax appeal.  In order to prove an over-assessment, the property taxpayer should be prepared to discuss the prices of comparable properties that sold during the appropriate time period, or have an appraiser present, who can testify about the comparable properties.  Thanks for your question, Claire.

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