Hot Topics: Property Tax Assessment
If you're an Indiana property owner, sometime in the next few
months you'll probably receive a "Form 11" from your township assessor.
That's a notice of assessment of land and structures.
There are three things you should do when you receive this notice.
First: DON'T PANIC! The new assessment of your property will be a lot bigger than the old assessment. That's true for almost every property taxpayer in the state. The rise in your assessed value does not mean your tax bill will rise by a like amount. If your tax bill rises, it will rise by less than the proportional increase in your assessment. And, for a lot of homeowners, tax bills will actually fall, despite the increase in assessments. Why? Because tax rates will come down a lot, and the General Assembly has created new exemptions and credits for homeowners.
Second: Check the new assessment total. The number should look a lot like what your property is worth. Ask yourself, would I sell my house for this amount? Would anyone be likely to buy my house for this amount? If you can answer yes to both questions, the assessor has achieved "market value assessment." That's Indiana's new assessment goal, to predict what each property could sell for, and use that prediction as the assessment for tax purposes.
If your house is assessed at more than you think anyone would pay (that is, you answered yes to the first question but no to the second), your house may be over-assessed. You have the option to appeal, if you act within 45 days of the mailing date of the notice.
Third: Look at the increase in the total assessment from last time to this time. Both values are on the form. Did your assessment double? Less than double? More than double, or even triple? That's one thing that will matter for your tax bill. Statewide, the average homeowners' assessment will just about double (a 100% increase). As a statewide average, those homeowners will about break even, or maybe see their tax bills drop a little from last year to this. So, if your assessment increased, but didn't double, you're probably in good shape. Your taxes probably won't go up much, and they might come down. If your assessment more than doubled, though, it's more likely that you'll see an increase in your tax bill this year. If it more than tripled, well. . . .
The assessment notices already have arrived in some counties, as of June 2003. They will arrive in many more over the next few months. In other counties, they won't arrive until late in 2003. In most counties the tax bills will follow the assessment notices within a month or two.