As home prices fall, when will my city contact me about a property tax refund?

[spanone]

any day??????

[CT_Progressive]

1. Property Taxes are local taxes (your town/city), not state taxes

When your property value falls, your town/city will do something called a "Revaluation". This process will officially revalue your home. Since your property taxes are based on the Mill Rate and your home's value, your taxes will only change when either the Mill Rate or your house valuation changes.

You should attend your town/city board meeting (open to public) and ask your Mayor/Selectman about when the next change to Mill Rate and/or next Revaluation will occur.

In either case, you never get a refund. Your taxes are paid for the year. When things change, the following year's tax bill is adjusted.

[spanone]

3. ah, thanks and i will correct my post

[CT_Progressive]

6. This is why local politics is FAR MORE IMPORTANT than national.

for most people, local politics (things like this issue, property tax) has a greater effect on your life than national politics (except for things like rights and war).

[lonestarnot]

10. What is a Mill rate?

[CT_Progressive]

14. The Mill Rate is...

The tax per dollar of assessed value of property. The rate is expressed in "mills", where one mill is one-tenth of a cent ($0.001).

So, if your home is worth, say $100,000, and the Mill Rate is 25.0, then your taxes will be 25 mills, or 2.5 cents per dollar, or about $2500/year.

More about the Mill Rate:

The mill rate is nothing more than the answer to a simple division problem; a number which, when applied to the value of every taxable property, equally and fairly distributes a portion of the cost of government to every real and personal property owner.

The calculation is supposed to be completely predestined and mechanical-- just divide one number by another number-- the resulting number is the millage rate.

To establish the mill rate, only two numbers are needed:

1. a dollar figure representing the portion of the annual budget that must be funded by property tax dollars;
2. a dollar figure representing the jurisdiction's net tax digest, which is the total value of all taxable property within the jurisdiction.



Now, here is where local politics plays in.

If a town has too many residential homes, and not enough businesses, the Mill Rate goes up. Why? Simple. Businesses pay taxes too, just like home owners, but they do not draw on the budget - business don't send kids to school, for example, which costs the town/city money. So, the more businesses you have, the more tax money that isn't used by the one paying said tax. i.e. businesses pay tax, but don't benefit from it. Whereas, a home owner, on average, brings 2.5 children into the town educational system, costing more money to educate than the homeowner pays in tax.

[lonestarnot]

36. Thanking you kindly CT_Progressive.

[CT_Progressive]

40. No Problemo.

Glad I could help.

[Frustratedlady]

2. It may turn the other way, since cities became so accustomed to the ride...

they overspent their/your future away. Since the values are going down, you'll have less tax base to support the cities.

Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

[lonestarnot]

38. Phoenix is crying. Mayor Phil Gordhead, a dem/puke (supports McCain)

Used to be in the black, guess they're blaming the population increase on demand for services. Imagine that.

[rucky]

4. Of course they will. Go ahead and buy that yacht right now.

The check is in the mail.

[spanone]

5. thanks, feeling rucky

[napi21]

7. I suspect nothing will happen until LOTS of citizens contact the

taxing authority! It might be your city, county, parrish, or whoever your local taxing authority happens to be. Do you REALL think if they know they're going to lose money, they're going to do anything voluntarily???? HA!

[LSK]

8. Ha!!!

[whistle]

9. If you don't anything by this Friday, take a deep breath because it ain't going to happen

[Fresh_Start]

11. You'd have to forced a new assessment

many governments have a process to appeal assessment.

[24HRrnr]

12. You're being pretty damn

greedy considering most city services are underfunded, in most cities. Crumbling infrastructure, poor pay for teachers, etc. all because we haven't been paying for essentials. And now you want to yank back more?

[spanone]

13. fucking a....i wish i could sell my house for what they have it appraised

[Phx_Dem]

15. You own a home?

How much property tax do you pay?

Cities covering expenses by overvaluing property seems like a pretty dishonest way to raise revenue.

[spanone]

16. about five grand a year

[Phx_Dem]

19. Wow--that's high

You must have a very nice house--or live in New Jersey or something. My assessed value of my house (maricopa cty AZ) went up $85,500 in ONE YEAR. Still I don't think our property tax is too high, around $1,800 per year.

[spanone]

20. it's a nice house, not extravagant....live in nashville, tn.

[CT_Progressive]

22. Your mill rate is around 21 then

If your mill rate goes down, you'll pay even less in taxes.

[24HRrnr]

17. Yeah

And i didn't bitch when my taxes just went up.

3/2 1400sf built in 1910. Not a mansion but plenty for us.

Renter pay property tax too, by the way. Just not directly.

[LSK]

21. renters pay property taxes in their rents

[CT_Progressive]

23. Unlikely.

If they did, they would be able to declare that on their tax returns, which they can't.

Renters pay rent. The owner takes the rent money and pays their mortgage+taxes. Owner claims the taxes on tax return.

[24HRrnr]

28. The Renter Pays The Expenses

as part of his rent in the same manner that we pay the farmer for a loaf of bread. It is part of the cost of goods (services) in a value added system.

Likewise, corporations do not pay taxes. All their money derives from the customers.

Only individuals pay taxes.

Every bitches about them, though.

[LSK]

31. that is what I meant

:banghead:

[Kansas Wyatt]

24. You do realize that is a result of the Federal Gov't cutting back on....

Funding to State and local governments don't you?

Tax cuts for the rich, never ending wars, favored contractors, etc. etc. have to be figured in the budget somewhere, so that is where it was partly taken from. The slack had to be made up with cuts in services and tax hikes on the local levels.

[CT_Progressive]

25. This is patently false.

Please attend your town/city Board of Finance meeting before making such silly statements.

Towns/cities do get some grant money from the Fed and State, but those almost always supplement the base budget, which comes from good ol' local property taxes.

[Kansas Wyatt]

27. Just like your renters pay no property tax claim.

I never said that the Federal Gov't pays for all the State and local budgets. What was taken away, had to be made up by State and local governments.

Lose part of your budget, and you either do without or bring more in somewhere else.

You can go on and on with your protocol shell game to support your statements, but it still does not affect the bottom line and what really caused it.

[24HRrnr]

26. I'm not the one bitchin'

The original poster is applying for Rethug status.

"Cut my taxes, they're too high"

The services still need funding. Property taxes fund school districts and cops and that really crappy road in front of my place.

I'm willing to pay to improve those. And I don't (yet) qualify as rich).

[spanone]

30. the original poster is applying for what the fuck you say?

[24HRrnr]

32. I'm saying you're a hypocrite

just like a rethug.

You did specifically state you wanted a tax cut, yes?

At a time when local governments are struggling to provide essential services, yes?

So someone else gets to pick up your share?

Sounds like the opposite of progressive to me.

[spanone]

33. not worth the blood pressure...delete

[24HRrnr]

35. You're right.

I don't know your city (Nashville, TN). And I don't know your politics.

But you've put your principals on public display.

By the way, I loved your intelligent and cogent reply.

Huggz!

[porphyrian]

18. About the same time gas prices are cut to reflect the real price of oil. -n/t

[Frogger]

29. Say WHAT????

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Javaman]

34. If only. lol

If your particular area is high on the foreclosure scale, expect the taxes to go up rather than down. Less people, less taxes.

There will come a time when after the mortgage collapse, there will come the credit crisis, followed by even more people abandoning their homes. As a result, cities will try and squeeze the home owner for more and more and deadlines for various public works come and go, thus resulting in less and less services provided by the city.

The last to go will be sanitation.

[slackmaster]

37. Mine would have to drop about 75% of its value before I could even ask for a tax reduction

Refund? Impossible.

[nadinbrzezinski]

39. In my city you have to file to revise the value of the home

or they will continue to charge you at the rate they have in books

This reminds me, need to download form and fill it up before next year