Property Tax Protest – How to Wage A Winning Battle
Fighting an effective property tax protest is probably of more than academic interest if you’ve found yourself the victim of an overly high property tax bill. In this article I’d like to offer five tips on how you can successfully fight and win the real estate tax revaluation battle.
With wildly fluctuating property values in many parts of the United States and Canada, it is becoming more and more common for property owners to discover that their property’s assessed value has been overstated by the taxing authorities.
Why is this so?
Well for one thing, assessing offices are typically understaffed and in many cases simply can’t keep up with the workload involved with adjusting the values of hundreds or thousands of properties.
For another the taxing authorities often are slow to lower the valuation of a property, because it means the taxing authority collects less in taxes if they do. While this is not fair or otherwise justified, it is the reality. The fact is it is human nature for many career government workers to exercise this protective herd mentality in the name of job preservation.
With that said, here are the basic steps you need to take when mounting a property tax protest, i.e. a real estate tax abatement filing.
1. Go to your local tax assessor’s office and find out what the local tax calendar sets as the deadline for filing a property tax appeal.
2. Request the property tax cards for other homes that you know are fairly similar to yours in terms of construction style, total square footage of living area, age, location and quality. Create a small spreadsheet to help you organize and compare these factors.
Structured Sale Annuity Tax Minimization Strategies
Assuming asset appreciation, capital gains tax will be due when selling a property, business, or business practice in the year of the sale. In most cases, the taxable gains will amount to a substantial sum of money owed by the seller in a short period of time.
For those who are selling a significantly appreciated asset (business interest or property), the federal tax liability can be very burdensome. A structured sale annuity helps to spread the capital gains over several years so as to alleviate a taxable windfall while also providing reliable payments and income to the seller.
How Does a Structured Sale Annuity Work?
The seller and the buyer agree upon a purchase price for the asset. As oppose to the buyer (or bank) paying this amount lump sum to the seller, the funds are pledged to an assignment company. This initial act avoids constructive receipt for the seller and satisfies current I.R.S. rules and regulations.
The assignment company then purchases an annuity with the proceeds from the sale. The annuity is structured in a agreed upon matter to make future payments to the seller. The seller has several options when structuring the annuity and can tailor the payment stream to his needs.
The buyer is released from any future monetary obligation as he has made full payment for the asset to the assignment company. In this way, the seller will not have to rely on the ability of the buyer to make future installment payments.
In order to qualify as an installment sale, the buyer must take at least one payment in the first year. Thus, the payment stream cannot be deferred for longer than 12 months. All funds do not need to be assigned to the annuity however. In some cases, a portion of the sale is taken lump sum and another portion is structured over time.
Learn About the Mortgage Tax Deduction
Many people today take advantage of the mortgage tax deduction on their federal income taxes. This deduction is used when a family itemizes their deductions rather than using the standard set amount. This line item can save you quite a bit in the long run. You will usually receive a statement from your financing company letting you know the amount that you paid to them throughout the year.
When you think about this, in essence those people paying interest on their home loan end up getting a good portion of that back through this line item on the returns. This means that when you pay off your home loan, you have in actuality received the money interest free. While you have to pay the amount throughout the year, you can use it to reduce your income at the end of the year, thereby saving you money in the long run.
There is much debate today about whether this should continue to be allowed. However, there is no actual reason that it should be removed as a line item for people paying on their home loans. It is only a discussion to try to improve the cash flow of the government. In today’s economy, this is a goal that many people have for themselves as well.
In order to take these types of deductions however, you must itemize your expenses. Many homeowners have other expenses that can also be deducted and therefore it makes sense to use this itemization rather than the standard deduction. The standard amount is set for single, married, head of household and so on.
When you itemize, you will have the option to use medical expenses that you have paid out of pocket as well within the guidelines. There are several other deductions that can be taken as well. Your accountant or tax preparer can help you decide which method will work best for you.
The Importance of Tax Planning During the Year
Being a tax consultant and preparer for over 20 years, I can tell you that there have been a number of times that I’ve had clients who were surprised by how much they money they owed at tax time. Why did they wind up owing so much money? There are numerous reasons. What it all comes down to tax planning or the lack of.
Tax planning is very similar to financial planning. It involves taking a close look at your tax situation from one year to the next. People who have financial investments are always checking with their financial advisors to improve their financial situation. If you’re going to check with your financial advisor, you should also check with your tax advisor and so see how your financial investments are going to affect your taxes.
Tax planning is not only for those people with financial investments. Tax planning is for everyone, especially if you’re undergoing financial changes that could affect your tax situation. Some of these financial changes could be the purchasing of a home, it could be the purchase or sale of rental property, it may be the withdrawal of money from a retirement account, or it may be starting a business. Anyone of those financial changes as well as others could significantly affect your tax situation.
The best time to check with your accountant is before you take any kind of financial action to see how it could affect your taxes. Many times people call their accountant after the fact. That’s like closing the door after the horse has left the barn.
There are two things that I always tell my clients. First, I always tell them if that if they have any tax questions to call me. The second thing I tell them is if they are going to do anything that they think could affect their taxes to contact me.