County Property Tax Appeals
Is Your County Property Tax Burden Too High?
Georgia Attorneys Go to Bat for Consumers to Lower Homeowner Property Tax Burdens
Is your property assessment value accurate? Is the assessment value of your home unfairly driving up your tax burden? Would you like someone to help you appeal your valuation?
Many properties throughout Georgia are valued higher than they should be for property tax purposes, and property owners frequently struggle with how to go about correcting these erroneous valuations and get their assessments back to where they should be. Unfortunately, this will likely be a complicated and cumbersome process you will ultimately lose unless you have experienced legal counsel on your side.
At Dutton & Dutton, Attorneys at Law, our attorneys get those inflated valuations overturned by aggressively appealing to counties and municipalities and helping our clients navigate the lengthy appeals process. When our attorneys talk, government officials listen. We will go before the Board of Equalization and take their case to the Superior Court, if necessary, to save them thousands of dollars on their taxes. If we win, the appeal lasts three years. If it goes back up in the fourth year, we’ll be ready to appeal again, if necessary. We never stop fighting for you.
The Property Tax Appeals Process – An Overview
The Georgia property tax appeals process is fraught with rules, metrics, and timetables. Here is a general overview of what a property owner must do if they think their property tax assessment is too high:
File a written appeal with the county Board of Equalization within 45 days (30 days in some counties) of the date of the change of assessment notice. They must use the proper form, based upon valuation, and stipulate the grounds under which the appeal is being made.
Prepare the appeal by obtaining witnesses, documents, and other written evidence to be presented at the hearing.
Appear at a scheduled hearing within 30 days of the date of notification to the taxpayer – but not earlier than 20 days – unless they exercise a one-time option to change the date and time of the hearing or can show good cause for an extension.
The county board will vote on the appeal at the end of the hearing and notify the taxpayer of the decision in writing.
If the Board of Equalization grants the appeal, the tax may be refunded. However, it is commonly rejected, leaving the taxpayer to either live with it or start the arduous process over again by appealing to an arbitrator or the Superior Court.
Contact an Experienced County Property Tax Appeals Law Firm
If this sounds like something you’d rather not tackle on your own, we’re here to help. Dutton & Dutton will complete this entire process for you, and here’s the best part: We do all this at no upfront cost to our clients. It will cost you nothing except a portion of what we save you on your property taxes. Ready to take on the system and win? Contact Dutton & Dutton, Attorneys at Law and schedule your free initial consultation with a qualified property tax appeals attorney today.