A New Jersey homeowner’s property tax bill is calculated on the basis of the home’s value. Your home’s value is determined by the town’s tax assessor. If the assessor overestimates your home’s value, you end up overpaying your property taxes.

How good are assessors at estimating home values? Not surprisingly, assessors often get it wrong. Often the person placing the value on your home has never even set foot inside! When this happens he or she resorts to their best assumption. If most of your neighbors have granite countertops but yours are formica, or if your neighbors have brand-new appliances but yours are vintage, you could very well end up paying too much in property taxes.

In the final analysis, an assessed home value is nothing more than an opinion. If you think there’s a chance that you are overpaying, you have the legal right to appeal your assessment. If you choose to appeal, you will be required to appear in front of the County Tax Board and present evidence that the market value of your home is less than the assessed value as adjusted by an equalization ratio. It is a complicated process. This is where we come in. We handle tax appeals on a contingency basis, and will only charge you if you win your appeal. Can the tax board raise your taxes? While the technical answer is yes, such scenarios are quite rare, and a competent attorney would be able to advise you not to appeal in such a case.

By Michelle Rosen, Esq.

Michelle Rosen, Esq. practices real estate law in New Jersey. She specializes in transactional law including purchases, sales and refinances, and in property tax appeals. She can be reached at [email protected].