From the Lafayette Journal-Courier:
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The Indiana Supreme Court ruled in 1998 that property taxes must be based on market value, abandoning the old assessed value system that included a depreciation schedule that gave older homes a tax break, even older homes that could sell for $400,000, Phillips said.
To track the ups and downs in the housing market, assessors use trending by comparing home sale prices for similar houses in similar neighborhoods in the same general area of the county.
Those trending figures also increase or decrease assessments, Phillips said. Assessors, much like appraisers in the private sector, are coming up with an estimate of the market value of a property, and they're likely within 10 percent of it, Phillips said.
Property taxes on farm land also increased because the capitalization formula for calculating the assessed value indicates an increase value of agricultural land.
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Property owners wanting to appeal their property taxes must file in writing, and the county's website - www.tippecanoe.in.gov/assessor - offers instructions.
"It tells them what they would need to do to appeal," Phillips said. "It gives the form. They can come down here and fill out paperwork. They can just write a letter, but it does have to be in writing. We don't take appeals over the telephone.
"They also need to make sure it is the property owner that is appealing. Or if it is a contract buyer, that the contract has been recorded because we don't take appeals from people who don't own the property."
Property owners have until the end of the business day May 29 to file an appeal, which is after the May 10 deadline to pay property taxes. Phillips said property owners need to pay their taxes on time, even if they intend to appeal.
"It will be several months before they hear anything from us," Phillips said of the appeal process. "If they are successful and their assessed value is reduced, if they pay their taxes directly, they will get a corrected tax bill for fall."
Should the property owner win his appeal and his property taxes are paid by a mortgage company, the company will be notified of the smaller payment for the fall installment.
Phillips cautioned against property owners comparing their tax bills with their neighbors.
"They may be entitled to exemptions that you're not able to claim," Phillips said. "They may have solar heating. They may have issues you don't have. And that's not obvious by just looking at what happened to the taxes. It's an individual issue."
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http://www.jconline.com/article/20120417/NEWS02/120417008/Tippecanoe-property-tax-bills-land-some-go-up?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
