From the Indianapolis Star:
Marion County property assessment notices are hitting mailboxes this week, and most homeowners will notice changes that could affect their property tax bills next year.
Values assigned in this year’s reassessment — the first wholesale reappraisal of property values in a decade — will be used to calculate tax bills that go out in the spring. Assessor Joe O’Connor says he anticipates thousands of homeowners will file appeals by the Jan. 28 deadline, adding to a backlog.
Of 312,113 residential properties appraised, the values assigned to 52 percent increased, while 43 percent decreased, according to summary data provided by the assessor’s office. Among properties whose assessments increased, three in 10 saw jumps of greater than 10 percent, while most increased modestly.
Brad Cleveland was among those planning appeals Tuesday.
“It went up $35,000,” Cleveland said about his Eastside home’s assessed value. “I think that’s way too high.” While his home was assessed at nearly $150,000, he pointed out that neighbors’ homes recently had sold for $40,000 and $50,000.
Assessments influence how much an owner will pay in property taxes after deductions, credits and the local tax rate are applied. Indiana’s property tax caps protect homeowners from paying more than 1 percent of their home’s assessed value in taxes, meaning a change in assessed value also changes the capped amount in taxes.
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Many homeowners who challenge their assessment will face the prospect of a longer appeal. O’Connor says his goal is for the office to begin reviewing each new appeal within 12 months. However, the office is considering some appeals from 2008 only now as it tackles a backlog nearing 30,000 — a figure that has fluctuated, and which is expected to increase with the new assessments.
Overall, Washington Township homeowners are experiencing the greatest sticker shock, with nearly 28 percent of homes’ assessed values increasing by greater than 10 percent. Warren and Center townships also had a disproportionate share of large increases.
But those three townships would have experienced even greater assessment increases if O’Connor’s office had not caught an error affecting calculations for 6,370 homes in those areas.
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http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012121218031
