MEMORANDUM
FROM: Barry Wood, Assessment
Division Director
RE: Level III
Requirements for Certified Tax Representatives
DATE: October 17,
2013
Per 50 IAC 15-5-2 (c) (3) (copied below), a Certified
Tax Representative must have attained his or her Level III Assessor-Appraiser
certification by December 31, 2013 in order to maintain Certified Tax
Representative status. A current Certified Tax Representative who fails to
obtain the Level III certification by December 31, 2013 may have their Certified
Tax Representative status revoked, and, therefore, cannot represent taxpayers in
property tax appeals until his or her Certified Tax Representative status is
reinstated.
In 2012, the
Indiana General Assembly passed legislation (see IN Code 6-1.1-35.4.5 below)
that amended the Level III program requirements, including a provision allowing
the Department of Local Government Finance (“Department”) the authority to adopt
temporary rules to carry out the approval of courses and course sponsors. The
Department promulgated an emergency rule (see http://www.in.gov/legislative/iac/20121212-IR-050120658ERA.xml.html
for the complete rule) that addresses the course requirements and course
sponsorship.
Earlier this
year, the Department approved the use or substitution of the Appraisal
Institute’s “Basic Appraisal Principles” class to be used in lieu of the
International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) Course #101. The
Department also approved the General Appraiser Income Approach course offered by
the Appraisal Institute to be used in lieu of IAAO Course #102. Since the
Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) course is not
exclusive to the IAAO, successful completion from another entity, like the
Appraisal Institute, would suffice.
The following
are some Frequently Asked Questions regarding the Level III certification:
Question: What happens if a Certified Tax
Representative does not get his or her Level III by December 31, 2013?
Answer: The Certified Tax Representative
would lose his or her certification as a tax representative and would not be
able to represent taxpayers/clients in a property tax appeal procedure before
the Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals (“PTABOA”) or the Department.
Provided the person is current in his or her continuing education hours, he or
she can maintain whatever assessor/appraiser certification he or she had. In
other words, the person would not lose Level II certification, unless revoked
for lack of hours, but would not qualify as a tax representative. Certified Tax
Representative status may be re-instated when the Level III status has been
granted.
Question: Could a tax representative (who
owns his own tax representation company) who did not get his Level III
designation by December 31, 2013, employ an attorney to handle his appeals until
that time he did get his Level III?
Answer: An attorney licensed in this
state does not have to have a Level III. Only an attorney from out of
state must be granted leave to appear pro hac vice. An out of state attorney may
appear in an Indiana legal proceeding with leave of the court (or, in this case,
the state).
Question: Can a tax representative firm
president/owner seek out/sign-up clients even though he or she does not have his
Level III designation?
Answer: Since “tax representative” is
defined as a person who “represents another person at a proceeding before the
property tax assessment board of appeals or the Department,” a person does not
have to be a Certified Tax Representative to generate business, as long as it is
clearly disclosed that the person is not a tax representative.
Question: What are some options to
complete the Level III course work by the end of the year?
Answer: The IAAO has a “challenge”
process, whereby the student is not required to take the entire week-long class
but can “challenge” the exam only (see http://www.iaao.org/uploads/SpecialExamApp_Challenge.pdf ). In
other words, the student may simply take the exam provided he or she complies
with the IAAO directive. Also, as mentioned above, two (2) Appraisal Institute
courses have been approved in lieu of the IAAO courses.
IC 6-1.1-35.5-4.5
Level three program; rules; course sponsor
regulation
Sec. 4.5. (a) The department shall:
(1) administer a program for
level three assessor-appraiser certifications;
(2) design a curriculum for
level three assessor-appraiser certification candidates that:
(A) specifies
educational criteria for acceptable tested courses offered by:
(i) nationally recognized assessing organizations;
(ii) postsecondary educational institutions; or
(iii) other education delivery organizations; in each subject matter area of the
curriculum; and
(B) requires
superior knowledge of assessment administration and property valuation concepts;
and
(3) carry out a program to
approve courses that meet the requirements of the curriculum described in
subdivision (2) and approve course sponsors that provide these courses. Only an
approved sponsor may offer a course that meets the curriculum requirements for
level three assessor-appraiser certification candidates. The department shall
establish procedures and requirements for courses and course sponsors that
permit the department to verify that sponsors and courses meet the standards
established by the department and that candidates comply with these standards.
The department shall maintain a list of approved sponsors and approved courses
that meet the criteria for the level three assessor-appraiser certification
curriculum designed under subsection (a)(2).
(b) The department may adopt rules under IC
4-22-2 to implement this section. The department may adopt temporary rules in
the manner provided for the adoption of emergency rules in IC 4-22-2-37.1 to
carry out a program to approve courses that meet the requirements of the
curriculum described in subdivision (2) and approve course sponsors that provide
these courses. A temporary rule adopted under this subsection expires on the
earliest of the following:
(1) The date specified in the
temporary rule.
(2) The date that another
temporary rule or rule adopted under IC 4-22-2 supersedes or repeals the
temporary rule.
(3) January 1, 2014.
As added by P.L.219-2007, SEC.76. Amended by
P.L.146-2012, SEC.6; P.L.13-2013, SEC.17.
50 IAC 15-5-2 Practice requirements
Authority: IC 6-1.1-31-1
Affected: IC 6-1.1
Sec. 2. (a) In order to practice before the
property tax assessment board of appeals or the department, a tax representative
must:
(1) beginning July 1, 2001, be
properly certified in writing by the department; and
(2) have a copy of a properly
executed power of attorney from the taxpayer. The power of attorney shall be on
the form prescribed by the department and need not be re-filed if the form is
later revised.
(b) Property tax representatives may not be
certified to practice before the property tax assessment board of appeals or the
department for:
(1) matters relating to real and
personal property exemptions claimed on a Form 132 or 136;
(2) claims that assessments or
taxes are "illegal as a matter of law", whether brought on a Form 133 under IC
6-1.1-15-12(a)(6), on a Form 17-T under IC 6-1.1-26-1(4), on a Form 130 under IC
6-1.1-15-1, or otherwise;
(3) claims regarding the
constitutionality of an assessment; or
(4) other representation that
involves the practice of law.
(c)
Individuals who apply for certification or recertification as a tax
representative must furnish evidence to the department that they:
(1) are at least eighteen (18)
years of age;
(2) hold a high school diploma or
equivalent credential;
(3) are a certified Level Two
assessor-appraiser, but, after December 31, 2013, they must furnish evidence
that they are a certified Level Three assessor-appraiser;
(4) have completed the
educational course requirements of all rules adopted by the department related
to procedures for practice before the property tax assessment board of appeals
or the department; and
(5) have fully complied with all
rules adopted by the department regarding:
(A) professional
conduct and ethical considerations; and
(B) client
solicitation.
(d) A person who fulfills the requirements of
subsection (c) shall be granted a written certification that shall be effective
upon issuance by the department.
(Department of Local Government Finance; 50
IAC 15-5-2; filed Dec 5, 2000, 2:32 p.m.: 24 IR 947; filed Dec 13, 2002, 3:20
p.m.: 26 IR 1520; filed Dec 14, 2009, 2:34 p.m.:
20100113-IR-050090197FRA)
If you have
any questions, please contact Assessment Division Director Barry Wood at (317)
232-3762 or bwood@dlgf.in.gov.
