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How to appeal your property assessment

The assessed value of your home should reflect the amount a buyer would pay for the property at the time of assessment.
The appeals process begins with written notification to your local assessing official. Appeals begin at the local level and can be appealed to the state only after being reviewed locally.
The county assessor is responsible for all assessment duties if you do not have a township assessor.
If you receive a notice of assessment known as Form 11, you should initiate an appeal within 45 days of the notice. If no Form 11 is sent, the tax bill serves as the notice of assessment and you should initiate an appeal within 45 days of the date of the tax bill or May 10, whichever is later.
You are not required to use Form 130 ti begin an appeal. Indiana law only requires written notification to the local taxing official. The notification should include the name of the taxpayer, the address and parcel or key number of the property and the address and telephone number of the taxpayer.
Under Indiana law, you are not required to submit an appraisal of the property in dispute to appeal the assessment. Information about acceptable evidence to support an appeal is available at http://www.in.gov/ibtr/2420.htm
If the value of a property has increased by more than 5 percent from the previous assessment date, the burden of proof rests with the local assessing official.
The Madison County Assessors office can be reached at: (765) 641-9402.
Source: Indiana Department of Local Government Finance

Related Photos

  • Madison County Assessor Larry Davis speaks to the Tea Party at the FOP on Thursday. Don Knight

    0219 news assessor 053 cutout.jpg

Discussion

February 18, 2012

Assessor not pleased with errors, record keeping

At meeting, Larry Davis shows how to evaluate property reassessment

By Stuart Hirsch The Herald Bulletin

ANDERSON, Ind. — Four years ago, Larry Wells bought a home in the 1800 block of Broadway for $50,000.

When he decided to refinance last year and take advantage of near-record-low mortgage rates, an appraiser valued the house at $47,000.

Given the continuing struggles of real estate markets here and around the nation, that number wasn’t surprising.

Wells was surprised, however, when his property assessment notice for 2011 arrived recently and placed the assessed value of his home at $67,800.

He was among about 30 Madison County residents seeking answers to property tax questions at a Tea Party Patriots of Madison County meeting on Thursday, when Madison County Assessor Larry D. Davis and Treasurer Kelly S. Gaskill talked about property assessments.

As part of the discussion, Davis invited people to share their property assessment information, which he called up on a computer.

Wells was one of about a half-dozen property owners who agreed to share his. In just about every instance, there were errors in the assessments, which could result in lower property taxes if the owners chose to appeal.

When Davis retrieved Wells’ assessment card — which contains detailed information about structures and improvements, including dimensions of buildings, condition, materials used and amenities such as decks or pools — the assessor began asking questions.

Do you have two detached garages and a shed?

No, Wells replied. The previous owner connected the garages to the house, and the shed was removed and turned into a garden area.

All that information should be reflected on Wells’ assessment card, Davis said.

Since taking office a year ago, Davis and Gaskill said they have encountered serious record-keeping problems that have accumulated over the years, such as outmoded computer software and inaccurate or outdated information, which they are working to correct.

Davis notes, for example, that there are nearly 85,000 parcels in the county. Of that total, 9,000 assessment cards didn’t have mailing addresses, and 7,500 were returned because the mailing information wasn’t correct.

“I’m not very happy with the records,” Davis said. “There’s no excuse to have 9,000 notices returned. I’m responsible for the assessor records, and I want them to be accurate.”

Homeowners have an important role to play in making sure information is correct, by checking the records every year, he said. Most don’t, however, because in the vast majority of cases, property taxes are paid by mortgage holders and banks through annually-adjusted escrow funds, and homeowners are barely aware of it.

Gaskill said her office is in the process of converting to new computer software that matches what is used by the county auditor’s office so that both officials and their staffs have access to the same information.

“At the end of the day, the taxing units, the assessor, auditor and treasurer must work together,” she said.

Overall in the county, Davis said, individual property taxes this year will be the same as last, with one significant exception. The valuation of agricultural land will rise by 17 percent because of a state mandate.

Wells said the inaccurate information in his assessment was disappointing, and “tells me someone wasn’t doing his job.

But he praised Davis for trying to clean things up.

“I feel like he’s trying to help Anderson,” Wells said. “I hope they get these things straightened out. I think there are probably a lot of homes in Anderson that are in the same way as mine.”

Contact Stuart Hirsch: 640-4861, stu.hirsch@heraldbulletin.com

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