If you own your own house or you own farmland, you’ll likely be paying more for your property taxes.
“First of all, don’t ignore your notice that you got in the mail from the county. Number two, don’t take for granted that [what you owe] didn’t change,” says Katrina Hall, Senior Director of Policy Strategy and Advocacy with Indiana Farm Bureau.
If you own property in 72 of Indiana’s counties, you should have already received a Notice of Assessment (Form 11) from your county assessor that spells out how much the taxable value of your property, both land and structures, has changed between January 1, 2021, to January 1, 2022.
“All farmland across the state will go up 16.28 percent based on the change in the assessed value from the farmland formula that Farm Bureau worked on a few years ago at the General Assembly,” according to Hall. “We know that it will be increasing. A lot of that is based on a lot of additional federal money that came to farmers over the last couple of years as well as increased commodity prices.”
Hall also says property taxes on residential properties are likely higher.
“It’s based on the demand for housing and most people know that that sales price of homes around them or just across the country have gone up based on a pent up demand for single family housing and so that will be reflected,” says Hall.
Even if you think the change is reasonable, you should research your parcels to make sure the county assessor used accurate data about the characteristics and features of your property to calculate your assessed value.
With that in mind, Hall recommends that you examine your property tax bill thoroughly to make sure you’re not being overcharged.
“If you think that your taxes have gone up you too much, the first place to start is the county assessor,” according to Hall. “[You must] file a form, and the form number is 130, and what it does is it essentially gets you in the queue for a meeting with your county assessor where they’re required to hold an informal meeting with you and hopefully, at that time, you can get things corrected that you noticed where the measurements or age your whatever else in involved in your property assessment can be corrected.”
If you don’t come to an agreement, your appeal will move on to the local Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals, where you will need to specify what is wrong with your assessment supported by evidence. The county assessor will then present their rationale and evidence.
If Notices of Assessment in your county were mailed before May 1, you have until June 15, 2022, to file an appeal with the county assessor questioning the new values of your parcels. If your county mailed Notices of Assessment after May 1, you have until June 15, 2023, to file an appeal. The date of mailing is in the lower right-hand corner of the Notice of Assessment.
Click HERE to download the form to file an appeal with your county assessor for a meeting to review your property tax assessment.
Click BELOW to hear C.J. Miller’s report on How to Appeal Your Property Tax Assessment If You Feel You’re Overcharged.
Click BELOW to hear the FULL interview with Katrina Hall, Senior Director of Policy Strategy and Advocacy with Indiana Farm Bureau.
