New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania also have substantial property taxes. Again, the systems are different; but one rule can be applied across all four states is that there is a specific filing period which must be followed strictly. Should you fail to file inside the filing periods for these various jurisdictions, you will lose your right of appeal for that tax year. As in New York, the filing periods actually vary in each taxing jurisdiction. This is in contrast to New Jersey where the filing period across the state is no later than April 1. Thus, anybody involved in real estate who is interested in bringing a real estate tax appeal must confer with a local expert in the tax appeal field. Because of the strict procedural requirements as well as the fact that many of the appeals will be heard in a court setting, it’s an invitation to disaster to engage in do-it-yourself appeals in any of these states.
Valuation principals – – income, market and cost approaches – – are different in each state. As with any jurisdiction, the tribunals hearing these appeals have certain tendencies and sympathies for one approach over another. You cannot know this unless you get a local professional – usually a lawyer – to guide you.
Posted in: Tax Certiorari