Be Good to Yourself – Keep Your New Year’s Resolution to Appeal Your Property Tax
You should start the new decade off right - by being good to yourself! If you own real estate in New Hampshire, there is one resolution that you should make and keep every year, and that is to appeal your local property taxes by March 1st. No life-style change needed to keep this resolution, only the commitment to follow-through and file for that N.H. property tax refund.
Whether you own commercial property or simply own a home, property taxes represent a significant expense in owning this type of property. For homeowners, property taxes are the second largest expense behind the mortgage over the life of the property. For many people, the most valuable asset they own is their home. A house is more than a place to live: it is an investment, and you should treat it as such and do whatever is cost-effective to maximize your return on your investment. One of the most cost-effective ways to maximize the return on an investment in a house is to appeal the property tax bill by March 1.
Many people file for and receive a federal income tax refund almost every year. If there is one tax law that most people know, it is that if you don’t file for a refund of your income taxes, you will not receive one. The same holds true for refunds of property taxes. If you do not file for a refund of your property taxes by March 1, you will not receive one. While you may not receive a refund of your property taxes every year that you file, the years that you do receive a refund may more than make up for the years that you do not receive a refund.
Many commercial property owners file for refunds of their property taxes every year because they know it is important part of maximizing the returns on their investments. While you should base any appeal on some evidence that you have that the assessment is incorrect, the most significant mistake in an assessment may not be discovered until after March 1, so if you have not filed for a refund by March 1, you are out of luck for that tax year.
While the process to request a refund in New Hampshire is arcane and unfamiliar to most people, for homeowners, it will soon get a lot easier. RETaxRefund.com has developed a tool that will soon be available to make it easier to file for a refund of property taxes. A Free Tax Estimate Tool will let homeowners estimate the amount they could receive from filing a request for a refund. By entering your address and current assessed value and some basic information about your property it will estimate your potential savings for the current tax year.
If there is one thing that you should take from this blog, it is appeal your New Hampshire property taxes by March 1.
Allobar Strategies provides professional assistance in evaluating the fairness of property tax assessments. If you would like assistance with an evaluation of your property tax, please visit Allobar Strategies or call (603) 333-2211.
By: John F. Hayes, Esq., General Counsel to Allobar Strategies.
