What is a tax appeal hearing; when may I appeal; who hears my appeal? Tax appeals must be filed annually on or before April 1st or within 45 days of the bulk mailing of the Assessment Notices; or May 1st where a municipal-wide revaluation or municipal-wide reassessment has been implemented.

Once filed, a hearing before the County Tax Board is scheduled. The Tax Board consists of members (commissioners) appointed by the Governor. Tax Board Commissioners primarily hear disputes involving assessments. Hearings are usually scheduled during the day, but some Boards schedule differently. Individual taxpayers may represent themselves.

Business entities other than sole proprietorships must be represented by an attorney. The taxing district is the opposing party represented by the municipal attorney. The assessor or an appraiser may appear at the hearing as an expert witness.

Who is an expert witness? Besides your municipal assessor, an expert witness is anyone employed as a real estate appraiser, and designated as such from a legitimate association of professionals, according to licensing or certification requirements of the State of New Jersey. An expert’s qualifications may be challenged by the municipal attorney at the hearing.

If you intend to rely on expert testimony at your hearing, you must supply a copy of the appraisal report for the assessor and each County Tax Board member at least 7 days before the scheduled hearing. The appraiser who completes the report must be available at the hearing to testify and to afford the municipality an opportunity to cross-examine the witness.

Is a hearing always necessary? A hearing is always necessary. If the assessor, municipal attorney, and taxpayer agree to a settlement or otherwise resolve the issues, it may not be necessary for you to attend your hearing. Settlement stipulations must also be submitted to and approved by the County Tax Board. Should the Tax Board disapprove the stipulation, a formal appeal hearing would then be scheduled.

Will the tax appeal hearing be private? No. All meetings of the County Board of Taxation are public meetings.

When are tax appeal hearings held? Tax appeal hearings are generally held annually within 3 months of the April 1 or May 1 filing deadline (or between the December 1 filing deadline for added and omitted assessments and Jan 1.) Because adjournments are ordinarily denied, you should make every effort to attend your hearing. If you miss or do not attend your hearing without receiving a written notice of postponement, you may assume the case has been dismissed "for lack of prosecution”. Judgments "for lack of prosecution” are final for the current year and may not be further appealed to New Jersey Tax Court.

What is good evidence to convince the Tax Board to reconsider an assessment?

As the appellant, the burden is on you to prove that your assessment is in error, unreasonable, excessive, or discriminatory. You must suggest a more appropriate value by showing the Tax Board the market value of the property as of October 1 of the pretax year. To proceed with an appeal, all taxes and municipal charges up to and including the first quarter of the tax year must be paid.

The taxpayer must be persuasive and present credible evidence. Credible evidence is supported by fact, not assumptions or beliefs. Photographs of both the subject property (the property under appeal) and comparable properties are useful in illustrating your argument. Factual evidence concerning special circumstances is necessary.

For example, if the property cannot be further developed, e.g. conservation restriction, supporting evidence must be provided. In the context of an appeal, taxpayers can review Property Record Cards which are available at the local tax office. The most credible evidence is recent comparable sales of other properties of a similar type in your neighborhood. When using comparable sales, a listing of 3 to 5 sales should be attached to your appeal at the time of filing.

Your assessor and County Tax Board Commissioners must receive copies of your comparables at least 7 days before your hearing for them to be discussed. Sales ratio forms, called SR-1A’s, (available at the County Tax Board) and deeds (available at the County Clerk’s office) are public records and can be used to identify comparable sales and their significant characteristics.

Comparable means that most of the characteristics of your property and the neighboring properties sold are similar. Be able to give full property descriptions and be knowledgeable of the conditions, including financing, of the cited sales. Some characteristics that would make a property comparable are: recent sale price, similar square footage of living area measured from the exterior, similar lot size or acreage, proximity to your property, the same zoning use (e.g. duplex in a duplex zone), and similar age, construction and style of structure.

fniemann@scarincihollenbeck.com