WHAT DOES THE TOWN ASSESSMENT MEAN TO MY REAL ESTATE TAXES
By: Linda McCaffrey, Associate Broker with Coldwell Banker Realty
There is always a lot of confusion about how the new town wide assessment will impact our real estate taxes. The town has an independent company determine the value of all properties every 5 years. This is the APPRAISED value. Generally, they set the appraisal slightly low so as not to create a flood of appeals at the town hall. The number that your taxes is based on is the ASSESSED VALUD which is 70% of the APPRAISED VALUE. This assessed value is multiplied by the current MIL to determine your taxes. The MIL rate will increase periodically due to increases in the town budget. It is also adjusted, usually downward, after a year when homes are reassessed.
To roughly estimate what your taxes will be after this current round, it is important to know that the AVERAGE increase was 21% (based on information from town hall). THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOUR TAXES ARE GOING UP 21%!!! Compare your previous ASSESSMENT to the new assessment. All things being equal: If your assessment went up 21% your taxes will stay the same. If they went up less than 21%, they would go down. If they went up more than 21%, they would go up.
That is the simple explanation but there are some other variables. The total valuation of every home and business is called the GRAND LIST. With the number of new commercial buildings, even if your property went up more than 21% you may not see an increase in your taxes. Your taxes are based on the amount of money it takes to run the town. With more properties paying taxes the percentage of the total that you pay goes down.
We know what the final number that you pay can be estimated but until we have the total GRANDLIST and this year’s budget you will not know. The final piece is that once those are determined a NEW MIL RATE will be set. IF the grand list and budget stayed the same the MIL RATE would be reduced 21% and your taxes would remain the same. These other 2 variables (Grand List and Budget) need to be factored in before the MIL rate is set. It is very likely that if the budget stays about the same the Grand List increases significantly, your taxes will go down, even if your assessment is more than 21% higher than it was 5 years ago.
At this point your taxes have not changed. They will change in June. The MIL RATE will be set by then and that is what you multiply by your ASSESSMENT by (not your appraised value) to determine your taxes.
WHAT DOES THE TOWN ASSESSMENT MEAN TO MY REAL ESTATE TAXES
By: Linda McCaffrey, Associate Broker with Coldwell Banker Realty
There is always a lot of confusion about how the new town wide assessment will impact our real estate taxes. The town has an independent company determine the value of all properties every 5 years. This is the APPRAISED value. Generally, they set the appraisal slightly low so as not to create a flood of appeals at the town hall. The number that your taxes is based on is the ASSESSED VALUD which is 70% of the APPRAISED VALUE. This assessed value is multiplied by the current MIL to determine your taxes. The MIL rate will increase periodically due to increases in the town budget. It is also adjusted, usually downward, after a year when homes are reassessed.
To roughly estimate what your taxes will be after this current round, it is important to know that the AVERAGE increase was 21% (based on information from town hall). THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOUR TAXES ARE GOING UP 21%!!! Compare your previous ASSESSMENT to the new assessment. All things being equal: If your assessment went up 21% your taxes will stay the same. If they went up less than 21%, they would go down. If they went up more than 21%, they would go up.
That is the simple explanation but there are some other variables. The total valuation of every home and business is called the GRAND LIST. With the number of new commercial buildings, even if your property went up more than 21% you may not see an increase in your taxes. Your taxes are based on the amount of money it takes to run the town. With more properties paying taxes the percentage of the total that you pay goes down.
We know what the final number that you pay can be estimated but until we have the total GRANDLIST and this year’s budget you will not know. The final piece is that once those are determined a NEW MIL RATE will be set. IF the grand list and budget stayed the same the MIL RATE would be reduced 21% and your taxes would remain the same. These other 2 variables (Grand List and Budget) need to be factored in before the MIL rate is set. It is very likely that if the budget stays about the same the Grand List increases significantly, your taxes will go down, even if your assessment is more than 21% higher than it was 5 years ago.
At this point your taxes have not changed. They will change in June. The MIL RATE will be set by then and that is what you multiply by your ASSESSMENT by (not your appraised value) to determine your taxes.
