Any taxpayer considering an appeal to their property taxes should first understand the deadlines and procedures involved.
Deadlines for Tax Appeals are continuously in a state of flux. If you are considering an appeal, it is of the utmost necessity that you contact your County Board of Taxation immediately upon receiving your tax bill to identify what your individualized filing deadline may be. The deadline to file a property tax appeal is normally April 1st, or within 45 days after the tax assessor mails you an assessment notice – whichever is later. However, this April 1st deadline may not always be when an appeal must be filed by. Monmouth County has a deadline of January 15th, and if any filing date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the filing date is pushed forward to the succeeding business day.
Additionally, an appeal deadline may radically change if the Municipality you currently live within goes through a revaluation year. A revaluation year is a program undertaken by a municipality to appraise or re-appraise all real property within that taxing district, according to what the municipality considers “full and fair value” as of October 1 of the pretax year. If such a municipal-wide revaluation or municipal-wide reassessment has been implemented, then ordinarily an appeal deadline will be May 1st. Nonetheless this date is also subject to change based upon when the revaluation occurs. Due to these fluctuations of filing time-frames, it is extremely important to preemptively call to identify the exact date which your appeal must be filed within.
All appeals for properties under $1,000,000 occur with your County Board of Taxation. This means that if you are dissatisfied with the judgment of the County Board of Taxation, you have 45 days from the date your judgment was mailed, to challenge this determination at your local level, and file a further appeal with the Tax Court of New Jersey. However, if your property is assessed for more than $1,000,000, you have the additional option of bypassing your County Board of Taxation, and filing your appeal directly with the State Tax Court. If your property falls within this higher threshold and is assessed for more than $1,000,000, but you decide to keep the tax appeal with your County Board of Taxation, the local Tax Board also retains the right to transfer the appeal directly to the Tax Court of New Jersey if they so choose appropriate.
The above items may be overwhelming and we at R.C. Shea and Associates can help you through the process. The law firm of R.C. Shea & Associates, Counsellors at Law, is a full service law firm representing and advising clients in the areas of Estate Planning, Estate Litigation, Personal Injury, General Litigation, Real Estate Law, Medicaid Law, Medical Malpractice, Workers’ Compensation, Land Use and Planning Law, Wills, Trusts, and Powers of Attorney and much more. Call or visit our office Toms River office at 732-505-1212, 244 Main Street, Toms River, or visit our website at www.rcshea.com.
