Property Tax - Assessor's Error

[CuckoosNest]

What is the name of your state? NY

I own a new home that was completed at the end of 2005; 2006 was the first tax year that the house was assessed and we paid taxes on it. We felt that our taxes were too high with the first assessment, but in speaking with the town assessor, she told us that we would not be able to use comparable houses near us as a basis for reevaluation. Discouraged, we did not file a grievance.

The town has done a tentative reassessment for 2007 and, once again, our assessment was very high. This time, we went to directly to Town Hall to see why our house was assessing so exorbitant. As it turns out, the assessor had incorrect information regarding our home... the square footage was listed 20% higher than the actual amount, and they even had photos of someone else's house in our file.

The town is in the process of correcting the new assessment. However, because of their error, we overpaid by over $1000 last year. The assessor has informed us that they will not issue a credit and that we're SOL.

This seems entirely unfair considering the mistake was theirs. Do we have any recourse?

As always, I thank you! (PS - I'm posting this also in the Real Estate forum as I'm not sure which forum would have jurisdiction over such a question.)

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state? NY

I own a new home that was completed at the end of 2005; 2006 was the first tax year that the house was assessed and we paid taxes on it. We felt that our taxes were too high with the first assessment, but in speaking with the town assessor, she told us that we would not be able to use comparable houses near us as a basis for reevaluation. Discouraged, we did not file a grievance.

The town has done a tentative reassessment for 2007 and, once again, our assessment was very high. This time, we went to directly to Town Hall to see why our house was assessing so exorbitant. As it turns out, the assessor had incorrect information regarding our home... the square footage was listed 20% higher than the actual amount, and they even had photos of someone else's house in our file.

The town is in the process of correcting the new assessment. However, because of their error, we overpaid by over $1000 last year. The assessor has informed us that they will not issue a credit and that we're SOL.

This seems entirely unfair considering the mistake was theirs. Do we have any recourse?

As always, I thank you! (PS - I'm posting this also in the Real Estate forum as I'm not sure which forum would have jurisdiction over such a question.)

Honestly, we can't help you here because your issue is so "local". If anyone could help you it would be a local tax professional.

 

[Ozark_Sophist]

A similar thing happened to me. After long delay, the county reassessed all the property. My assessment went up over 300%. A run around later, I got to look at the file -> not only was my house included, but also my neighbor's house and detached 2 car garage. I was told they could not credit or adjust the previous year's taxes.

 

[abezon]

Your recourse is to get the town council to amend the property tax challenge procedure so you can backdate a claim. Unless that happens, you missed the deadline to appeal & are SOL.

Moral of the story: When dealing with the government, don't accept an off the cuff answer from a low-level clerk, especially if it isn't the one you want to hear. Get a formal answer in writing.