Mill Rates

Description

A mill is equal to $1.00 of tax for each $1,000 of assessment. To calculate the property tax, multiply the assessment of the property by the mill rate and divide by 1,000. For example, a property with a assessed value of $50,000 located in a municipality with a mill rate of 20 mills would have a property tax bill of $1,000 per year.

For more information on property taxes pleas evisit the information center: http://findapropertytaxlawyer.com/PropertyTaxInformation.php

Tax attorneys specialize in understanding the interplay of different tax laws

Tax attorneys specialize in understanding the interplay of different tax laws and regulations, and in planning strategies to minimize people's tax liabilities. Many tax laws are written by lawyers for lawyers, and as such are very difficult to understand. There are also many different types of taxes and tax laws–for example, income taxes, corporate and business taxes, death taxes, property taxes, estate and gift taxes, sales taxes, and international taxes. Sometimes taxes are based on an inflated or incorrect value the government has placed on an entity or activity. Tax attorneys will help you challenge the value or the tax itself, and help you reduce your taxes through careful planning.
Please visit http://findapropertytaxlawyer.com/index.php to learn more.

Property tax relief offers more help

WHERE WE STAND:For the average New Jerseyan, sizable property tax credit will return more money.
Big talk about tax reductions should be music to most New Jerseyans’ ears ... if they believe the governor and their legislators. Trust politicians? OK, let’s not get too excited.
But if it does happen, which form of tax relief is best for New Jersey? We don’t think there’s much to argue.
While a reduction of the state income tax, proposed by Republican Gov. Chris Christie, would be welcome, a reduction of property taxes (really money back to taxpayers based on their property taxes) would be better. Why? It is property taxes, now approaching $7,900 a year for the average New Jersey homeowner, that cause the most pain for residents, particularly seniors and others on fixed incomes.
So, in considering the options, we think the Democrats’ plan for a property tax credit of at least 10 percent is what should come to fruition.
State Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester is pitching a plan that would be a credit of 10 percent on property taxes (up to $1,000) for households earning less than $250,000. Democratic leaders in the state Assembly, including Majority Leader Louis Greenwald, D-Camden, are pitching a plan that calls for a credit of up to 20 percent on property taxes. The big difference between the two plans (besides the percentage) is that Greenwald’s calls for raising the income tax rate on millionaires in New Jersey while Sweeney’s plan doesn’t.
Christie has rejected Democratic plans to re-institute the “millionaire’s tax” before and has vowed to do so again. GOP legislators support him. So the reality is that the millionaire’s tax isn’t going to happen.
But property tax relief in the form of credits against income taxes should happen. If it’s 10 percent, great. If compromise gets it to more than that somehow, even better.
Do the math and it’s simple: a New Jersey couple, who have taxable income of $100,000, based on the 2011 state income tax rate schedule, would pay $2,750. Slash 10 percent with an income tax cut and they save $275.
Say that couple live in a home with property taxes of $7,000 a year, under the state average. Give them 10 percent against that and they’re saving $700.
All sides are posturing here, playing to various audiences and not talking about all the fine print in their plans. And if they wanted to truly fix our state’s great tax problem rather than just put on Band Aids, they’d work on shifting much of the burden of paying for government services away from property taxes.
Assuming they still don’t have the courage to start that process, a property credit of at least 10 percent will help more New Jerseyans who truly need tax relief than will Christie’s income tax cut. So deliver the property tax relief Band Aid in 2012.

How to Lower Your Property Taxes in New Jersey

Property taxes are based on the assessed value of your home. Properties with higher assessed values have higher property taxes. If you can prove to your municipality that the assessed value of your home is too high, they will lower the assessed value, and this lowers your property taxes.

Tax assessor's assessment notice on your home

Every January or February, homeowners in New Jersey get a postcard from their tax assessor with the assessed value of their home. Look on the postcard for the Assessment Total. This number is NOT an estimate of your home's value. For that, you will have to do a little math.

Go to the New Jersey Division of Taxation website through the link in the References section. Click on your county. Find the three tax ratios for your city. If these three ratios are not between 0 and 1, then divide them by 100. For example, if your tax ratios are 24.86, 29.25, and 33.64, then divide them by 100 to get .2486, .2925, and .3364 Now they are between 0 and 1.

Divide the assessment total on the postcard by the middle of the three tax ratios. If the assessment total is 200,000 and the middle tax ratio is .2925, the result is 200000/.2925 = 683,761. This result is your tax assessor's estimate of your home's value.

Your tax assessor is allowed to be wrong by up to 15 percent when estimating the value of your home. To calculate 15 percent below what your tax assessor estimates your home's value to be, divide the assessment total by the highest of the three tax ratios. If the assessment total is 200,000 and the highest tax ratio is .3364, the result is 200000/.3364 = 594,530

The result from Step 4 is your magic number. If you think your home's value is less than the result from Step 4, you may be able to appeal your home's assessed value and lower your property taxes. In this example, the result from Step 4 is 594,530. If the home in question is worth less than $594,530, then the home's assessed value can be appealed.

Your county's tax board is where you file the appeal of your home's assessed value. You can hire a real estate attorney to file the appeal for you, or you can file on your own if you own the property yourself and not as part of a business with co-owners. The deadline to file is April 1.

Recent comparable sales are the best evidence to bring to the tax board. These are recent sales of properties similar to your own, preferably from around Oct. 1 of the previous year. An appraiser can provide recent comparable sales. Your real estate attorney will hire an appraiser.

There is a filing fee to go to the tax board, and your lawyer will charge a percentage of the first year's tax savings.

Michigan Legislature Reviewing Key Personal Property Tax Reforms

State Rep. Mark Ouimet and Lt. Gov. Brian Calley will meet with residents in western Washtenaw County on April 30.
When state Senate Republicans unveiled a proposal two weeks ago to eliminate some portions of our state's personal property tax (PPT), there was some justifiable concern from local government officials.
The PPT is mainly distributed to local municipalities to help provide services to residents and any reduction of that revenue source could affect those services and programs.
That's why I scheduled a special town hall meeting in western Washtenaw County on April 30 so local officials could learn more about the proposal. I invited Lt. Gov. Brian Calley as my special guest to help explain the plan and answer questions.
Michigan's PPT is a tax that businesses pay on such items as machinery, furniture and other equipment. Since some neighboring states don’t levy a similar tax, many believe the PPT puts Michigan at a disadvantage for retaining and attracting additional jobs.
The Senate proposal recommends a "phase out" of the PPT over the next 10 years. In doing so, four different exemptions are used to gradually eliminate the state tax on commercial and industrial personal property.
It's a comprehensive plan to reduce the cost of doing business in Michigan, while helping locals retain 98 percent of their current budgets. Although I have not made a decision on how I will vote on the plan because it's still early in the process, one thing that is for certain is I will not vote for anything that does not properly replace lost revenue to our local cities, townships and villages. Our communities must still be able to provide services to residents.
The Legislature's top priority is to improve Michigan's economy, so we have a duty to consider any proposal that would potentially create more jobs. The PPT reform proposal must be considered in the Legislature in an open and transparent way.
It has always been my intention to find some type of replacement revenue if, in fact, the Legislature ever votes to reform the personal property tax. This is a huge issue for Michigan local governments and I will continue to seek input from my local elected officials as this issue moves through the legislative process.
Many people realize that our first priority is to make Michigan more conducive for job creation. To help in this process, Michigan should never punish small businesses for making long-term investments in our communities.
I'll also work to make sure local governments are not undermined. If PPT reforms take place, we must make them in a way that works for everyone.