Getting the county to lower your tax bill is a very important matter to handle for all homeowners. Why would anyone want to give the government anymore than the minimum. Who would know better than you as to what properties are selling for in your neighborhood. With all of the foreclosures and short sales, of course, your property is not going to be worth what the Fulton County thinks it is worth.
First step is to get ahold of your valuation.
http://fultoncountytaxes.org/fultoniwr/11_depts_property_taxes.asp
Typically what we have done in the past is to file a property tax return and you can still do this to get the ball rolling early in the year (Jan 1 – April 1).
https://etax.dor.ga.gov/ptd/adm/forms/pt50r/lgs_taxpayers_return_of_real_property_pt50r.pdf
Even if you don’t file a tax return you still should receive from the County a valuation notice, which you have 45 days to appeal.
Anyway, if you don’t want to wait for the valuation to come to you, then the property tax return is still the best way to go. Section C of the form is where you give the County the bad news of how for down your valuation has dropped. After you file this document the County will respond with Notice of Current Assessment. This will be sent to you usually between April and June.
If you get turned down, the issue isn’t over. This is where you have the right to appeal. Don’t be scared by the word “appeal”. It merely refers to your option to tell them in person how wrong they are. And yes, the County makes mistakes as to valuation all of the time.
Appealing your appraisal is easy, but you must file the appeal within the deadline of 45 days from the turn down. After you file your appeal you will get a notice of the time and place of your appeal. Go there prepared with all the information you can find. If you have worked with a realtor, maybe ask her if she can help with some evidence of sales. Otherwise you can try the website www.zillow.com , or even www.realtor.com to give you some evidence of valuation.
Hopefully, at this point you have gotten satisfaction and property tax relief, but if the County is still stonewalling you, then you appeal to the next step, The Board of Equalization. Don’t worry about the long name. The Board is composed of citizens like yourself, many are retired and they are fulfilling their civic duty to help their fellow citizens to be treated fairly. I personally most enjoy this part of my representation of clients. The folks working the desk the day of your appeal are very nice, considerate, and concerned citizens. They have the same issues with County government that you do. Should for some reason you don’t want to go this route. Another route which I really don’t suggest unless you are dealing with multi-million dollar property that you feel will be beyond the ability of the Board, you are always able to petition for binding arbitration.
Hopefully, at this point you have completed the task, but if not, there is another appeal to the Superior Court of Fulton County. But honestly, in this context, such an appeal will most likely, with the cost of an attorney, be more expensive than just paying what you consider the too high tax bill
