Second, let me address some of the common issues.
1. The deadline is Monday, July 23. In order to avoid a penalty, you will need to go ahead and pay them even if you have a dispute. You can fix the issue after the fact and at a time when your Auditor, Treasurer & Assessor's office staff are in a better frame of mind and not so defensive. Remember, they are just the messengers and they are getting yelled at all day. (Unless it is the auditors office and I'm seeing that this has been the source of many of their frustrations-they told me they installed new software this spring and it caused all sorts of problems).
2. Didn't receive your tax bill?
You may go online to http://in53.plexisgroup.com/map/index.html and look up your property. Hint: If you type in "address", you can only put in your house number and scroll through the results listed for your property. It will not find your property at all if you enter the entire address.3. Your taxes are very high?
Check your assessment notice from last fall. If you do not have it, go to the website above and print your property info sheet and/or the assessor's card and/or the tax bill to see what your property has been assessed at. It will be broken down as land and improvement values.
Important note: My assessment value on the notice did not match my assessed value on the tax bill. I asked why. They sent me a new updated assessment notice in January but I did not see it because the former owner of the property was the recipient. I had no opportunity to dispute it but will do so when the dust settles. This is why I would tell you to check and compare the two.
There are a few things that will make your taxes higher than before that could be changed.
1a. If the property is assessed at a value higher than you expect your property to be worth, an appraisal is the only thing that may help you. You will need to prove to the assessor that the value is incorrect.
2a. If you had a homestead exemption on your property, chances are it is no longer there. The auditor's office had some sort of a glitch in the new software and many of these disappeared. This is good for a credit on your assessed value and well worth your while to check out. You will see this listed on your tax bill. If it is no longer there, just go in to the Auditors office at the Monroe County Court House and take your copy of your tax bill. They will add it back quickly. I'm not sure what they will do if you overpaid this time. I'm assuming it will be adjusted for you on the November bill but you should ask. You are only eligible for this credit if this is your primary residence.3a. If you have a mortgage, then you need to make sure your mortgage exemption has been applied. It is also worth a pretty good credit on your taxes. I'm not sure, but I think you may only have this on two properties. You can ask the auditor if you're curious. I know there is a limit but I just can't remember what that limit is. The process for adding this back is the same as described above for the homestead exemption.
4. If you have a tax bill for a property you do not own?
Yes, this has been happening. It happened to me on three properties. The "why" is a long story. Let's just suffice it to say that in two cases the clerk made an error on the data entry process of a property transfer and in one case the clerk wrote in the wrong lot number on the description when the lot next door was transferred. These are both addressed in the auditor's office.
Please do not throw the bill away. Remember the problem of not receiving your tax bill? Chances are, if you have one that is not yours, the person who does own the property probably did not get his/her tax bill. I would recommend putting it in an envelope and mailing it to its rightful owner if you can figure out who that is. I'm fairly certain that the auditor's office will not do so if you deliver it to them even when you explain that it is not yours. Which, by the way, is exactly what you should do as well. You need to have them correct the billing address and get to the bottom of why you received it. I tried to do this last week and after 3 hours in the court house, I was able to fix nearly everything except for these things. The very young man at the counter said he would try to take care of it. KEY WORD: TRY! I'm certain that when I go back in (about 3 weeks from now) to make sure it has been fixed, I will be met with a blank stare and have to start over. I say this not because he didn't care, but because there were about 40 people in that small office space all wanting something from him, none of them very happy. There was, however, a delightful gal there who fixed my mortgage exemption and mailing address issues lickity split. She seemed to know exactly what she was doing and when I asked her, I found out that she has been there a very long time. These are the clerks you hope you will get to.
5. Taxes escrowed with your lender? BEWARE!
Do not assume that the lender will check your tax bills in the way I described above. Ask the lender or the auditor for a copy of what was sent to your lender. Don't wait until the escrow summary comes in November from your lender. Check it out now.
Think about it: The bill for the lot I don't own happened to come to me. If it had gone to the lender who had financed the lot I actually own, they likely would have paid it. Their computer systems may not check the legal description or make sure that it is correct. They could have paid my neighbor's taxes. This could be fun to clean up if your neighbor doesn't want to reimburse you.
I BELIEVE IT WOULD BE GOOD IF THE COUNTY WAS REQUIRED TO PROVIDE A COPY OF THE BILL TO THE PROPERTY OWNER IN THE CASE OF THE TAXES THAT ARE BEING ESCROWED. OR...REQUIRE THE LENDER TO PROVIDE A COPY OF THE TAX BILL WITHIN 14 DAYS OF RECEIVING IT.
