Arkansas Property Tax Appeals & Important Dates
Consulting an experienced property tax advisor at Savage & Browning may make the difference in a successful reduction of your real estate taxes in your Arkansas county appraiser valuation appeal.
Most Arkansas property owners fail to protest their property’s valuation because they don’t understand the complicated process, aren't aware of their options, or know how to substantiate a claim stating their property is overvalued. Our experience allows us to effectively analyze your property’s value using one or more of the established valuation approaches. We have a proven history for successfully reducing valuations for a diverse range of property types.
We represent Arkansas property owners in their county tax appraisal appeal. We have won successful real estate property tax reductions for our clients in Pulaski County, Benton County, Washington County, Sebastian County, Faulkner County, Saline County, Craighead County, Garland County, White County, Lonoke County as well as in every corner of even the smallest Arkansas county.
We often are able to find more compelling reasons for reduction and additional favorable comparable properties to support the appeal in the more urban areas of Little Rock, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Springdale, Jonesboro, Rogers, North Little Rock, Conway, Bentonville and Pine Bluff.
Fair Market Value by County Assessors
In Arkanas assessors in each county are responsible for valuing all property January 1 of each year. If there are no changes recorded to a commercial property its value remains the same until it is automatically reappraised in either a 3 or 5 year cycle (depending upon the county). Reappraisals are also done when a property sells, has new buildings constructed, has structural additions or reports a change in property use. Owner-occupied to rental property for example.
DUring the reappraisal cycle either the assessor or their representative will physically visit each property to confirm structures, usage, imporvements, quality, condition and occupancy. The assessror will then apply one of the three valauation methods - Sales Comparison, Cost Approach or Income Approach to derive a final value
What are valid reasons to protest your Arkansas property valuation?
A property owner may protest their real property valuation with their county board of equalization if they think their property is assessed for more than its actual market value (valuation) or disproportionately valued in relation to similar comparable properties (equalization). Property owners have the right to appeal their property valuation every year.
Appealing County Valuation
The first step is to have an informal discussion with your county assessor regarding your property valuation. The assessor will answer any questions and review any additional, pertinent information you provide regarding the assessment of your property. If you are unable to resolve your issue or concern after an informal discussion, a protest may be filed with the board of equalization.
In order to protest, you or your representative must file a by letter or petition to the secretary of the County Board of Equalization on or before the third Monday in August
Your protest should include any pertinent information that will assist in proving that the assessed value of your property as of January 1 was not actual market value or not equalized with similar area properties.
Pertinent information may include, but not be limited to:
- Recent sale information involving the purchase of your property;
- Recent sale information of comparable properties in the area/county;
- A recent appraisal of your property;
- If disputing the condition of any structures or buildings on the real property, provide photographs
of the structures or buildings as of January 1; - For income producing properties, provide income and expense information; and
- For agricultural land, provide Farm Service Agency maps or other records showing the number of
certified agricultural acres.
The burden is on the property owner to prove their property has been incorrectly assessed. The experts at Savage & Browning know how to prepare a case for you that proves that the valuation protest is more than just a difference of opinion.
After your hearing, the Board of Equlaization will isue its final property valuation decision. County property owners may appeal the BOE property valuation decision to their County Court. All petitions must be filed by the second Monday in October.
All petitions should include:
- The name of the property owner;
- A valid mailing address and/or email address where notices may be received by the owner;
- A valid telephone number for the owner;
- The County’s parcel number placed on the property;
- The date of the BOE hearing (if the owner did not appear before the Board, please state the reason for the failure to appear);
- The Assessor’s value placed on the property;
- The BOE’s value placed on the property (if the Board did not change the Assessor’s value, then state there was no change);
- The alleged reasons why the BOE’s value is incorrect;
- The value sought on the property; and
- The reasons why the County Court should accept a newly proposed value.
The County Court must schedule a hearing for correctly filed petitions no later than November 15. The County Court will notify the property owner of its decision within 20 working days after the hearing, including the right to appeal the County Court Decision to the Circuit Court.
Don’t delay. Contact Savage & Browning today and let us get a jump on valuing your real properties and determining the best cases to be made for assessment reduction.
With the uncertainty of Covid-19 shutting down many businesses, property owners have seen unprecedented shifts in cash flow from shuttered businesses or residential tenants who lost the ability to pay rent. Additionally, there are other considerations that can be presented to justify assessment reductions:
- Equitability of the Assessment
- Building Age and Type
- Needed Improvements and Repairs
- Vacancy
- All Forms of Depreciation / Obsolescence
- Highest & Best Use of Your Property
As a part of our long history, our team worked hard over the years to build and maintain positive relationships with the various assessor offices and other property tax professionals. These relationships facilitate appeal and negotiation since we have proven our credibility time and again.
Our Process
We start each engagement with a Real Estate Appraisal Review that includes:
- Obtaining data from you, the client and taxing authorities.
- We identify appraisal methods used in assessing properties and audit the results for accuracy.
- We aggressively seek and secure refunds for past years tax over-payments when inaccurate assessments are identified.
- We use cost, market and income approaches in preparing appeals for presentation to taxing authorities.
- We review the assessed value of comparable properties to ensure fair and equal standards.
- We use comparable assessments and calculations of cash equivalency values in presentations to taxing authorities.
If we determine that your real estate valuation by the county is unjustifiably too high, we go to bat for you throughout the entire Real Estate Property Tax Appeal Process:
- We arrange for and conduct diligent, informal settlement discussions with taxing authorities.
- When advisable, we file written protests with tax appraisal review boards for all unsuccessful appeals at the informal level.
- We attend hearings and offer personal presentations of expert testimony before tax appraisal review boards to support lower values.
- If appropriate, we recommend legal counsel and provide support services for continuing an appeal at the state level.
Throughout the entire process you will receive status reports and so you know where we stand in your property tax valuation reduction appeal:
- A preliminary tax savings report using estimated tax rates.
- A final tax savings report using actual tax rates and identifying savings by property.
- A tax comparison report on a property-by-property basis including current and prior year's values and taxes.
- A narrative report pertaining to research, analysis, and negotiation activity.
Once we have established a familiarity with your property we are prepared to Administer your real estate property tax valuation on an annual basis, always looking for opportunities to appeal and reduce valuations or mitigate increases in valuation.
On your behalf we will:
- Respond to inquiries from taxing authorities.
- Provide tax estimates for accrual and budgeting purposes.
- On a timely basis, obtain, audit and forward tax bills to clients with an approval letter.
- Seek and secure corrected tax bills where inaccuracies are discovered.
- Upon request, provide clients with copies of parcel maps from taxing authorities.
- Verify the property tax proration on escrow closing statements for acquisitions or dispositions.
Important Dates
| REAL ESTATE | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Events | Notes |
| Jan 01 | Assessment Date | |
| Mar | Tax Bills Issued | |
| Apr 15 | Tax Bills Due | 1st installment |
| July 15 | Tax Bills Due | 2nd installment |
| Jul | Value notices issued | |
| Aug 20 | Appeal Deadline | 3rd Monday in August |
| Oct 15 | Tax Bills Due | 3rd installment |
| PERSONAL PROPERTY | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Events | Notes |
| Jan 01 | Assessment Date | Can assess new locations through May 15 |
| Mar 01 | Tax Bills Issued | |
| May 31 | PP Returns Due | |
| Jun -Jul | Value Notices Issued | Inventory Exempt |
| Jun 30 | Appeal Deadline | Or 30 days after notices are issued |
| Oct 10 | Tax Bills Due | |
| Nov 30 | Appeal Deadline | For most counties, If value notices issued after Aug 1 |
Ready to reduce your Kansas real estate property taxes?
Contact us today to learn more about how we reduce the single highest expense for most income producing properties.