Ada County Tax Assessor Wrong Again - Taxes Go Up

Well, its that time of the year again. Everyone in Ada County will be receiving their tax assessment notice in the mail. When this should be the time of year spent with family, reflecting on the great memories made over the year and giving to people in need, we can not forget about the time and commitment we have to dedicate to disputing our Ada County homes tax assessed value.

It never seems to amaze me how the Ada county tax assessor gets it wrong. In fact, are we even sure he lives in the Treasure Valley? It is common knowledge that home values in the Treasure Valley and specifically Ada County and Canyon County have gone down over the last 3 years. Home values peaked in summer of 2005 and have been on a down hill slide ever since….so how come our assessed value keeps increasing!

…Because they can get away with it. It is a numbers game. They will increase the tax assessed value of thousands of home owners, make the tax assessed value dispute process grueling, confusing, and almost impossible for many, thus take more money from people like you and I, (tax payers), to pay the assessors salary.

So, What Can You Do?

Here is what the Ada County Tax Assessor States You Need To Do: “If you feel that your assessed value is higher than what your property would probably sell for on the open market, then we encourage you to submit market information to support your position. The appraiser assigned to assess your property will consider any evidence you wish to submit. Typical market information comes in the form of a realtor’s comparative market analysis, copies of independent appraisals done for sales or refinance, repair estimates or any other pertinent data”.

As you can see they specifically state that typical marked data comes from a real estate agent or a property appraisor. We all know that nothing is free in this world, so the County assumes you will not waste the time, money and energy on disputing your homes tax assessed value.

I wrote this blog not out of anger but out of frustration. Everyone knows property values have been going down over the last few years, yes even Mr. Tax Assessor knows it. 

I urge you to take the time to review your tax assessment notice. If you see that your homes value has increased you may want to file an appeal. After all, it is your money they are taking.  

Here is a link to the Ada County Filing An Appeal Page. There you will find a link to the appeal form.

If you need to receive market value information for your home please complet the form at the left of the page.