It’s that time of year that everyone is getting their property tax bills from the county tax assessor’s office. Here are some things we want you to know. Tax bills are mailed out some time in October. You should get a copy along with your lender; If your taxes are escrow. If you do not escrow your taxes then they need to be paid by January 15th to avoid any penalty. If paid after but before:
- February 1st, there will be a 3% penalty.
- By March 16th – there will be an additional 7% penalty
- After March 16th – there will be an additional 5% penalty
If you purchased your home this year and the tax bill has the previous owners name on it, don’t worry its still your bill. You can contact the tax assessors office to have them correct their records.
If the taxes is extermly high but everything looks right on the assessment. This may be a case of the owner occupied rate of 4% -vs- Investment property at a rate of 6% and this situation could occur if you didn’t apply for your 4% legal residence assessment. When you buy residential property in South Carolina, the State automatically assumes it is an investment property, and sets your tax rate to 6%, not 4%. That 2% isn’t nominal; it’s 3x the actual amount owed. At this point, you need to contact the assessor’s office and see what you need to do get that rate lowered. The most likely place to start is with this form, Application for Special Assessment of Legal Residence. The assessor will most likely want to see your driver’s license with the address of the house for which you are claiming legal residence, a copy of the Closing Disclosure that the closing attorney provided when you purchased your home, and copy of a Utility Bill. These items will be useful. If you are already a South Carolina resident with a South Carolina Drivers License, and have not changed your address, then you can can fill out this form on the South Carolina DMV website and order a new license quickly. If you are not a South Carolina Resident, then you will need to visit one of our local DMV offices to obtain a new license.
If you look at the assessed value and feel that it is too high and you didn’t realize your house was worth that much and are ready to sell Call Me! or if your gut reaction is “My house would never sell for that!”, then you can contest the assessment. The county uses a confusing algorithm to assess your home, and there are different rates for different areas of town.Homeowners Guide to Property Tax In SC
if you think you need to appeal the Tax Assessed value of your home there are some steps that will need to be followed:
1- File a written objection with the assessor with ninety (90) days of dated notice received.
2- A field review will be conducted by the assessor and the property owner will be notified of the results of the review
3- A conference will be scheduled within thirty (30) days, the assessor will request that you provide, within thirty (30) days, additional data to help determine the value of your property.
4- After the field review is complete you will be notified in writing. If you still disagree with the assessment, you have thirty (30) days to file written notice of your request to appeal your assessment to the Richland County Board of Assessment Appeals, a member panel of Richland County citizens who shall serve as the final local authority in such appeals.
5- Remember an appeal submitted before the first penalty date (January 15th) applies for the property tax year for which that penalty would apply. An appeal submitted on or after the first penalty applies for the succeeding property tax year.
Below is the actual law.
Here is the actual Law –
Note: the following was taken from Richland County Assessor’s Office, Your Guide to the 2014 Reassessment Program.
“SECTION 12-60-2520 of the SC Code of Law allows for a property owner to object to a property tax assessment made by a county assessor and this appeal is required to be in writing. The letter of appeal should be addressed to the Richland County Assessor, John Cloyd and can be as simple as I disagree with the valuation and/or assessment for (Tax Year) and would like to appeal it for (Tax Year). The appellant would want to include their: name, current mailing address and a daytime telephone number.
Once the appeal is received by our office, it will be logged in and the property will receive an appointment letter indicating an appointment date and time to meet with the appraiser of their neighborhood. The appointment letter will include the appraiser’s name and telephone number should the appellant need to talk with the appraiser before the meeting. At the meeting the property owner will be provided an “appeal form” (see what’s involved with the form below.)that will be required to be completed and returned to the appraiser within 30 days of the meeting. The form will also assist the appellant in making sure that pertinent information is provided to the Assessor’s office. to meet with the assessor within the time limits provided in Section 12-60-2510. This written request is a notice of objection for purposes of this subarticle.
(B) If, upon examination of the property taxpayer’s written objection, the county assessor agrees with the taxpayer, the county assessor must correct the error. If, upon the examination, the county assessor does not agree with the taxpayer, the assessor shall schedule a conference with the property taxpayer within thirty days of the date of the request for a meeting or as soon after that as practical. If the matter is not resolved at the conference, the assessor shall advise the property taxpayer of the right to protest and provide the taxpayer a form on which to file the protest. The property taxpayer has thirty days after the date of the conference to file a written protest with the assessor. The protest must contain:
(1) the name, address, and telephone number of the property taxpayer;
(2) a description of the property in issue;
(3) a statement of facts supporting the taxpayer’s position;
(4) a statement outlining the reasons for the appeal, including any law or other authority, upon which the taxpayer relies; and
(5) the value and classification which the property taxpayer considers the fair market value, special use value, if applicable, and the proper classification. The taxpayer may use the form prepared by the department, but use of the form is not mandatory.
(C) The assessor shall respond to the written protest and the response must:
(1) be in writing;
(2) be mailed to the property taxpayer by first class mail within thirty days of the date of receipt of the property taxpayer’s protest or as soon thereafter as practical;
(3) include a statement of the initial property tax assessment and the redetermined property tax assessment;
(4) state that the redetermined property tax assessment will become final if the property taxpayer does not appeal the property tax assessment to the county board of assessment appeals; and
(5) inform the taxpayer of procedures for all further appeals.
(D) The assessor may amend, modify, or rescind any property tax assessment, except claims relating to property tax exemptions.
(E) Each protest and each response must be filed and maintained at the office of the assessor for four years, and must be made available for examination and copying by any property taxpayer, at the taxpayer’s expense pursuant to Chapter 4 of Title 30, the Freedom of Information Under the provision of state law, the property owner may reasonably challenge his appraisal/assessment using the following procedure. (South Carolina Department of Revenue 12-60-2520 as amended). “
We are more than happy to help provide our clients with comps for their appeals form reach out to our office at 803-227-6943 and just ask an agent to help, we will need some information to complete the comps. We are here to help and you do not have to be a client.
Property taxes are like tooth aches no one likes to pay, but the revenue obtained from those taxes help to provide services needed in our community and also helps to maintain local infrastructures. they are sadly a necessary pain If there is anything we can do to help answer your questions, please feel free to reach out to us at 803-227-6943 or email at rozalynfranklin@kw.com
