Hearings Underway for Challenges to Tax Assessments

Several months of hearings are underway for property owners who have challenged their proposed property tax assessment with the Value Adjustment Board. The Clerk & Comptroller’s office, which processes petitions for VAB and schedules hearings, received a record-breaking 18,325 petitions this year. That represents a nearly 40 percent increase over the 13,200 appeals filed in 2008. VAB petition filings have steadily increased in recent years, jumping nearly 300 percent since 2003.

There are many factors that may have contributed to this year’s rise in petitions, including the sluggish economy, proposed increases in property taxes, and changes in legislation that puts the burden of proving the accuracy of the assessment on the Property Appraiser. In previous years, the Property Appraiser was presumed correct and the taxpayer had to prove the information was wrong. 

More Online Petitions
This year, approximately 5,000 VAB petitions were filed electronically using myVAB, a convenient online filing system offered by the Clerk’s office. All petitioners can use myVAB to check the status of their appeal, view scheduled hearings and more.

Background
The Property Appraiser notified property owners of their property’s assessed and market values in a Truth in Millage (TRIM) notice mailed on August 21. VAB, which consists of two county commissioners, one school board member and two citizen members, approves and hires special magistrates to settle any disputes between the property owner and Property Appraiser. It is an independent entity that is not affiliated with the Property Appraiser or Tax Collector. VAB hearings began on October 14 and are expected to last six to nine months. For more information on myVAB or the Value Adjustment Board, visit the Clerk & Comptroller’s Web site or call (561) 355-6289.