As a property owner, the county places a value on your property that could mean thousands of dollars to you in tax liability. This value is considered the county’s property tax-assessed value. Is this assessed value also market value?
Your county determines your assessed value by evaluating the surrounding properties’ sales history and the subject property’s upgrades. Both counties utilize current tools intending to capture market value, although this is not considered market value. A licensed appraiser can determine market value using comparable sales, replacement, and income approaches to determine a property’s market value. The finality of market value is reached based on what a buyer is willing to pay for the subject property.
Nationally, counties assess their property tax at a rate of 10-20% of fair market value, according to Forbes.com. In Northwest Arkansas, Benton and Washington properties are taxed on 20% of the assessed value. For example, for a home located in Benton or Washington County with a tax-assessed value of $300,000 and a millage rate of 57.95, a property owner should expect to pay $3477 in property taxes.
Example:
$300,000 / 20%= $60,000
$60,000 /1000 = 60
60 x 57.95 (or your millage rate) = $3,477
Both Washington County and Benton County will be reappraised every four years. Washington reappraisal will go into effect in October 2024 for property taxes. Benton County’s reappraisal will go into effect in October 2025. Considering the area’s increase in value, both counties’ property owners should expect a sizeable increase.
Amendment, 79 of the State Constitution, provides several benefits to help with the increase in property values, such as:
A 5% cap on the annual increase of the taxable value on a homestead property.
A freeze on a property’s taxable value for anyone 65+ years old &/or disabled.
Just how off is the assessed value compared to the market value?
NWALook randomly analyzed five properties sold within the past seven days in Washington County and compared the market value to the tax-assessed value. The assessed value showed to be undervalued by 5%-36%. With the exception of one property, the tax-assessed value was over by 4%.
If you believe your Tax Assessed value has exceeded the market value. We suggest contacting your local Realtor for a comparable market analysis or an appraiser for an appraisal on your property. You can also contact the county where you are located to appeal the value of your property.
Benton County’s website: https://bentoncountyar.gov/assessor/appeals-process/
Washington County website: https://www.washingtoncountyar.gov/government/departments-a-e/assessor
Washington Real Estate Sales Tracker: https://arcserv.co.washington.ar.us/portal/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=1b854bc64b134cf3b0e2c7c0cc854ee5
