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Just off the phone with the auditor's office and confused... want to get my ducks in a row before I call them back.
Just received our tax bill and was told that it was for land only because the assessor had not put a valuation on the house yet.
However, the amount of the bill is such that it could be for a house. The land is listed as Appraisal of 120K, and Assessment of $7,200, millage rate of 237.1. The tax listed as due is $1,618.32.
We were told by the bank that a 400K house would be @ $1,608 total yearly tax in MP, so how could tax on land be almost the same as tax on a 400K house???
Also wondering if anyone knows if they do revisions/rebates on tax bills. I was told our 4% Legal Resident Exemption that we filed for hasn't gone through yet, and won't go through until the assessor finishes up with his work. We had someone out here last week measuring, so I am assuming that is part of it.
Are we paying the higher 6% with this bill? Or does the 4% exemption only apply if the assessor has a valuation for the house recorded? My point is, I don't want to miss out on getting the 4% because the town is behind in it's work.
Will we get a revised bill once that happens? My bank for some reason pays the tax bill in November, so they are paying this one, not waiting for a revision, if there is one.
The backstory is we bought the house and closed in March 2016, moved in a month later. It was new construction but was completed when we purchased it (we did not have it built - someone else did and the deal fell through).
We are in the exact same position as you. A tax bill of 3X greater then we expected.
So, we just talked with the office and they are waaaaaay back logged on the paper work. We filled our forms in early September for a house purchased at the very end of July. They said they will get to it when they get to it. We should pay the bill by January if it is not resolved and we can get a refund
I just called again and that's what they told me also.
Not real happy with the closing attorney, as we closed at the end of March and he told us to go file for the 4% exemption in August, which we did. What he didn't know, I guess, is that the turn-around for processing the paperwork is 120 days.
I guess the good news is the refund is automatic and we will have a cushion in our escrow account....
We went through the same thing. I never did hear back if the 4% went through. It also seems as if the first year you get taxed on land assessment only. Your tax bill was close to what we paid year one. Now my new tax bill takes the assessed value of the house, minus some pretty large rebates for sales tax credits and a "state property tax relief benefit". Looks like my taxes went up about $300 or so from last year even at 4%, so expect that.
I just called again and that's what they told me also.
Not real happy with the closing attorney, as we closed at the end of March and he told us to go file for the 4% exemption in August, which we did. What he didn't know, I guess, is that the turn-around for processing the paperwork is 120 days.
I guess the good news is the refund is automatic and we will have a cushion in our escrow account....
Doesn't sound right. I closed in Oct of 2014 and the 4% panned out.
Maybe there are a lot more people moving here since 2014, or they had staff cuts, and so the processing time for the 4% Legal Residence Exemption has changed. Obviously the closing attorney in our case didn't know 2 months wasn't sufficient turn-around time.
Sounds like you had an even shorter turn-around timeframe Ziggy - same month to process? - since the tax bills go out at the end of Oct.
I left a message for the department who handles the processing, and the girl who took the message told me don't expect a call for a couple of days, that they are swamped.
We went through the same thing. I never did hear back if the 4% went through. It also seems as if the first year you get taxed on land assessment only. Your tax bill was close to what we paid year one. Now my new tax bill takes the assessed value of the house, minus some pretty large rebates for sales tax credits and a "state property tax relief benefit". Looks like my taxes went up about $300 or so from last year even at 4%, so expect that.
Our tax bill is close to $10,000 and were expecting something closer to 3K (and change), so it can't just be the land!
What you are seeing is the difference between the 6% and the 4%. I thought it was a simple 2% difference, but it is not, the assessor's office told me it's a 2/3 difference, so basically multiply what you should be paying (at 4%) times 3 and you will be close to the "unadjusted" tax bill you got. Same thing I had, but not that expensive.
If the 3K is not right though, you've got another issue and need to talk to the assessor's office.
People are only taxed on land only the first year if their house wasn't "on the books" with a valuation by 12/31 of the preceding year, which ours wasn't.
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