How is my property appraised?
To appraise your property, a staff of professionally trained appraisers will do the following:
- Reviews and verifies permits relating to your property
- Compares physical structure to the permit
- Carefully measures outside perimeter of the structure
- Sketches footprint of the structure
- Sections out porches, patios, garages and unfinished areas because they are computed at a different rate from heated areas.
- Makes special notes of exterior wall material, fireplaces, roof structure, story height, bedrooms and any additional features.
- Transfers all measurements, notes, and preliminary sketches to a property record card.
- Values property and classifies it to ensure that the proper assessment is applied.
What is the difference between an appraisal and an assessment?
Confusion over the difference in an appraised value and assessed value is quite common. The appraised value of a property is an estimate of its fair market value, while the assessed value is a fractional amount of the appraisal. The fractional amount varies depending on the classification of the property, which is determined by its use. The assessed value, not the appraised value, is applied to the tax rate to produce a tax bill. One of the reasons the assessor inspects all property is to verify how it is used. The assessment percentages applied to the various property classifications are shown below:
- Public Utility Property 55%
- Commercial Property 40%
- Industrial Property 40%
- Business Personal Property 30%
- Residential Property 25%
- Farm Property 25%
A commercial property appraised at the same value would have an assessed value of $40.000
(.40 X $100,000 = $40,000)
What is personal property?
Personal Property is the tangible and intangible property used, or held for use, in a business. "Business" includes:
- Partnerships
- Corporation
- Other business association not issuing stock, and
- Individuals operating for a profit as a business or profession in Marshall County.
There are 10 groups of tangible personal property:
- Group 1: Furniture, fixtures, general equipment, and all other property not listed in any other group
- Group 2: Computers, copiers, fax machines, peripherals, and small tools
- Group 3: Molds, dies, and jigs
- Group 4: Aircraft, towers, and boats
- Group 5: Manufacturing machinery
- Group 6: Billboards, tanks, and pipelines
- Group 7: Scrap properties
- Group 8: Raw materials
- Group 9: Vehicles
- Group 10: Construction -in-progress
How is personal property appraised?
The tangible personal property schedule is used to calculate personal property appraisals for a business. When completing the schedule for a business, it is important to include all tangible personal property used or held for use in the business as of January 1 of the current year. To avoid a forced assessment, a completed schedule must be returned to the Assessor before March 1 of each year.
Below are some quick tips:
- For each group of property items, list the original cost by the year acquired under Revised Cost.
- For years in which the cost on file is provided, list any new cost totals resulting from acquisition or dispositions of property (under Revised Cost).
- Equipment purchased at the end of a lease must be reported in the year in which the lease began, showing the original lease contract cost, not the payoff year and value.
- Personally owned items used in a business must be reported.
- A separate schedule must be filed for each business location.
- All items fully depreciated or exposed on your accounting records must be included.
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What is a forced assessment?
A forced assessment occurs when a business owner fails to file a personal property schedule by the March 1 deadline. When a business owner fails to file a personal property schedule, the assessor has no information to determine a personal property assessment; therefore, the last year's appraisal is duplicated. To have a forced assessment set aside, an appeal must be filed with the local Board of Equalization prior to the current year's deadline.
Why is a reappraisal necessary?
Reappraisal eliminates inequities that are created over time by changes in the real estimate market. This ensures fairness and equity for all property owners. A property's fair market value can increase or decrease. If the assessor's record of a property's fair market value does not change with the market, some people could pay too much in property taxes, while others could pay too little. That is why the state of Tennessee requires the Marshall County Assessor to conduct reappraisals every five years.
Reappraisals allow the assessor to adjust property values so that every property in Marshall County is appraised at fair market value. The cost reappraisal occurred in 2012 and the next reappraisal is scheduled for 2017.
Between reappraisal cycles, the assessor's staff will perform the following:
•Visually inspect all property in Marshall County so that the assessor's assessment records reflect each property's actual characteristics, such as: square footages, story height, extension wall type, garage, carport and detached buildings. •Verify all property transfers as they occur in the market places. Appraisals verify each sale in order to ensure it is an arms-length transaction. These verified sales are recorded in a sales file to compare to properties of similar size, age, location and description to help establish fair and equitable property values.
State law protects property owners during reappraisal years. State laws also protect property owners from paying more than their fair share of property tax because a reappraisal has occurred. It provides for adjusting the tax rate to a level that would bring in the same amount of revenue as before the reappraisal years at the expense of the property owners.
The Assessor's office is a complete resource for property-related information in Marshall County. Questions on a wide range of topics from property ownership and sales history to appraisals and square footage can be answered.