Have you ever checked out your property tax card for any land you currently own? Every parcel of land in New Hampshire has one of these cards. Or at least they used to. The form of the tax card has changed over the years, thanks to technology.
Years ago, you could head to the Assessor’s Office in your town or city to view your property tax card. The assessor would pull this heavy cardstock paper out of a file. All types of notes would be written on it. Some of the information might be in pen, while some was in pencil. Most of the time, you would be trying to see through the marks that scratched older information out. It was an excellent system, because you could ask the assessor about anything you didn’t understand when you were looking at the card.
Nowadays, all of the property tax cards are available online. This new way of checking out your tax card may appear much easier, but only if you understand exactly what you are viewing on the card. After all, there isn’t going to be an assessor standing next to you in your home as you are going over everything!
Reasons You Need to Read Your Property Tax Card
Some people may have no idea why they must even search for their property tax card, let alone understand what is written on it. Well, it is always a good idea to make sure your property is being taxed fairly. If you don’t want to pay more taxes than you should, you must make sure there are no documented errors on the card like the following:
- Property Type
- Land Size
- Age of Improvements
- Assessing Neighborhood and Location
- Land Use Code
- Size of All of the Improvements
Most of the time, all of the information on property tax cards is accurate. But you won’t know unless you take the time to check your tax card out!
What You Will See on Your Property Tax Card
There is no approved property tax card format, so your card might not look like another family member’s card. Especially if they live in another city or town in New Hampshire. Or even another state.
A few things you will see on your property tax card are as follows:
- Topography
- Utilities
- Street Road
- Location
- Name and Purchase Price
- Property Address
- APN
- Neighborhood
- Property Use or Land Use Code and Characteristics
- Size
- Frontage
- Factors Applied
- Building Permits
- Construction Details
- Cost and Market Valuation
You will want to go over all of this information carefully to make sure there are no errors. If you do find a discrepancy or error, you must notify the Assessor’s Office right away.
If a sketch or picture is included with your property tax card, I recommend that you make sure those are accurate as well. It is rare to find inaccurate pictures and drawings, but it does happen.
All of the information on your property tax card is used to determine the assessed value of your property. A depreciation factor is developed using any improvements made to the property. When you are considering the assessed value of your property, it is always best to ask yourself if you would be willing to pay that assessed value if you were to purchase your property right now.
In Conclusion
I know we didn’t cover how to fix any errors or discrepancies in this post, but you now have a better idea of what information is on your property tax card. And you know how to read those tax cards too. I recommend reviewing your property tax card if you have never done so. It holds a wealth of information about your property. Plus, you may find that you can lower your property taxes a little if you do happen to find an error.
If you happen to find errors when reviewing your property tax card, and can’t get them resolved through the Assessor’s Office, contact us for assistance. We can help with that, as well as many other real estate issues that occur when you are the owner of a piece of land.