Have you ever looked at your property tax card? If you haven’t, you may want to check it out sooner than later. We have heard from a few people that they were paying too much in property taxes. The reason being their property tax card had incorrect information listed. Your tax card may not have any errors. However, you won’t know that until you actually take a look at it.
How to Read a Property Tax Card
Where to Find Your Property Tax Card
So, how do you read a property tax card? Well, first, you need to know where to look for your card. In the state of New Hampshire, you can easily find your property tax card online. Simply pull up your county or town’s website. Enter some basic information and you will have your tax card up in no time at all.
If you are lucky, an employee will have typed all the information into the system for you. This will make the property tax card much easier to read.
If you are not lucky, you will be looking at a scanned copy of your property card. Scanned versions can be difficult to read. Actually, a physical copy of a card can be difficult to read. Other people’s handwriting is not always legible. Add in items that may be crossed out, written in faded pencil, and smudges, and you can see why some people give up instead of trying to figure it all out.
What is Listed on Your Property Tax Card
There is a lot of information listed on your tax card. We won’t list them all out, but here are the items most people are interested in seeing.
- Property Address
- Location
- Neighborhood
- Size and Frontage
- Owner Name and Purchase Price
- Construction Details
- Building Permits
- Types of Utilities
- Usage of Property
- Cost and Market Valuation
When you find your property tax card, you should read it carefully. It is important to make sure all of this information is correct. If you find information that is incorrect, you should report those errors directly to your Assessor’s Office.
Why You Should Check Your Property Tax Card
There are so many reasons why you should check your property tax card. However, the biggest reason is the one we listed above.
Paying too much in taxes
If your tax card lists incorrect information, it may cause your property to be assessed at an incorrect amount. That may mean you could be paying more in property taxes than you should.
The items on your property tax card you should pay the closest attention to include:
- Land Size
- Property Type
- Land Use Code
- Location/Neighborhood
- Types, Age, and Size of Improvements
Of course, you should make sure everything is correct on your tax card. Even if it doesn’t affect your taxes.
If you look at your property tax card and still can’t figure out how to read it, contact your town or county property clerk. They can assist you and answer most of your questions.
Check out your property tax card today and make sure all of the information is correct. Compare your assessment to your tax bill. If anything is wrong, contact your Assessor’s Office. If you have difficulty making changes to your tax card or changing your property tax assessment, contact our office for a consultation.