In addition to your basic property taxes, if your property tax bill seems unusually high especially during this housing crisis you may have a Special and/or Direct Assessment on your property. This will vary based on the area your property is located, there may be costs necessary to pay off any voter-approved general obligation bonds or other indebtedness, special assessments, or direct levies. Such as, a Direct Assessment may be applied to your home if voters decide to establish a sewage system in a neighborhood that is older where most of the residences use septic tanks. The direct assessment is used to cover the cost of this improvement to the neighborhood.
Generally, a direct assessment would be taxed over years so the homeowners are not inundated by the tax to pay for the new improvement. Special and Direct Assessments have a specific reason they are assessed such as a specific improvement to a community and will only last as long as it will take to cover the cost of that improvement. Typically, this type of debt causes a small fraction of a percent increase in the property tax rate.
Special and Direct levies that you may see on your property tax bill are applied by the county tax collector on behalf the local levying agency or district, not on behalf of the assessor, auditor-controller, and/or the county tax collector offices. Special and Direct Assessments are voter approved taxes so if there is any issue with it, it did not come from the Office of the Assessor. To find out more or to dispute a special assessment on your property, contact the levying district. Normally this information is on your property tax bill.
Even if you disagree with your property tax bill, it is not wise to refuse to pay a property tax bill that has the special or direct assessment, even when the direct levy amount is under dispute. Remember that even if you disagree with your property tax bill it is always wiser to pay the bill and get refunded later than to have an outstanding tax bill on your property. The processes to remove a delinquent property tax bill and all of the fines, require several signatures and documents within the Assessor's Office and Tax Collector and is pretty complicated. So keep it simple, pay your property tax bill.
About the Author: Valerie Faltas, Property Tax Expert has been involved in all facets of real estate for over ten years including assessments, appraisals, estates and trusts, investing and much more. She is a Certified Property Tax Appraiser, Licensed Residential Appraiser and a member of the International Association of Assessment Officers. As a real estate investor and advisor she is well versed in all aspects of real estate. To contact Valerie Faltas go to her website: www.propertytaxlittleblackbook.com.
