TAX BILLS CONFUSING TO SOME PROPERTY OWNERS

The Davidson County Trustee has mailed property tax statements to owners, causing many taxpayers to ask why their tax bills are higher or lower than last year.

Property Assessor George L. Rooker Jr. said some people may be confused about how Tennessee’s mass reappraisal and certified tax rate laws work to restore equity and fairness in the assessment of property taxes.

“Under state law, we were required to reappraise all taxable real property effective January 1, 2009,” Rooker explains. “The purpose of reappraisal is to ensure that the value assigned to properties is brought up to date so the property tax burden is distributed fairly and equitably among all property owners.

“The fair market values of all properties change over time, but not uniformly across a large area like Davidson County’s 502 square miles,” Rooker explained. “Between 2005, when the last reappraisal was effective, and 2009, some neighborhoods increased in value substantially, while some actually lost value.

“By reappraising every four years, we effectively ‘split the property tax check’ according to the pro rata value of each property. Once the reappraisal is completed, the certified tax rate law requires that the property tax rates be adjusted to bring in the same amount of revenue as the prior year.”

Rooker noted that the tax rate was adjusted downward and then raised back up by the Metropolitan Council at the request of previous mayors after each of the 1993, 1997, 2001 and 2005 reappraisals. However, this year, Mayor Karl Dean did not request a tax rate increase and Council left the lower certified tax rates in place.

The tax rates were lowered as follows: in the General Services District, from $4.04 to $3.56 per $100 of assessed value in the Urban Services District from $4.69 to $4.13 per $100 of assessed value.

“The effect of the certified tax rate after reappraisal means that property owners whose values increased more than the countywide average during the four years will pay more in taxes while those whose values were lower than the countywide average will pay less.”

As a result, some taxpayers in neighborhoods where property values have increased substantially since 2005 are receiving statements from the Trustee showing an increase in taxes due even though the certified tax rate was kept in place. Others are seeing a reduction.

“The Nashville real estate market was fortunate in holding values better than many other cities,” Rooker said. “Countywide, values wound up almost 15% higher than 2005, even though the market began slipping in late 2008 from its previous high of a 25% gain.”

Most economists have declared the recession is now over but predict a slow recovery to the previous highs in the real estate market nationwide. Many expect the Nashville market recovery will be faster because it resisted the early trends.

NOTICE TO TAXPAYERS AND OWNERS OF TAXABLE PROPERTY IN DAVIDSON COUNTY

Records of the 2009 classification, appraised value, and assessed value of all taxable property within Davidson County are open for inspection by the public, taxpayers and property owners weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., at 800 2nd Avenue North, Suite 1. Much of the same information also is available on this website under the WebPro Data button above.

  Contact Tom Jaynes at (615) 862-6080 if assistance is needed.