If you have received a card in the mail within the last few days that resembles a property tax bill, look a littler closer. What you have is actually a notice of a Tennessee Assessment Change Notice regarding your property.
DeKalb County is among nine other counties in Tennessee undergoing a current value update (CVU) for the 2008 tax year.
When a county is on a six year reappraisal cycle, such as DeKalb County, a current value update is required in the third year of the cycle. This update is applied to those subgroups within the county that have fallen below current market value. Therefore, some properties appraised values may or may not increase in a CVU. Additions and or improvements to your property since the last reappraisal cycle can affect how much you pay in property taxes.
The notice you have received shows the appraised and assessed values for property tax purposes for your property. The assessed value is a percentage of appraised value determined by state law according to the classification of the property (residential, commercial/industrial, farm, or public utility). A local tax rate is then applied to the assessed value to determine the amount of taxes due.
Once reappraisal is completed in the cycle, the state reduces the property tax rate in the cities and county to a new certified rate to generate the same revenues as the previous tax rate. Local governments can set property tax rates higher than the certified rates following public hearings.
DeKalb County’s property tax rate, currently at $1.70, will go to a new certified rate of $1.45. Smithville’s rate will drop from 68 cents to 62 cents and the rate for Alexandria will go from 85 cents to 76 cents per $100 of assessed value.
For more information call 597-5110. You may also file an appeal with the DeKalb County Board of Equalization which will meet June 9th through June 20th from 8:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. at the courthouse.
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