Nassau Tax Assessments are Frozen - but are they correct?

The Nassau Assessor has again failed to correct assessments that are too high and instead uses the same assessments that were used for the 2020/21 tax year.

Due diligence and simple protections require the new 2023 assessments to be checked to see if they are correct; assessments are only part of the tax picture as the ratio of assessment to market value changes almost every year and the Covid pandemic has certainly changed values.

The tax rates have risen dramatically since the 2020 re-assessment and even if the assessment stays the same the taxes might be higher.

That is why it is important to have the assessment checked during this filing period now open until April 30, 2022 with an experienced tax certiorari attorney.

Stay alert for correspondence from the Assessor and stay safe.

The Nassau County Real Estate Tax Assessment Fiasco

 

Nassau County does not assess commercial and residential properties at full value. That would be too transparent and taxpayers would really know how the Assessor values the property. Instead, the Nassau Assessor, from time immemorial, uses a ratio of assessment to market value. Even the ratio of 1% that they show on the web site has now been changed for purposes of filing a complaint to the assessment.

After several years of no change for Nassau assessments, every property was re-assessed. Not only a new assessment but a new ratio of assessment to market value. Many properties that had been granted assessment reductions, were re-assessed at a higher value and many properties that had not been granted assessment reductions were re-assessed at a lower value. Having a lower assessment does not mean that the assessment is now correct you can still protest the assessment.

Generalizations do not work when correctly valuing over 430,000 distinct and different properties regardless of a re-assessment increase or decrease. Most properties paid a higher school tax this October 2021 and will most likely have a higher tax in January. Yes, tax rates increase almost every year but that does not mean you have to simply pay that tax without making sure the assessment is correct.

The only way to protect yourself from higher taxes, in the future, is to protest your assessment this January with a reputable experienced tax attorney.

NASSAU REAL ESTATE TAX ASSESSMENTS IN TURMOIL

Many Nassau County tax assessments have been reduced, but beware! Tax rates will have to be increased to meet the budgets. Almost daily we see a news story or opinion article on the outdated and broken Nassau County real estate tax assessment system. The probable take over of Nassau finances by NIFA (Nassau Interim Finance Authority) exacerbates the situation. Recently the County Executive announced a private appraisal firm would negotiate the real estate tax protests with the tens of thousands of homeowners complaining about their assessments. The administrative review of the commercial cases has all but stopped. There is a lot going on but so far the system has become more complicated and cumbersome. Maybe that's the plan.