CINCINNATI – If you live in Ohio, prepare for a sticker shock when it gets to your home if it doesn’t show up in your mailbox already.
As many homeowners learn during this vacation season, their values - and so will the tax burden for the next year – will rise.
Along with their Christmas cards, homeowners in Hamilton, Butler, Warren, and Clermont counties have received letters from the Grinch in the past few days proving their homes are appreciating.
Christy Combs is among them. She owns a 1,500 square foot house on the east side of Cincinnati.
“I assume ours, like most people, have increased significantly,” she told WCPO.
The value of their home increases from $ 304,000 to $ 346,000 for the New Year.
That’s another $ 40,000 in home valuation during a vacation season when many families struggle.
“Doing a reassessment when there’s a global pandemic, I think it’s a little unfair to everyone,” said Combs. “There are many people who are unemployed or not getting their typical salary.”
Why the new ratings during a pandemic?
While the timing for these letters is not ideal during the holiday season, it is all due to Ohio state law that requires county auditors to reevaluate values every three years.
And this latest assessment comes after a sharp rise in house prices.
Hamilton County’s chartered accountant Dusty Rhodes says it’s all based on real estate sales.
“We are using the latest sales on market terms,” said Rhodes. “That’s all we have to do, the sales information from the multiple listing service.”
He says the average home value in Hamilton County, Ohio was up 14 percent 3 years ago (some areas are much lower, but some neighborhoods are up 20 percent or more, based on recent home sales).
This is great news if you have your home up for sale soon, but not so great when it comes to your property tax.
But Rhodes says taxes should only rise 3 or 4 percent, much less than the valuation increase, because schools can’t take more tax dollars without a vote.
“People often say we’re just trying to raise money for the county or the schools. We can’t, it’s against the law,” said Rhodes.
What you can do
Would you like to see your new value and taxes?
Go to your accountant’s website, find your home, and click the Taxes tab.
You can see what property tax you’ve paid over the past 5 years and compare it to your new tax bill.
You can also see a history of your home’s valuation (sometimes it’s shocking to see how cheap homes were in the 1980s).
For many homeowners, your tax bill can be as low as a few hundred dollars a year or less, says Rhodes.
Do you think the new value of your home is unfair?
You can contest the new numbers by filing a dispute with your auditors between January 2nd and March 31st. (For more information on filing a dispute, please visit your district auditor’s website.)
However, Christy Combs believes that valuations and taxes are just too high in the Cincinnati area.
“I just think that they will price people out of their current situation or tax them,” she said.
As always, don’t waste your money.
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