In the 9 years that I have cried taxes professionally, I have been asked many of the same questions over and over again. I’d like to take a few minutes to review some of this information in order to dispel some myths about lowering property taxes.

The most common questions were the following:

Does filing a property tax complaint invite a higher appraisal by the appraiser?

What are my chances of winning?

Do I need a lawyer to file for me?

It is expensive?

These questions prevent many homeowners with legitimate cases from filing. The answer to the first question is that the law and many court cases support a property owner’s right to challenge their property taxes. In reality, when he files a case, he is not aggrieved by taxes, but by the assessed valuation that the tax assessor has assigned to his property. The evaluator cannot raise his evaluation to “teach him a lesson.” It is his legal right to pay only his fair share of taxes. The law provides this method for homeowners to challenge unfair appraisals without any fear on the part of the assessor’s office. Remember, tax assessors are just doing their job to properly assess properties in order to raise taxes for schools, fire police, and other city services. They are not the bad guys. All tax advisors I have dealt with have been fair and honest. They have a difficult job to do and they do it with remarkable efficiency.

The odds of winning are excellent if you have done your homework to prove your case. The paperwork is not very difficult. It should take less than an hour to prepare the documents for filing. The important thing to remember is that there is a specific day each year beyond which you cannot file your case. Be sure to find out what this day is. If you lose it even one day, you will be out of luck until the following year.

Most states do not require an attorney to present your case. An attorney is generally only required for certain business cases that go to court. Residential property does not require an attorney to file a case on your behalf (most states).

In most cases, the costs are minimal to file a tax complaint, if at all. Some states only require a fee if your case goes before a judge. Most cases are heard before a board of review, which is free.

In a later article, I’ll cover the evidence you need to submit and some money-saving tips for homeowners.