Do Not Overpay the Property Tax Due on Your Aircraft

It is likely that you already received your aircraft’s property tax statement and chances are you do not agree with the value at which your county assessor’s office valued your aircraft, especially given the fact that aircraft values have dropped significantly since 2008.

This begs the question, what can you do to reduce the assessed value of your aircraft and in turn lower the amount of property tax due on your aircraft?

You generally have two options: an informal appeal and a formal appeal. Both options have deadlines that are specific to your respective county and it is likely that your opportunity to make an informal appeal has already passed.

In the case of an informal review, you can either call or write to your respective assessor’s office to informally review the value of your property. This option is often more desirable than a formal appeal in that it is not necessary to appear at a hearing. While the deadline to request an informal review has likely passed in your county, some assessor’s offices may be willing to discuss your specific situation over the telephone. In some cases, your county assessor may still be willing to reduce the assessed value of your aircraft without having to go through a formal appeal. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of an informal review or with the result after speaking directly with the assessor’s office, you still have the opportunity to file a formal appeal.

Depending on the county that your aircraft is in, a formal appeal must generally be filed by September 15th or November 30th. A formal appeal must be completed on the respective assessor’s detailed application form and it is important that the form be completed accurately and filed timely to avoid rejection of your appeal. Most county assessor’s offices receive thousands of property reassessment appeals and it is likely that your hearing date will be scheduled at least a year from the date you file your appeal. It is especially for this reason that you should attempt to contact your assessor’s office before you file a formal appeal. It may save you the headache, time and expense of the formal appeal process.

It should be noted that filing an appeal for reassessment does not mean that you do not have to pay your property taxes by the due date. It is important that you pay your property taxes by the due date to avoid having to pay interest and penalties. If successful on appeal, you will receive a refund for the property tax that you are found to have overpaid.

As a final note, while a formal appeal may result in a reduction in the assessed value of your aircraft, it may also raise the assessed value of your aircraft. It is for this reason that you should collect and review all your evidence prior to actually filing your appeal. You do not want to go through the lengthy appeal process and have the appeals board tell you that the assessed value of your aircraft should remain the same or that the assessed value of your aircraft was too low.