Tax appeals follow a specific timeline. It is exact and unforgiving. Failure to meet any of the prescribed dates WILL result is dismissal of your appeal.
Filing Dates For Tax Appeal
- April 1 – Filing deadline for appeal. The appeal form must be RECEIVED, (not just postmarked), by the County Board of Taxation on or before April 1 of the tax year.
- Or 45 days from the date of bulk mailing of Notification of Assessment is completed in the taxing district, whichever is later.
- May 1 – If the subject property lies within a taxing district where a municipal-wide revaluation or municipal-wide reassessment has been implemented, the deadline is May 1.
- December 1 – Added/Omitted Appeal Filing Deadline.
- If the last day for filing falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the last filing day shall be extended to the first succeeding business day.
Corrective Tax Appeal Filing Date
- The Correction of Errors law allows a property owner to seek to correct “typographical errors, errors in transposing, and mistakes in tax assessments,” providing that the mistake does not relate to “matters of valuation involving an assessor’s opinion or judgment.” If an error falls within this definition, a property owner can go back four years to correct an error.
- On or before December 31, (10 days before filing of the complete tax list and duplicate), of the pre-tax year, the assessor must give notice by advertisement when and where any taxpayer may inspect their assessment for the coming year. If the taxpayer can convince the assessor that the Tax List is in error, then a correction can be made before the list is filed with the County Board of Taxation on January 10 of the tax year. This eliminates the need for a formal tax appeal.
- After the tax list and duplicate have been filed on or before January 10, the assessor no longer has the authority to make changes in the tax list.
- If an error is discovered after certification of the tax list by the County Board of Taxation, many County Boards will require the filing of a formal tax appeal to carry out correction of the error.
Discovery Dates
- Discovery’ is just the legal way to say you show me yours and I’ll show you mine.
- Informal Tax Assessor Meeting – No formal discovery though you must bring your evidence with you to the meeting.
- Interrogatories – Either party may serve interrogatories on the other party. These must be served within 10 days following the petition of appeal deadline. The served party must produce their answers with 20 days after being served.
- County Board of Taxation – At the Board level, all discovery, including appraisal report evidence must be completed / presented at least seven days prior to the scheduled hearing date.
- State tax Court – Discovery dates at this level are driven largely by the scheduling of the tax appeal hearing.
County Tax Board Hearing
- Tax Appeal hearings are generally held within 3 months of the April 1 or May 1 filing deadline, (or between the December 1 filing deadline for added and omitted assessments and January 1.)
- Adjournments are ordinarily denied. Make sure to attend the scheduled hearing. Failure to attend without receiving written notice of postponement will result in dismissal for ‘lack of prosecution’.
- A judgment for ‘lack of prosecution’ is FINAL for the current year and may not be further appealed to New Jersey Tax Court.
Chapter 91 Deadline
- Chapter 91 form mailings – you must respond to the written request of the assessor for a chapter 91 disclosure within 45 days of such request.
- Each year, the assessor will send by certified mail, (as required per N.J.S.A. 54:4-34), a ‘request for information’ to income-producing property owners*. This entails an income and operating expense form and is sent to owners of ‘income producing’ property. It is critical to complete this in full and return it within 45 days from time of receipt.
- Failure to comply within the specified time frame, (or at all), will result in forfeiture of the right to appeal for the tax year in question.
- *Chapter 91 applies to all properties, residential and non-residential. It is not a defense to assert that the property is not income producing – the key is whether it is capable of being an income-producing property
**The Chapter 91 form is sent to the ‘addressee on record’. If you have 3rd party property management, make sure you have a mechanism in place to immediately notify you as to when these forms are received. Municipalities have become increasingly skilled at using this rule to weed out appeals and the courts have continually ruled in favor of the municipality in case of dispute.
