BLOG: Property Tax Appeal
Borough’s Challenge to Change Assessment Unsuccessful
The Borough of Bergenfield filed appeals to the Tax Court challenging the judgments of the Bergen County Board of Taxation which reduced the assessments on two properties in tax year 2013. Dissatisfied with the county board’s decisions, the Borough took the appeals to the Tax Court and a trial was held in both cases. In... Read More
To Survive in NJ Tax Court – Forget Trust, Just Verify
In yet another opinion affirming a local property tax assessment, the New Jersey Tax Court found insufficient data upon which it could make a determination of value. In the unreported decision of VBV Realty LLC v. Scotch Plains Township, issued earlier this month (for copy of decision click here), the court considered a challenge to... Read More
5 Questions to Ask Before Appealing Your New Jersey Property Taxes
As the year begins to draw to a close, it’s common for many of us to start thinking about ways to save money in the coming year. Real property taxes are usually the second biggest expense for homeowners, trailing only the expense of a mortgage. If it has been a while since you’ve thought about... Read More
Two Recent Tax Court Opinions – One Focuses on Procedure, the Other on Substance
Here’s the latest, concerning two recently published opinions from the Tax Court of New Jersey: In 1959 Highway 24, LLC v. Twp. of Wall, the Tax Court clarified the ambiguity as to the filing deadline for counties participating in the Assessment Demonstration Program (“ADP”). The Legislature had enacted the ADP in 2013 and with the... Read More
Taxpayer Obtains Freeze Act Relief Amid City’s Outcry
As many are aware, the Freeze Act is a safeguard for taxpayers who have obtained a judgment either by trial or by stipulation of settlement. It protects the taxpayer by “freezing” an assessment for two years subsequent to the base year of a final judgment of the Tax Court. Generally, unless a taxpayer explicitly waives this... Read More
City Tries to Dismiss Tax Exemption Case for Plaintiff’s Failure to Check a Box
The plaintiff in West Side Community Center v. City of Asbury Park filed an appeal with the Tax Court to claim an exemption on its property. However, in its Case Information Statement, plaintiff had forgotten to check the box “Exemption/Abatement Claimed.” The City filed a motion to dismiss the complaint since it failed to specifically... Read More
Landlocked Property Yields Property Tax Reduction
Recently, in Acocella v. Cedar Grove, the Tax Court of New Jersey was asked to examine the value of a vacant landlocked parcel. The subject property is approximately one-acre and has no frontage or roadway access. It lies to the rear of plaintiff’s residential parcel, and surrounded on all sides by adjacent properties. Given the lack of... Read More
Township Argues for Dismissal on Grounds Taxpayer Submitted False and Fraudulent Information
A motion to dismiss for failure to comply with N.J.S.A. 54:4-34 (“Ch. 91”) is common practice in the Tax Court. In Alcatel-Lucent USA, Inc. v. Township of Berkeley Heights, plaintiff filed complaints challenging the assessment and also sought a farmland assessment exemption for tax years 2014 and 2015. For tax year 2014, the Township filed... Read More
Déjà vu all over again – Taxpayer fails to overcome presumption of correctness.
The New Jersey Tax Court recently issued another opinion finding that a taxpayer failed to overcome the presumption of correctness that attaches to a real property tax assessment. While we have, in the past, expressed frustration with the seemingly endless run of decisions that raise the bar for taxpayers, the Court had little choice here. ... Read More
Maximizing Savings Through NJ Property Tax Appeals
When was the last time you thought about how much you’re paying in property taxes on your New Jersey home or investment property? If there haven’t been major changes to your lot or building over the past few years, it may seem like there is no point in doing so. A number of factors, however,... Read More
