Accounting Services in Miami Help Business Appeal Personal Property Tax Values

Business Owners who believe their personal property values have been over assessed can benefit by appealing their tax bills using a skilled Accounting Services in Miami. A Florida taxpayer saved nearly $2,300 a year by taking this step. Three years ago, the retired mechanic appealed the $410,000 assessment on his Miami-Dade County Business, and he’s since done so annually. Accounting Services in Miami Accountants in Miami has gotten his personal property ’s assessed value—the basis on which taxes are paid—down to $180,000. “People can do it,” says Viera, if they’re willing to do the necessary research and meet the required deadlines.

Hire Pros like Accounting Services in Miami

According to Accounting Services in Miami, up to 60 percent of U.S. businesses are over assessed, leading to higher tax bills. Yet, “appeal rates are quite low,” roughly 5 percent of business­owners, says Gustavo A Viera, a Accounting Services in Miami. With prices dropping in many communities—and down by about half in some major metro areas—many local governments have not adjusted their personal property  tax values accordingly.

While Miami-Dade and other local governments assess personal property annually, most do so only once every three to five years, says Viera. That means many businesses still have assessments based on peak market years. In 2009, another Accounting Services in Miami, a financial planner in Dade County, appealed his personal property ’s assessed value, which was 22 percent higher than the previous assessment in 2005, during the market’s heyday. “The assessment didn’t reflect the actual value we could sell his assets for.

Even if your business assets are assessed annually and reflects the down market, it can still pay to appeal if you spot errors. “My business assets seemed to add a Server miraculously,” Viera says. Experts say to look for discrepancies in the tax assessor’s math and document comparable properties whose assessed value is less. Viera advises owners to look up recent sales online (like Craigslist). If these consistently produce a lower value than your new assessment, you’ll be in a good position to make an appeal.