Commercial Property Tax Management Tips for New Property Owners

Becoming a new business owner is an exciting moment in any aspiring entrepreneur’s life. However, while the day-to-day operations of your business are extremely important, there is one annual event you should never leave to chance; tax season!

Commercial property tax mistakes can cost business owners exorbitant amounts of money. As commercial property tax experts, the team at the Hegwood Group always says it’s best to be prepared.

As you receive your property tax assessment and later, your actual property tax bill, keep these tax management tips in mind to ensure that you don’t pay an inflated tax amount on your commercial real estate.

Ensure Correct Property Characteristics on an Assessment

Your local property assessor’s office is responsible for assessing all properties throughout your community. Since many of these offices are understaffed, mass appraiser programs are used to assess the value of commercial properties.

Unfortunately, to err is both human and mechanical, and your assessment could end up with incorrect property characteristics that increase the estimated amount you’ll pay in taxes.

Some of the most common characteristic mistakes on commercial property assessments include the following:

  • Building square footage
  • Improvements that have been made on the property
  • Zoning mistakes, and more!

How can you take proactive steps to ensure the correct assessment of your property is made? Reach out to a local property tax consultant and conduct your own assessment of your property’s value.

Once you have a true idea of your commercial property’s value, once the assessment arrives, you’ll have an easy and accurate view of your property’s characteristics to compare the estimate to.

If mistakes were made, your property tax consultants can help you begin a property tax protest that will lead to the correction of your property’s assessed value.

Check for Failure to Assess Against Similar Properties

Although your new business is your primary concern, you should always have an idea of what’s going on in the businesses around you. In Texas, commercial properties in a related area with similar qualities must be assessed equally and uniformly.

Unfortunately, oftentimes inequitable assessments occur, and some property owners are left overpaying on property taxes because they don’t understand their property’s value compared to similar properties in the area.

After you’ve received your assessment, we recommend reaching out to a Dallas commercial property tax expert to review your assessment and the value of your neighboring commercial properties.

If an inequitable assessment is an issue, we’ll find the error and help you pursue an appeal that can lead to significant tax savings.

Remember Your Appeal Deadlines

In order to successfully appeal a commercial property assessment, you’ll need to know your local appeal deadlines.

In Texas, the deadline to appeal a property’s appraised value is either May 15 or 30 days after the assessor mailed out your assessment. The rule of thumb to remember here is that the deadline is whichever date comes later.

Always keep this deadline in mind, otherwise, you could end up paying substantially more than you’d need to on your annual commercial property taxes.

Get the Commercial Property Tax Help You Need from the Hegwood Group

If you feel overwhelmed with the property tax aspect of your new business venture, the property tax experts at the Hegwood Group can help! Our property tax consultants will be happy to review your annual assessments, help you organize necessary appeal documents, and ensure that you never have to pay more than necessary on your annual property tax.

Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with a member of our firm.

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