Click, click... "Oh, so that's what the town assessor thinks my house is worth!"
With no more difficulty than a Google search, you can see exactly what's on the tax assessor's field card. Whether you're buying, selling or just want to see how much tax your neighbor pays, you can check it out 24/7 on the Ridgefield town website.
Once you look up any address, the field card provides all the public information for that parcel: acreage, zoning, year built, square footage, bedrooms, baths, construction materials and more. These are all the factors used in determining your tax assessment.
By law, the state of Connecticut requires each town to update its tax values every five years. Additionally, each property is assessed at 70 percent of fair market value. Ridgefield's last revaluation was completed in 2007, so the next one is due in 2012.
To figure out the annual tax bill for a particular property, simply multiply the assessment on the field card by the current mill rate (20.00) and divide by 100. A new rate is set each year and that rate is used to calculate taxes for all properties in town. The mill rate is based on the municipal budget (operating and schools) and how much cash we will need keep things going for the coming year.
As the town's financial needs grow, the mill rate will increase. So the tax assessments don't directly determine real estate taxes; they are used to fairly distribute the town's real estate tax burden based on the relative value of all properties.
As homes and properties are improved, field cards are updated with new assessments. The actual cards are located in filing cabinets at the Tax Assessor's office in Town Hall. These are public records, and anyone can see them for free.
From time to time, property owners feel that their property might be overvalued by the town. While you can always file an appeal, be forewarned that in Ridgefield, this process can sometimes to lead to a tax increase.
Rob Gutman is a real estate agent at Keller Williams Realty and also writes the blog Real Estate Chocolate. You can contact him directly at rgutman@gmail.com.
