Your property market value is higher than the equalized assessed value
The most common approach in challenging a tax assessment value is to prove that your property value as of April 1st of the tax year was higher than the equalized assessed value.
As mentioned previously market values change each year; but property assessments do not. To “correct” assessed values town-wide the New Hampshire Dept of Revenue will publish a list of equalized values for the state each year. Click here to see the most recent list of equalization ratios.
Take the assessed value of your property from your tax bill and divide it by the published equalization rate for your town. The result is your equalized assessed value. If your current market value is higher than the equalized assessed value then you may be over assessed.
Example: Your assessment is $200,000. You feel that your market value is $190,000. Are you over assessed?
Your town equalization rate is 92%.
Your assessed value is $200,000
$200,000 / 0.92 = $217,391
In this case the municipality is indicating that the equalized assessed value of the property is $217,000. If you can prove that your market value is in fact $190,000 then there is a case that the property is over assessed by $27,391.