Critical tax appeal deadlines are quickly approaching, and commercial property owners need to be prepared to file tax appeals for 2022 or defend against increase cases to get much needed property tax relief. The Property Tax Appeal group at Murphy Schiller & Wilkes LLP have already begun obtaining taxpayers property tax relief for 2022 and are currently providing free consultation to property owners considering an appeal this year. Failure to meet the important tax appeal filing deadlines may completely bar your right to file a property tax appeal this year. Below is an overview of the strict filing deadlines and process.

Notice of Assessment – February 1, 2022 Taxpayers typically receive the Notice of Assessment by the first week of February. The Notice of Assessment will contain important information regarding your assessment. It lists the 2022 assessment for your property, the prior year’s assessment, and the prior year’s taxes. However, it does not include the taxes due for 2022 based on the new tax assessment. Importantly, you will not know the taxes you owe for 2022 until the third quarter of 2022, after the deadline to appeal. The decision to appeal is based solely on the assessment and its relationship to market value, not on the amount of taxes due.

Appeal Deadline - April 1, 2022 After receiving your Notice of Assessment, there is a very small window of time to consider whether to file an appeal. Unless the municipality has undergone a municipal-wide revaluation or reassessment, the strict deadline for taxpayers to file an appeal directly to the New Jersey Tax Court is the later of April 1, 2022, or 45 days from the date the bulk mailing of the Notice of Assessments is completed. This is also the deadline to file an appeal to the County Board of Taxation in every county except Monmouth County. Filing deadlines are strictly enforced. Failure to meet the filing deadline may completely bar your right to appeal your assessment for 2022 regardless of the unfairness of your assessment and tax burden.

Revaluation Deadline - May 1, 2022 The deadline to file an appeal in the New Jersey Tax Court and the County Board of Taxation for municipalities that have undergone a municipal-wide revaluation or reassessment is the later of May 1, 2022, or 45 days from the date the bulk mailing of the Notice of Assessments is completed. Notable municipalities that have undergone a revaluation or reassessment for 2022 are:

• Union County: Clark Township, Township of Springfield
• Hudson County: Township of North Bergen
• Essex County: City of East Orange, North Caldwell, City of Orange
• Bergen County: Hackensack, Edgewater, Paramus, East Rutherford

Where to file If the assessment is over $1,000,000, the taxpayer may file an appeal in either the Tax Court of New Jersey or the County Board of Taxation of the county where the property is located. If the assessment is $1,000,000 or less, the taxpayer must file with the County Board of Taxation.

Increase Cases The tax appeal group continues to defend against increase cases filed by the municipalities seeking to increase assessments. As the real estate market remains strong, increase cases have become commonplace in recent years, in particular in municipalities such as Newark, Jersey City, Linden, and Elizabeth. In many cases, municipalities are seeking to more than double the assessment on these properties. It has also become common for assessors to aggressively increase assessments after sales or upon development approvals. Taxpayers need to be on alert for these significant, and often unexpected, increases.

Deciding whether to appeal Deciding whether to file a property tax appeal requires careful analysis and consideration of your tax assessment, as adjusted by the applicable county equalization ratio, and its fairness in relationship to the true market value of the property. Importantly, in New Jersey, a municipality has the right to file a counterclaim to seek to increase your assessment if it determines you are under assessed. Therefore, failure to properly evaluate your case prior to filing may prove costly. It is vital to use experienced legal counsel to review your assessment to determine the risks and benefits prior to filing an appeal in order to understand the tax relief available and to avoid an unwanted tax increase. As market and property conditions fluctuate each year, it is vital to reexamine your property on an annual basis for eligibility for a tax appeal.

Consultation To determine whether your property may be eligible for an appeal, the experienced team at Murphy Schiller & Wilkes LLP is ready to provide a complimentary evaluation of your property. If we determine that an appeal will be beneficial, we will recommend a strategy to reduce your tax burden and can file and pursue your appeal. As a dedicated commercial real estate firm, our team has invaluable insight into the real estate market and has successfully litigated the value of virtually all property types. Our team also has considerable experience advising on tax exemptions, or other tax incentive programs, that may be available to reduce the property tax burden outside of the appeal process. Our experience and deep broad-based knowledge allow us to consider all options that may be available to potentially reduce your tax burden.

For additional information concerning our property tax appeal services, or to request an evaluation of your property, please contact:
THOMAS S. DOLAN
Partner - Property Tax Practice Leader
(973) 705-7412
tdolan@murphyllp.com