Property taxes are a substantial expense for Texas homeowners, averaging about $3,600 annually. To reduce this expense, property owners should annually review and consider appealing property taxes. While there is no guarantee that an appeal will be successful, a recent survey conducted by O’Connor & Associates indicates that 70% of property tax appeals are successful.

Since the mortgage company typically disperses payments, property taxes tend to be a stealth tax. Although the homeowner writes a check, including taxes and insurance monthly, the property tax component is not evident. The property tax component can become quite evident when the homeowner is asked to fund a deficit in the escrow account.

Although 70% of property tax appeals are successful, only 7% of homeowners appeal each year. Research indicates five primary reasons homeowners do not appeal:
1. The process seems overwhelming and they do not know how to appeal,
2. They do not think an appeal is likely to be successful,
3. They think their home’s assessed value is below market value and there is no basis for appealing,
4. They do not understand they can appeal on unequal appraisal,
5. They are busy and do not want to set aside time, given the presumption that “you can’t fight city hall”.
Why appeal?

Consider an appeal for a $150,000 house where the property taxes are reduced by 5%. This would reduce the assessed value by $7,500 and the property taxes by $225, based on a 3% tax rate. Since the typical appeal hearing takes less than an hour, these are meaningful savings for the time involved. Regularly appealing your property taxes will minimize the value, so you are assessed for less than most of your neighbors. Most of the property tax appeals are resolved at the informal hearing, which is the first step in the process.

How to appeal

The first step to appealing annually is to send a written notice to the appraisal review board (ARB) for the county in which your home is located. Even if you have not received a notice of assessed value from the appraisal district, file a notice of appeal by May 31st for the following reasons:
1. The notice of assessed value can get lost in the mail,
2. A notice of assessed value is not necessary unless your assessed value increases by $1,000, and
3. You should appeal annually
You can file a notice of appeal by utilizing the Comptroller’s form available at www.cutmytaxes.com or by sending a letter to the ARB. The letter to the ARB simply needs to identify the property being appealed and the basis for your appeal. You should always appeal on both market value and unequal appraisal. Since the appraisal district staff is extremely busy during late May and early June, sending any data on the value of your property tax is probably a waste of time. At the same time you send your notice of appeal to the ARB, send a “House Bill 201″ request to the chief appraiser at the appraisal district. The House Bill 201 request will provide you a volume of information at a modest price.
(more…)

While Monaco is a well known European tax haven, Andorra has remained little known outside of the financial community – despite enjoying the same tax advantages and arguably more private banking than her better known rival.

In contrast to the similar financial benefits both Monaco and Andorra residents enjoy, the two small countries have quite different climates.

Monaco has good all year round weather and is located next to the French Riveria, while Andorra is in the Pyrenees and between early December and late April attracts nearly ten million tourists for ski holidays. Monaco has year round tourists, peaking twice a year in May for the Grand Prix, and September for the Yacht Show.

Neither Andorra or Monaco have their own airports – Nice airport has a helicopter link, a ten minute ride direct to Monaco, Andorra is not so fortunate and the nearest airport is Barcelona, a three hour drive away from the principality.

Both countries have opted to stay out of the EU, preserving their ability to maintain a no income tax policy.

The biggest difference is the entry price for becoming a resident – which entails buying or renting a house or apartment.

One bedroom apartments in Monaco start at 800,000 Euros, but in Andorra the same size apartment starts at less than a third of the price at 250,000 Euros. And while a house in Monaco is a rarity, there is a good choice of houses for sale in Andorra, with prices starting at under a million Euros.

Rising Prices

Given Andorra’s property price advantage for would-be residents choosing between Europe’s primary tax havens, it has come as a surprise to many that the closing costs for buying a property in Andorra has not only been less than half that of Monaco, but also less than buying a property in many other mainland European countries at around four and a half per cent.
(more…)

Hell hath no fury like a person who just found out the alternative minimum tax applies to them. The IRS has set up an online tool to figure out if you do.

Alternative Minimum Tax

The alternative minimum tax is a procedure that was set up to keep the richest of Americans from avoiding tax paying responsibilities. As is typical of the federal government, the failed to include any language adjusting for income growth and so on. As a result, the alternative minimum tax creams many taxpayers even though it was never intended to cover them.

So, why don’t our beloved leaders just amend the relevant codes? Politicians giving up money they can spend on wars and favorite, but unnecessary, projects in their districts to keep voters happy? Surely, you aren’t that naïve anymore. Oh, they will talk about repealing or modifying it, but it just never seems to happen. Hmmmm…

To determine if the alternative minimum tax applied to your situation, you have to take a very simple step. Fill out your taxes using both the regular 1040 forms and the alternative minimum tax forms. What a complete waste of time. Fortunately, the IRS seems to agree.
(more…)

I know you still have about three months until you have to file your U.S. tax forms, but now is a good time to think about taxes. Many adults with ADD would rather scrub the floor with a toothbrush then work on preparing their taxes. Here are some tips to help make taxes less taxing: (pardon the pun)
1. Set up a folder ( green, black, or red are good colors) or a box where you will put all of the tax forms that you are receiving now and put it with all of your other important documents.

2. Get Help – Hiring an accountant to help you prepare you taxes can save you from unnecessary financial anxiety, plus you don’t have to worry about missing potential tax breaks. There are also many computer programs (both on-line and on CD-Rom) that will help you step by step to prepare you own taxes. With these programs you should be able to file your taxes on-line, saving you a couple of steps of having to put the tax forms in a envelope, put a stamp on the envelope, and dropping it in the mailbox.
(more…)