All You Need to Know About Property Taxes in Huntsville

Thanks for joining my Monday Morning Coffee video blog again. Our friend and local tax assessor, Cliff Man, is here today to discuss property taxes. As we near the end of 2015, we want you to be prepared for property tax deadlines. Cliff is the perfect source of knowledge for this! He’ll be answering some questions I’ve received from viewers.

1. What is property tax assessment? It’s part of the tax record required for every property in Madison County. The tax assessment record includes information on the property, including the value, and this is put in the public record. This record also contains information about changes to your home such as remodels or tear-downs.
2. When is the value assessment given? This only occurs when you’re signing the property to the right person and claiming any exemptions on the property. There are a lot of exemptions you can sign for, and this needs to be done by December 31st. The Lien Date is October 1st, and every property will be taxed on the status of the property on that date.
3. Is the value appraised or assessed every year? Appraisals happen every year, per the requirements from the Madison County Department of Revenue. We don’t appraise every home, we do mass appraisals. We look at sales in a large area and we match those sales with our values. This is why the value of a home can change from year to year. Your market value for your home can vary from the appraised value.
4. How is the home assessed? Appraisers go out into the field and they will look at permits that reveal new additions, and we measure those improvements, which are then added to the property record. This is how we calculate new values for properties.
5. What are common challenges that people need to be aware of? People often don’t notify us when they move, so any notices that we send are lost. We don’t set the tax rate or collect the bills, we just set the values. We turn it over to the collector’s office, so if you don’t tell us that you’ve moved, you could put yourself in a sticky situation. It’s also important not to forget about any exemptions that you’re eligible for.

To find out if you’re eligible for exemptions, go to www.madisoncountyal.gov and go to the tax assessment section to see if you’re eligible for any exemptions. There’s a ton of great information available on that website! You can also call (256) 532-3350 to reach Cliff.

If you’re eligible, please don’t forget to claim your homestead. If you don’t, it could be very costly for you!

This Week’s Closings, Congratulations!