(TRENTON) – Assembly approved legislation sponsored by Assembly Democrats Nancy Pinkin, Joe Lagana, Vince Mazzeo, Raj Mukherji and Eric Houghtaling to ensure homeowners who want to appeal their property taxes are aware of the appeal deadline was unanimously advanced Thursday by the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee.
“This is a simple step that can go a long way in ensuring that homeowners who want to appeal their property taxes do not miss their opportunity to do so,” said Pinkin (D-Middlesex).
“It is easy to disregard the assessment notice since it’s not a bill,” said Lagana (D-Bergen/Passaic). “Highlighting the deadline helps ensure homeowners don’t accidentally miss it.”
“Missing the deadline can have real repercussions for homeowners,” Mazzeo (D-Atlantic). “This simple tweak can help prevent residents from missing out on potential savings.”
“There’s nothing worse than realizing your opportunity to challenge your property taxes was lost in the fine print,” said Mukherji (D-Hudson). “This helps protect a homeowner’s right to appeal.”
“Property tax appeals can often be crucial in ensuring tax fairness, especially with fluctuating home values,” said Houghtaling (D-Monmouth). “This will help more homeowners ensure they’re being assessed fairly.”
The bill (A-544) would require the statutory notice of annual assessment, usually mailed in late January, to contain the deadline to file an appeal of the assessment in boldface type. Since the notice of assessment does not require any immediate action by a property taxpayer, the consequences of the notice on the amount of subsequent tax bills often passes largely unnoticed until well after the appeal deadline of April 1st.
The bolded notice is intended to remind property taxpayers of the quickly approaching filing deadline for appeals so that they don’t loose their opportunity to file an appeal before the deadline.
The bill was approved by the Assembly in May.
