Property owners should be receiving their annual property tax assessment notices (post cards) from the municipal assessor’s office at this time. Receipt of this assessment notice indicates that it is time to determine whether a tax appeal is warranted for the 2015 tax year.  Despite what can best be described as uneven improvement in the real estate market across various commercial segments, the need to carefully evaluate property tax relief opportunities continues. The 2015 tax appeal filing deadline is April 1, 2015 unless a town-wide reassessment or revaluation is in place, in which case the deadline is May 1, 2015.

Consequently, it behooves commercial property owners to review their property tax assessments with their professionals now to ensure that their assessments are in line with the present relatively low property values.  In this way, taxpayers can potentially lock in assessments at historically low levels before values significantly rise.  In New Jersey, the “Freeze Act” compels that assessments be “frozen” at the levels achieved as a result of a successful appeal for a period of two (2) years.  In addition, because assessments are generally not disturbed until a town-wide revaluation or reassessment program is implemented (usually every 5-10 years) there is a real prospect that a lower assessment achieved as a result of a successful appeal this year could have real lasting value and provide savings to taxpayers for years to come.

As a result, there continue to be real opportunities for property owners to realize significant tax savings and lock in the present lower values for the foreseeable future.  Commercial property owners are therefore encouraged to consult with their real property tax professionals to determine if a tax appeal would be warranted in their particular case at this time.