Appeal deadline is currently March 14.
Council has introduced an ordinance to extend deadline to March 31, 2025.
The ordinance will not be considered until March 13.
At a specially scheduled meeting held March 5, New Castle County Council introduced an ordinance to extend the deadline to file property tax assessment appeals from March 14 to March 31, 2025. Final vote will take place at a special meeting scheduled for March 13.
What does this potential extension mean?
The potential extension would provide additional time for property owners to gather materials and prepare their assessment appeals. The deadline would be March 31 assuming that the ordinance is adopted, and so property owners will have an additional 17 days to file.
March 31 will be here quite quickly. If you think you may want to appeal, we suggest you start gathering the information and preparing now. Waiting until the last minute could mean that you aren’t able to gather all the information required to timely file an appeal.
Will the extension pass, or should I prepare to file my appeal on or before March 14?
As the saying goes, there are no certainties in life (except death and taxes). Until the deadline is extended, it remains March 14. Accordingly, we encourage all property owners considering an appeal to still treat March 14 as the deadline.
I do think my assessment is too high; what should I do?
Appeal forms are available on the New Castle County website. Go to: https://www.newcastlede.gov/390/Board-of-Assessment-Review and click on the applicable form (i.e., residential or non-residential). The forms indicate what information is required. Note that for residential properties, a property owner is expected to provide comparable sales and other detailed information. Failure to provide information with an appeal will result in such information’s exclusion at any hearing, except that appraisals performed by a licensed Delaware appraiser may be submitted after the appeal deadline date. For commercial properties, similar information is required and for most commercial properties the valuation will be determined by an appraisal. The appeal can be filed without the appraisal, but the appraisal must be submitted no later than June 16. The appraisal report must have been prepared within one year of the date of the most recent reassessment base year (2024) or establish a valuation as of the date of the most recent reassessment base year (2024).
What if I don’t appeal by the deadline?
If you do not appeal by the deadline (whether March 14 or March 31), you will pay property taxes for the 2025-26 fiscal year based on your currently proposed assessment. However, you may file an appeal next year for the 2026-27 fiscal year.
Will my taxes go up or down based on the new assessment?
It is not clear at this time how much the overall tax assessment base has gone up. However, preliminary indications are that the assessment base has gone up roughly 380%. Therefore, if your assessment has gone up less than 380%, you will probably pay less, and if your assessment has gone up more than 380%, you will probably pay more.
REMEMBER: The deadline to appeal is still March 14, but may be extended. We encourage all property owners to still treat March 14 as the deadline.
