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Site offers residents way to estimate tax bill |
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Saturday, May 31 2008 |
By TJ HEMLINGER
Staff writer
Whitley County residents can estimate their property tax bills themselves by using a state government Web site tool.
The Department of Local Government Finance, in partnership with the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University, has released an online property tax calculator for Whitley County and 20 other counties. This tool allows taxpayers to enter their property’s assessed value, taxing district and possible deductions to see tax bill estimates for bills due this year.
Taxpayers can access at www.in.gov/dlgf.
“The estimates provided by this tool are projections that taxpayers can use to determine how recent legislation will affect them,” commissioner Cheryl Musgrave said.
To use the calculator, property owners must know which township their property is in, what the assessed valuation of the land and improvements is, if there is a homestead deduction, a mortgage deduction, a 65-or-over deduction, a disabled veteran’s deduction and any other deductions.
“This is just an estimate of the tax bill,” Whitley County assessor Angela Adams cautioned.
Up to one acre of ground, a house and a garage, whether attached or separate, goes toward the homestead credit, she said. Any additional land would be separate.
“It’s a good estimate, but not everything is taken into account,” Adams said. “There are buildings (the homestead credit) may not apply to.”
The DLGF calculator was established in conjunction with the approval of Whitley County’s 2008 budget and certification of tax rates, which happened May 13.
“The estimates provided by this tool are projections only and should not be taken as a statement of true tax liability, which is determined by the county,” the DLGF said.
A copy of the Whitley County budget and the DLGF analysis also is available at www.in.gov/dlgf/2531.htm. |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, June 03 2008 )
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