Monday, April 7, 2014

Rainy day.  No field work today.  So, we find alternate tasks.

The property tax bills arrived Saturday.  There were a few ‘glitches’ with some of them.  Those errors required a visit to the Knox County Courthouse.  I found the Assessor to be very helpful, and after she answered our questions, she directed us to the Auditor to correct the other glitch.  We found the officials to be polite and helpful.

I take each bill and enter into a spreadsheet to make a comparison with property taxes from previous years.  This tedious task (about 3 hours) helps me sort the bills into a specific order and enables me to be more familiar with these records.  After compiling these bills, we can note that our assessed valuation (A/V) has increased 8.98% over 2013 and the bill increased 7.70%.   Even though the taxes are capped, and the rates are stable, the A/V growth spurs the increase in what we are required to pay.  It is apparent that the A/V of farmland is growing faster than the A/V of other classes of property.

We are now ready for the May 12, 2014 deadline to get these taxes paid.  This pays for half the tax obligation for the calendar year.  The other installment is due November 10th.  That’s the way property taxes are collected in Indiana:  two installments, May and November.