Livingston Preps For Property Revaluation: How Will It Affect Taxes?

LIVINGSTON, NJ — Livingston continues its march towards a town-wide property revaluation. Will your taxes rise, fall or remain the same?

According to a recent Livingston municipal news release, the Essex County Board of Taxation has issued an official “Order to Implement a Municipal-Wide Revaluation” of the Township of Livingston. The municipal property tax revaluation is to be completed by October 1, 2018, and to be effective for the 2019 tax year.

Livingston’s last county-ordered property tax revaluation was completed in 2008 and was effective for 2009, officials said.

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According to the New Jersey Treasury Department, a property revaluation is a program undertaken by a municipality to appraise all real property within the taxing district according to its “full and fair value.”

“A revaluation program seeks to spread the tax burden equitably within a municipality,” the NJ Treasury Department states. “Real property must be assessed at the same standard of value to ensure that every property owner is paying his or her fair share of the property tax. For example, two properties having essentially the same market value should be paying essentially the same amount in property taxes.”

Although almost all properties’ values rise during a revaluation, it doesn’t necessarily mean that all property taxes will increase, state officials say.

“You might now be thinking, ‘How can my assessment increase and my taxes not go up?’” state officials explain. “Remember, assessments are merely a base used to apportion the tax burden. The tax burden is the amount that your municipality must raise for the operation of county and local government and support of the school system.”

During a revaluation, assessors visit individual homes and conduct both inside and outside inspections. Property owners who disagree with the eventual assessed value of their homes can arrange an informal hearing or file an appeal with the County Board of Taxation.

Learn more about property revaluations in New Jersey here.

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