The Assessor is responsible for
preparing market value estimates for every property in Clayton. The values,
or assessments are used for determining the tax burden for each parcel.
Annually the Assessor's officer reviews permits, transfers of property, and
deeds to determine if a change in assessment is necessary.
The Assessor is also
responsible for administering exemptions to taxation. These exemptions
include Senior Citizen, School Tax Relief (STAR), Agricultural, and Veterans
to name a few. Below are links to the most commonly used assessment forms. A
complete list of exemptions can be found online at
this link.
Assessment Calendar
July 1st - Valuation date
March 1st - Taxable status date
March 1st - Exemption application
deadline
May 1st - Tentative Roll Date
Wednesday, following the 4th Tuesday in
May - Grievance Day
Property
taxes are one of the ways that towns, schools and counties fund
their programs, staff, supplies, etc. It is important to know
that none of the money collected from property taxes goes to
fund state budgets; it all stays here locally. The taxes
you owe are determined by a simple mathematical formula.
(Assessment-Exemptions) x (Tax
Rate) =
Tax dollars you owe
The formula
may look simple, but the pieces can be confusing. We all know it
is the assessor who determines the assessment based on what your
property is worth if it was to sell. Some exemptions are put
into place by the state; the STAR program for example.
The BIG
variable: TAX RATE
The tax rate
comes from dividing up the total amount of money it costs to run
the county, town and school amongst those that live there. This
can change every year whether a revaluation is done or not.
Let’s look at an example. If the town is required $1,000,000 to
operate and the combined assessments of all homes in the town
total $50,000, then the tax rate would be $1,000,000/$50,000 =
$20 per thousand dollars of assessment. So …a $100,000 house
with a $30,000 STAR exemption would pay:
Aren’t we
all glad that our school tax rate is not $20/1000!!
For more Assessor's
Corner tidbits, visit the Archives by clicking
HERE
NOTICE
The
Town of Clayton 2011 Tentative Assessment Roll Is Available
HERE
ATTENTION: PROPERTY
OWNERS
IF YOU ARE 65 YRS
OLD (OR WILL BE BY 12/31) AND YOUR ADJUSTED GROSS
INCOME IS LESS THAN $79,000. YOU MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR
A STAR EXEMPTION. THE PROPERY MUST BE YOUR
PRIMARY RESIDENCE! ALL EXEMPTIONS ARE DUE IN THE
ASSESSOR'S OFFICE BY MARCH 1ST. CALL THE ASSESSOR'S
OFFICE WITH ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
Grievance Forms RP-524 MUST be received and an appointment made
for Grievance Day at the Assessor's Office to guarantee that you
will be "heard" by the Board of Assessment Review on Grievance
Day. A property owner who does NOT schedule a hearing in
front of the Board of Assessment Review takes the risk of having
to come back at a time set by the Board of Assessment Review.
