Good news! The value of your home has gone up. The bad news is your property taxes likely have too.

With a little bit of luck, you may be able to appeal your Louisville property taxes if you believe they are inaccurate.

How does the PVA Determine Property Values

Each time there is a sale in your neighborhood the local PVA office will enter the data into their system to record the transaction. The sale price will then represent the value of the property for approximately the next two years.

However, the Jefferson County PVA uses a computer-assisted mass appraisal system (CAMA) to determine the property values for more than 250,000 homes. This algorithmic system is closely monitored to make sure the current market value of your home is accurate or at very least, within range.

Periodically the PVA will re-assess certain areas. When this takes place, many homeowners in the area may see an increase in their property taxes.

This usually doesn't go over well... 

When this happens, homeowners tend to get stuck paying more than expected in property taxes.

One thing to keep in mind is that the PVA does not use sales such as short sales, foreclosures, or relative/family transfers in the CAMA. These types of sales can give a false evaluation of property values.

Even with a robust system as this, there can still be inaccuracies. If you feel like your property taxes have increased too much, fortunately, you may have the ability to appeal your property taxes.



Appealing Your Property Taxes


The first thing you need to do is to check to make sure that the information the PVA has on file is correct. Make sure there are no discrepancies with how your home is recorded.

Check for things like the number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, and size of the lot. Also, check the square footage listed.

Annual Conference to Appeal

The next step to appealing your Louisville property taxes is to find out what time of the year you can do it. Unofrtnuetley, you cannot do this whenever so you will need to wait for when the Jefferson County PVA office holds their open inspection period.

During this time you will need to complete the online conference. This usually takes place the first Monday in May and will last for 13 days, including two Saturdays. Be sure to check the local PVA website to make sure you have the correct date depending on the year to file.


Find Comparable Sales

Find comparable homes for your appeal

During the OIP period, you can either contact a local real estate agent or appraiser to help you find comparable sales for your appeal.

You can also take advantage of the two weeks before and during the Open Inspection Period (OIP) when the public will have free access to the sold data on the PVA website. You can visit the customer service center at the PVA Office or one of the Louisville Free Public libraries during this time.

It is important that when looking for comparable homes to support the appeal, you look closely at each property. You will notice that there are different style of homes. To find the true market value of a home, it's important that you only compare to similar style homes. Also, use comparable homes that are similar in age and size. Be sure to do some research to find out how to correctly price a home. This will help guide you in picking great 'comps'.


Gather Supporting Documentation

Get documents for appealOnce you have found comparable properties that have recently sold that support the inaccurate evaluation. You will want to print them out and use them as examples. Some homeowners will also consider hiring an appraiser to do a full report on their home if they believe the taxes are higher than they should be.

Make notes or even take pictures of the interior or exterior of your home to show condition or if repairs and updates are needed to further support the inaccurate value from the PVA.

Delivering Supporting Documents

Once all of your supporting documents are together you will need to turn them in as soon as possible. You necessarily have 7-days to file or before the closing of the Open Inspection deadline. Whichever comes first. But time is of the essence, so do not delay turning them in.

You can either hand deliver or mail your documents to the Jefferson County PVA office.

Jefferson County PVA office
Attn: [Current Year] Conference Supporting Documents
Glassworks Building
815 W Market St
Suite 400
Louisville, KY 40202-2654


Conclusion: Appealing Your Real Estate Taxes

Once you have completed this step you should receive a response from the Jefferson County PVA office within 5-10 days by either mail or email. If you have any questions about the process or would like more information, feel free to reach out to us or call the Jefferson County PVA office directly.


Posted by Nathan Garrett on
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