Definition of "Assessed value"

Karol Flannery real estate agent

Written by

Karol Flanneryelite badge icon

Bentley's Real Estate

The term assessed value is used to define the dollar value of a property for the applicable taxes. The evaluator, a tax assessor, determines the property’s assessed value for tax purposes through real estate valuation. Once the evaluation is done, the assessed value is used to establish the property’s tax and is taxed accordingly.

The assessed value can be differentiated from the property’s appraised value, tending to be lower than this. The difference between the two can be anywhere from 10% to 100%.

What is the Assessed Value?

Calculating the taxes that apply to any particular property, also known as the ad valorem tax, the assessor must determine the assessed value. As the ad valorem tax is applied annually, the assessed value is calculated every year, unlike the appraised value that can also be appraised every five years. 

The local government designates the tax assessor by tax districts as each region calculates the assessed value differently. The calculation’s basic standards are more or less the same, but because different districts’ market value varies, tax assessors are designated by regions. To determine an accurate assessed value of a property, the tax assessor takes sales of comparable homes and home inspections into account. Other factors on which the valuation is based are the property’s quality, the value of the property, home features, location, square footage, and market conditions.

How is the Assessed Value used for Property Taxes?

As mentioned above, assessors calculate the assessed value annually as this real estate valuation is the basis for determining the annual property tax that the owner has to pay. Based on the factors specified before, the assessor determines the assessed value as a percentage of the property’s fair market value. All these calculations are computerized, and information about real estate obtained from the neighborhood and surrounding areas plays a crucial role in determining an accurate valuation.

For owners that also inhabit the property, the assessed value can decrease over time (also known as a homestead exemption). This decline is unrelated to the property’s fair market value and does not affect it. However, it does affect the property tax by diminishing it.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

To fulfill , complete, implement, perform, or carry out terms of an agreement including completing a signature on a contract and delivering a document to the intended party. ...

percentage of land that may be used productively to the total square footage of the land. For example, if total square footage is 40,000 but only 30,000 square feet may be built upon ...

Land that has poor income potential, usually used in an agricultural sense meaning that the land is untellable, has poor access, is extremely steep, has suffered serious erosion, is ...

Insurance protection for the replacement cost of damaged property. Thus, the accumulated depreciation is not subtracted in determining the amount of reimbursement. ...

Determines the ability of soil to absorb and draw down water. A percolation test is essential to determine the location of a drainage field for waste disposal. ...

An individual against whom a court has placed a financial judgment with a creditor. For example, a court determines that Cole owes Smith $2,000 and makes Cole a judgment debtor. ...

Person or business that obtains mortgages for others by finding suitable lenders. The mortgage broker sometimes deals with collections and disbursements. Typically the mortgage broker ...

Rights, interest, and benefits inherent in the ownership of real estate, as distinguished from personal property ...

Measure of central tendency that is a measure of the center of the data; also called an average. Mean and standard deviation are the two most widely used statistical measures that summarize ...

Popular Real Estate Questions