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

Way to determine the capitalization rate of income property for valuation purposes by weighting the rate of interest and source of financing in percentage terms. ...

Latin term meaning something in exchange for something else. For example, a person rushes through an order for another in return for having first choice in selecting a parcel of ...

(1) Supporting the joists of a floor with small pieces of wood. (2) Providing temporary financing such as a short-term loan, to a real estate developer before long-term financing can be ...

Appraisal method that examines current and future economic conditions in a particular location to help in deriving property values ...

See Board of Equalization. ...

Insects that destroy the support wood in the structure of a building. Termite inspection should be periodically performed to detect their existence. If an infestation is confirmed, the ...

Relationship between individuals or entities whereby rights given to one are returned in kind to the other. An example is where one person has the right to use facilities of another with ...

3D Printed Homes are basically homes that were printed via 3D Printers. Though semantically the phrase is pretty obvious and straightforward, there’s a lot we need to contextualize ...

State laws limiting the interest rate that can be charged to individuals borrowing money in that state. These laws affect all lenders in a state regardless of what federal or state agency ...

Popular Real Estate Questions