Welcome to the Indiana Board of Tax Review
The Indiana Board of Tax Review (IBTR) is the state agency charged with deciding property tax assessment appeals. The IBTR addresses appeals contesting real and personal property assessments. It also addresses appeals from denials or grants of exemptions, deductions and refunds. The IBTR, however, lacks jurisdiction to address appeals where taxpayers contest only their tax bill and not their property's assessment.
IMPORTANT NOTICES
New Rules Effective August 31, 2012
The IBTR’s amendments to 52 IAC 1, 52 IAC 2, and 52 IAC 3 become effective Friday, August 31, 2012. To view the Final Rule, click here.
The rulemaking docket can be found at Rules.IN.gov (under Online Services on the upper right side of this page).
Revisions to Form 131 Petition
The IBTR has revised the Form 131, Petition to the Indiana Board of Tax Review for Review of Assessment.
The significant revisions to page 1 of the Form 131 petition include:
- Making it clear that the petitioner must file a separate petition for each appeal year.
- Adding a reference to the burden language in Ind. Code § 6-1.1-15-17.2.
- Adding space for e-mail addresses.
In addition, the Form 131 Checklist on page 3 has been updated.
The Form 131 petition can be found under the Forms tab on the upper right side of this page. You can also find the Form 131 petition at Forms.IN.gov on the upper right side of this page.
Burden Shifting Legislation
Effective July 1, 2011, the Indiana General Assembly enacted Ind. Code § 6-1.1-15-17, which has since been repealed and re-enacted as Ind. Code § 6-1.1-15-17.2 due to a technical correction. Ind. Code § 6-1.1-15-17.2 provides the following:This section applies to any review or appeal of an assessment under this chapter if the assessment that is the subject of the review or appeal increased the assessed value of the assessed property by more than five percent (5%) over the assessed value determined by the county assessor or township assessor (if any) for the immediately preceding assessment date for the same property. The county assessor or township assessor making the assessment has the burden of proving that the assessment is correct in any review or appeal under this chapter and in any appeals taken to the Indiana board of tax review or to the Indiana tax court.
Assessment and Valuation Dates
For the 2006-2009 assessment years, the valuation date is “January 1 of the year preceding the year of the assessment date.” 50 IAC 21-3-3 (2006). Thus, for a March 1, 2006 assessment, the valuation date is January 1, 2005, while the valuation date for a March 1, 2007 assessment is January 1, 2006, and so on.
For assessment dates after December 31, 2009, “an adjustment in the assessed value of real property under this section shall be based on the estimated true tax value of the property on the assessment date that is the basis for taxes payable on that real property.” Ind. Code § 6-1.1-4-4.5(f) (2010). Thus, for example, the valuation date for a March 1, 2010 assessment is March 1, 2010. See Valuation Date.
Who is the party to defend the PTABOA determination?
If an appeal is based on a PTABOA determination issued after June 30, 2007, then the county assessor is the party to defend the determination. See Ind. Code § 6-1.1-15-3(b) P.L. 219-2007 (SEA 287) §§ 39, 156(c). The statute clearly states that the county assessor is the party to defend the determination of the PTABOA.
For appeals based on a PTABOA determination issued before June 30, 2007, you must determine whether there is a township assessor.
If there is a township assessor, then the township assessor is the party to defend the determination.
If the township assessor’s duties have been statutorily transferred to the county assessor, then the county assessor is the party to defend the assessment.
Thus in most appeals before the Board, the county assessor is the party to defend the PTABOA determination. The only exception is for appeals based on PTABOA determinations issued before June 30, 2007, where there is a township assessor. See Chart.
Appeal Rights
Public Law 219-2007 created new deadlines for a local property tax assessment board of appeals ("PTABOA") to act on a taxpayer's written notice requesting a review of his or her assessment. The new deadlines apply to review notices filed after June 30, 2007. In those cases, a PTABOA must hold a hearing within 180 days after the taxpayer filed his or her review notice, and it must issue a written determination within 120 days of that hearing. If the PTABOA fails to hold a hearing within 180 days and/or fails to issue a determination within 120 days of its hearing, a taxpayer needn't wait for the PTABOA to issue a determination; he or she may file an appeal directly with the Indiana Board of Tax Review. That direct appeal option is only available in cases where a taxpayer filed his or her written review notice after June 30, 2007.
