Kansas Property Tax Appeal Process
BACKGROUND:
In Kansas, Valuation Notices are based on what was "there" and "existed" on January 1st of each year. Notices are mailed out on March 1st and must be appealed by the April 1 deadline of any given tax year. As soon as our clients receive their notices, they provide them to our office for review and the Appeal Process begins as outlined below.
APPEAL - LEVEL 1:
- TAS orders and reviews all County Appraiser data, physically inspects the property and conducts a comparable analysis between our data and that of the County Appraiser.
- If any discrepancies are found (i.e. errors in description/quantity/measurement; the utilization of incorrect sales or improper income models), TAS files an appeal on your behalf prior to the April 1 deadline. We prepare all the documentation necessary to support those claims.
- Once the County Appraiser's office receives the appeal, an informal hearing is scheduled with TAS consultants. Kansas law states that the "burden of proof" lies with the County, which means the County must substantiate and provide all data/information that was used to establish the value that their office placed on the property in question.
- TAS presents data at the informal hearing which proves the lower value we have established for your property.
- The County Appraiser's Office notifies TAS in writing regarding a revised (lowered) value for your property based on the documentation provided by TAS.
APPEAL - LEVEL 2:
Should the County Appraiser refuse to lower the property value, TAS advances the claim in writing on the taxpayer's behalf to the Hearing Officer Panel and/or the Small Claims Division of the State Board of Tax Appeals in Topeka, Kansas.
APPEAL - LEVEL 3:
Should the review of the written documentation at Level 2 be unacceptably resolved, TAS can request that the State Board of Tax Appeals convene a panel of members to listen to both sides of the issue. This appeal level is handled by attorneys for both the County Appraiser's office and TAS.
APPEAL - LEVEL 4 & 5:
Most appeals are settled during the first three (3) appeal levels. However, TAS (through their attorneys) has successfully settled cases at both the District Court and the Kansas Supreme Court for cases in which further appeal was justified.