Legal Definitions - assessed value

Assessed Value refers to the monetary worth assigned to a property by a government tax assessor or appraiser. This valuation is specifically used as the basis for calculating the property taxes that an owner must pay to local authorities.

• Residential Homeowner

  Imagine a family who owns a house in a suburban neighborhood. Each year, the local county tax assessor evaluates their property, considering factors like its size, age, location, and recent sales of similar homes. If the assessor determines the house's assessed value to be $300,000, this figure, not necessarily the market value, will be used by the county to calculate the family's annual property tax bill.

• Commercial Office Building

  Consider a company that owns a multi-story office building in a city's downtown area. The city's appraisal district will assign an assessed value to this commercial property, taking into account its rental income potential, construction costs, and comparable sales of other office buildings. This specific valuation then forms the foundation for determining the property taxes the company owes to the city and other local taxing entities.

• Undeveloped Agricultural Land

  A farmer owns a large parcel of undeveloped land used for growing crops on the outskirts of a rural town. Even without any buildings, this land has an assessed value determined by the county's tax authority, often based on its agricultural use, soil quality, and acreage. This assessed value is then used to calculate the property taxes the farmer must pay on the land, contributing to local services like schools and roads.