The Assessor is an elected official who has general supervision
over and the direction of the assessment of property in his or
her county. The duties are prescribed by Nebraska Statute
(Chapter 77), along with Rules and Regulations of the Property
Tax Administrator. The following is a partial list of those
duties:
- Administer the assessment statutes of Nebraska law.
- Establish and maintain fair and equitable value on all real and personal property within the county.
- Attend all meetings of the County Board of Equalization.
- Review all applications for religious, charitable and educational tax exemptions and make recommendations to the County Board of Equalization.
- Prepare an abstract of value and certification of taxes levied for the State property Tax Administrator.
- Certify the annual tax rolls to the County Treasurer for collection of taxes.
- Prepare Personal Property Schedules
Property taxes are funds generated by taxing the value of real property and personal property.
Tax rates are established as a result of a budgetary
process. Each governmental agency provides a budget that will
cover the cost of maintaining their respective agency for the
fiscal year. The budget requirements are totaled and that
amount is divided by the total assessed value of property for
that subdivision to establish the tax rate. The tax rate is
stated as a percent of amount due for each $100 of assessed
value.
The County Assessor is not responsible for establishing the tax rate.
All owners of taxable real property and personal property located within the county.
The county Treasurer collects property taxes and distributes
them to the local subdivisions of government, according to
their budgets.
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Property taxes are used entirely to support local subdivision
of government and are a major source of funding for their
operation. Taxes help fund essential services such as
education, fire and police protection, streets, sewers, county
roads and bridges, public transportation, natural resource
districts, parks and recreational areas, and many other local
services.
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Real property included all lands, buildings, fixtures and
improvements, improvements on leased land and cabin trailers
and mobile homes not registered for highway use but utilized
like a building. Real property also includes mines, minerals,
quarries, mineral springs and wells, oil and gas wells.
Lastly, real property includes all privileges pertaining to the
real property.
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Personal property is defined as tangible, depreciable income
producing property including machinery and equipment, furniture
and fixtures. (A few examples: Combine, tractor, pivots,
computers, desks, office equipment, factory machines.
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A Homestead Exemption provides relief from property taxes by
exempting all or a portion of the valuation of the homestead
property from taxation. The State of Nebraska reimburses and
counties and other governmental subdivisions for the taxes lost
due to homestead exemption. The following can file for a
homestead exemption: persons over age 65 as of January 1st,
certain disabled individuals; or certain disabled veterans and
their widow(er)s. Income guidelines must also be met.
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An organization which is the owner of real or tangible personal
property and is seeking a property tax exemption may file for
an exemption, if:
- The property is owned by and used exclusively for agricultural and horticultural societies; or,
- The property is:
- owned by educational, religious, charitable, or cemetery organization;
- used exclusively for educations, religious, charitable, or cemetery purposed;
- not owned or used for financial gain or profit to either the owner or user;
- not used for the sale of alcoholic beverages for more than 20 hour per week; and
- not owned or used by an organization which discriminates in membership or employment based on race, color, or natural origin.
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All property values are established as of assessment date, January 1, 12:01 am of each year.
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The probable market value of your property as of January 1st.
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The assessor uses computer-generated data and pricing to
analyze the property based on its age, size, style of
construction, condition and replacement costs. Sales data is
also reviewed and analyzed. For residential properties, the
assessor looks at sales of arms-length properties of the
previous 2 years that have sold and for commercial properties
the assessor looks at the previous 3 years. Simply put, your
value is estimated at what the assessor feels would be a fair
market value if it was put on the open market for sale, basing
that estimate from the analysis of the properties that sold.
Residential and commercial properties are to be 100% of market
value. The state allows for a range of 92% to 100%.
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The assessor used the previous 3 years of arms-length sold
properties to analyze the market. An inventory of soil types
and land uses such as irrigated, dry and pasture is kept on
each property. Different soils and uses may have different
values depending on the market. The values set on each soil
and use on the sold properties to obtain the required statutory
level of value is then applied to all the rest of the
agricultural and horticultural land in the county.
Agricultural and horticultural lands are to be at 75% of
market. The state allows for a range of 69% to 75%. Houses,
buildings and the land under them on properties classified as
farms are to be valued at 100% of market.
The Assessor’s values are analyzed by the Property Tax
Administrator who gives a report called The Reports and Opinion
of the Property Tax Administrator to the state’s Tax
Equalization and Review Commission (TERC). If valuations are
not compliant, TERC will adjust a county by a percentage to
meet the required statutory level.
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Property values can change for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to:
- Addition of new buildings (structure)
- Remodel or rehabilitation of existing buildings
- Destruction or removal of buildings
- Fluctuations in current market trends and conditions
The assessor must notify you by mail on or before June 1st if your valuation has changed from the previous year.
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First, contact the Assessor’s Office and explain your concern.
Have the assessor review with you your property record card and
how your value was arrived at. This gives the assessor a
chance to correct possible errors and answer your valuation
related questions.
If you are not satisfied with your value after visiting with
the Assessor’s Office you may file an appeal with the
County Board of Equalization. The appeal must address
valuation, not taxes. The deadline to file an appeal is June
30th. A hearing will be scheduled for you to present evidence
to support your request for a valuation change.
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You may file an appeal to the state’s Tax Equalization and Review Commission (TERC) and a hearing will be scheduled.
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- Assessed value, land and/or building characteristics.
- Legal description the assessor has on your property.
- How the value of a property was determined.
- Information on Homestead Exemption.
- Information on religious, charitable and other exemptions.
- Address changes.
- Splitting or combining a piece of property.
- Information on taxable Personal Property, such as business or agricultural equipment.
- The tax district where you are located.
- Information on Personal Property.
Contact the County Treasurer if you have a question on the following:
- The amount of real estate taxes, including delinquencies and interest on a piece of property.
- When taxes are due.
- Where the taxes are paid.
- Special assessments.
- If tax payment has been mailed, but a receipt has not been received.
Contact the County Clerk/Register of Deeds is you have a question on the following:
- To get a legal description from a deed.
- Liens filed on a piece of property.
- Ownership of a piece of property.
- Amount of Documentary stamps that were paid on a property.
- A mortgage associated with a property.
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Saunders County Assessor
