Knox Co. valuation sees slight increase
CENTER — Knox County assessor’s office has mailed close to 12,000 valuation notices. Notices were sent to all real estate owners, whether valuations were up, down or remained the same.
The 2020 county-wide precertified valuation for Knox County shows only a small increase from the previous year’s valuation according to County Assessor Monica McManigal.
“Total valuation for the county looks to be up by two percent which is consistent with the last two years,” McManigal said.
Ag land values stayed close to the same as last year with minimal changes. There were slight changes in residential properties in the towns although valuations went up in the lake areas.
“There were no major changes in towns although there are always some changes due to the market along with new construction,” McManigal said. “Valuations flow with the market. There is always a good market for homes in the lake areas and rural tracts,”
The assessor’s office has completed a three-year review on properties in the rural areas in Knox County. Review work will now start in the lake areas according to McManigal.
The last day for real estate owners to file a protest on the valuation of their property was June 30. There had only been less than 10 protests filed as of Monday morning on June 29.
Valuations for tax purposes on residential, commercial and Ag properties are based on the selling price of property. State law mandates the assessed value on property must fall within a range established by the Legislature. The statute states Ag land has to be valued between 69 to 75 percent of what the sales are showing while the range for residential and commercial property is placed at 92 to 100 percent of the sales.
Sales from the past three years are used to set the valuations for Ag land. Sales from the previous two years are looked at to set the valuations on residential and commercial properties.
In order to have a deed recorded at the Courthouse when property is sold a Real Estate Transfer Statement, Form 521, has to be filled out and signed. The transfer statement records the selling price for the property. The county assessor then is required to submit an assessment sheet that shows the breakdown of the parcel sold to the Property Assessment Division. This is later used as the statistical information when the market study is compiled according to McManigal. Each year, the Tax Equalization
Each year, the Tax Equalization and Review Commission (TERC) looks at the statistics for each county, after the Property Assessment Division reviewed the information. If a county is not within the man-dated range an order can be issued for the county to comply. Valuations placed on property for tax purposes have to reflect the market. Valuations for the county will be finalized and submitted to the Knox County clerk by Aug. 20. The numbers can change during equalization, before the valuations are certified to the county clerk and other subdivisions according to McManigal.
A raise in valuation does not necessarily mean there will be an increase in taxes for the property owner. The market sets the value but budgets set the taxes. The tax rate or levy is set after the budgets have been submitted to the Knox County Clerk in August each year. If the budgets are asking for more money the taxes will need to go up to cover the expenses.
