Valuation

The Assessor's Office studies the Real Estate market and collects information about properties to estimate value. The goal of the Assessor's Office is to estimate each property's fair, current market value - the price your property could sell for today on the open market. To estimate current market value, the Assessor's Office considers the characteristics of the property, the neighborhood, recent sales of similar property and local building and construction costs.

Property Value Changes

A property's value can change for many reasons, the most obvious is the property changes - an addition, a new garage, or the property undergoes renovation or demolition. Another frequent cause of change is a change in the market - properties in certain neighborhoods begin selling for higher prices.

The Assessor's Office must, however, maintain property values that are at least 90% of recent sales prices. A quick method to determine if your value is fair is to compare it to sales prices in your neighborhood, taking into account various differences in structures. To guard against future dramatic increases in your property's value, an inflation adjustment of 2-3% is annually applied.

Real Estate Assessments

In 1990, the West Virginia Legislature ordered a statewide reappraisal of all property in West Virginia. Reappraisal occurs in three year cycles. During each three year cycle, the Assessor's Office must visit every piece of real estate to confirm and update characteristics of the property.

Although property reappraisal is now a continuous process, dramatic future increases in your property's value probably will not occur. Many taxpayers saw a dramatic increase in their property's value during the initial cycle because most property in the county had not been revalued for 20 to 30 years.

Property purchased within the last few years was being valued much higher than property which had not changed hands for those 20-30 years. In other words, some folks were paying their fair share while others were not.

If at anytime, however, you believe there is an error in the value of your property, you should contact the Assessor's Office. An official from the office will visit the property to determine if a reduction is warranted.

Individual Assessment records, including assessed values, property characteristics, and tax maps can now be viewed as part of this website by visiting Assessment Records Online.

Exemptions

If you are 65 years of age or older, or if you are permanently and totally disabled, you may be eligible for the Homestead Property Tax Exemption. If approved, $20,000 will be deducted from the assessed value of the home used as your primary residence. To claim this exemption, you must file the application with the Assessor's Office between July 1 and December 1. The Homestead Exemption saves senior citizens in Marshall County over $800,000 in property taxes annually.

A Senior Citizens Tax Credit is also available for eligible senior citizens. It is based on the amount of property taxes paid on the first $20,000 of the taxable assessed value over the $20,000 Homestead Exemption. If for example, the assessed value of your home is $35,000, the Homestead Exemption automatically exempts $20,000 from the payment of property taxes, which is shown on your annual property tax bill.

The additional $15,000 is then eligible for the Senior Citizens Tax Credit. You must first pay the property tax due, but after filing the proper forms with the State Tax Department, the amount paid is credited to any State Income Tax owed. If no state income tax is owed, the homeowner will receive a refund check from the State Tax Department.

There are low income guidelines associated with the Senior Citizen Tax Credit, although Social Security benefits are not included in the income limits. To claim the credit, a one-person household must have income less than $15,600. A two-person household must have income less than $21,000.

Personal Property Assessments

Personal property assessments differ somewhat from real estate assessments. All persons must report to the Assessor all personal property owned as of July 1 of each year whether visited by a deputy or not. This can be done in one of four ways:

1. Necessary forms and a return envelope are mailed to every property owner in the County prior to July 1 of each year. Simply complete and return the form to the Assessor's Office prior to October 1.
2. While visiting the courthouse, report the information to the Assessor's Office personnel.
3. Taking the form to any high mileage checkpoint held weekly each summer.
4. You are now able to complete the Individual Personal Property Report form online. Simply visit the Assessor's Form page, click the Personal Property Report icon, complete the applicable sections, and then click "Submit".

Vehicle assessments are based on 60% of the lowest value listed in the N.A.D.A. Used Car Guide. Assessment discounts for vehicles with high mileage are available. High Mileage Certifications must be turned in each year prior to October 1. By being assessed for your vehicles each year, you will avoid any late penalties and interest, be eligible for 2 1/2% discount, and reduce the time it takes to renew your vehicle registration each year.

Business Personal Property

All business in the county are mailed a blue, four-page reporting form in early July. The form requests that accurate costs be entered for all personal property owned as of July 1 of each year, including machinery and equipment, inventory, computer equipment, vehicles and furniture and fixtures. All business returns must be submitted no later than October 1st. Those businesses not submitting a return are automatically subject to a 10% increase on the previous year's assessment, are liable for a $100 penalty, and lose any right to appeal the value established.

Out-Of-State Plates Program

The Marshall County Assessor's Office has a program to identify and register those vehicles with out-of-state plates that are owned by residents of Marshall County. West Virginia Code § 17A-3-1a requires every owner of a motor vehicle who is a resident of the state to obtain registration and title to the vehicle(s) from the Department of Motor Vehicles within 30 days of establishing their residency.

It is simply a question of fairness. It is not right that while most vehicle owners in Marshall County pay their personal property taxes annually, others evade their taxes by getting out-of-state plates. This increases the burden on the honest taxpayers and costs the County and School Board rightfully-owed revenue that could be used to address other pressing problems.

If you are aware of any vehicles that are in violation, please report the information to the Out-of-State Plates Investigator, Carla Vessels, by calling the Assessor's Office at 845-1490. You may remain anonymous and will not be involved in any manner once our investigation begins. Please remember, however, that investigations can take up to 120 days to complete in order to assemble evidence to present in court, especially if the alleged violator disputes his West Virginia residency.

The Assessor's Office also has no legal authority to issue any type of arrest warrants to owners of vehicles with out-of-state plates, and we cannot have any vehicles towed. We do place the vehicle(s) on the active property tax rolls so the owner will receive a tax bill for the vehicle(s) in question.

Appealing Your Property Rights

An assessment appeal is not a complaint about higher taxes. It is an attempt to prove that your property's estimated current market value is not accurate. You can ask for a review of your assessment by the Assessor's Office at any time during the year if you believe either of two things:

• Items that affect the value on your property record card are incorrect - you have one bath not two; you have a carport, not a garage.
• The estimated market value is too high and you have evidence that similar properties have sold for less than the estimated market value of your property.

If you are not satisfied with the Assessor's Office review, you then have the opportunity to appear before the Board of Review and Equalization during the month of February each year. The Board is only concerned whether the value placed on your property is fair and accurate, not whether or not your taxes are too high. After the Board adjourns at the end of February, no changes in assessments can be made until the following year.

YOUR TAX BILL

The Sheriff's Tax Office is responsible for the layout, printing, and mailing of the tax bills. Questions regarding any of those processes should be directed to the Sheriff of Marshall County. You should also pay your bill at the Sheriff's Tax Office. If you do not receive a bill and believe that you should have, questions regarding amounts due, delinquencies, or payment due dates should also be directed to the Sheriff's Office.

Annual Assessment & Application Deadlines

July 1
All property assessed annually, according to its value as of July 1.

July 1 - October 1
Filing period for business personal property returns.
Filing period for high mileage discount certification.

July 1 - September 1
Farm use discount application period.

July 1 - December 1
Homestead property tax exemption application period.

July 1 - January 31
Period that Assessor's Office will accept individual personal property returns.

January 31
Last day for the Assessor to revise real estate & personal property assessments.

February 1 - 28
Board of Review and Equalization meets to hear assessment appeals.

August 1
Annual tax statements mailed.

ASSESSOR'S OFFICE STAFF AND EXPERIENCE

Employee	Years of Service	Job Description
Christopher J. Kessler	17	Assessor
Jim Buzzard	27	Real Estate Appraiser
Betty Carney	51	Office Manager
Larry Jefferson	22	Real Estate Office Deputy
Patricia Jones	5	Personal Property Deputy
Sherri Jones	9	Administrative Assistant
Jodi Patterson	1.5	Personal Property Deputy
Brenda Koontz	18	Data Entry Deputy
Don Krupica	16	Chief Deputy
Don Schafer	16	Real Estate Field Deputy
Mark Schuman	16	Real Estate Field Deputy
Kathy Stalnaker	17	Mapper/Property Transfers
Joe Twigg	15	Real Estate Field Deputy
Carla Vessels	4	Out-of-State Plates Deputy
Karen Zumbrunnen	18	Personal Property Deputy
Average Years of Service	15.8