2005 Reassessment

For more information, please call the Charleston County Assessor's Office at (843) 958-4100.

Why have reassessment?
Why do we pay property tax?
How is reassessment done?
How will I be advised of my reassessment change?
How can I be sure my reassessment is fair and correct?
Will my taxes increase because of reassessment?
How is property taxed?
Terms and Definitions

Why have reassessment?

State law requires that property be taxed fairly and equitably. Reassessment ensures that the tax burden is distributed equally so that no one pays more or less property tax than they should. South Carolina law now mandates that counties must conduct a reassessment every five years. The S.C. Department of Revenue ordered Charleston County to implement a reassessment for tax year 2000 and every five years thereafter. The 2005 reassessment is Charleston County’s second reassessment under the five year system.

From the time your property is added to the tax rolls, the assessment does not change unless changes are made to the property or a reassessment program is implemented. Property values change at different rates depending on location, desirability of the neighborhood, age and physical condition, etc. Fair reassessments are not possible unless correct appraisals are made in light of current market values. Since your reassessment forms the basis for your tax bill, a fair and equitable tax can result only from a fair and equitable reassessment.

Only real property values are affected by reassessment. Values of personal property, such as cars, boats and motorcycles are kept current through annual updates by the S.C. Department of Revenue.

Why do we pay property tax?

Property tax is collected by local governments to provide for the services that impact our daily lives. Schools, police and fire protection, EMS, garbage pick up, the judicial system and public libraries are possible because of revenue from the property tax. A review of your most recent tax bill shows a detailed breakdown of how and where your tax dollars are used.

Charleston County’s School District, County Government, municipalities and special purpose districts determine how much money must be collected to fund these services and estimate the rate of tax necessary to meet their budgets. For many governments, property taxes make up only a portion of the total revenue needed to fund the budget. Fees and other sources of income make up the remainder.

Real property taxes are paid by owners of land and buildings, including homeowners, landlords, business owners and industries. We are all asked to pay our fair share of the cost of these services by paying tax in proportion to the value of our property. These taxes are based on the value of the land and buildings that existed on December 31 of the preceding year.

How is reassessment done?

Determining the value on all properties is a massive undertaking, requiring the Assessor to maintain information on more than 150,000 properties, including size, location and certain amenities, such as the number of baths, bedrooms, etc.

To find the value of any piece of property, the Assessor researches what similar properties are selling for, replacement cost, how much it takes to operate and repair, what rent the property may earn, and other factors affecting its value, such as the rate of interest charged for borrowing the money to buy or build properties.

All county appraisers receive extensive training and must be licensed by the S.C. Real Estate Appraisal Board. It is important to remember that the Assessor does not create value, only the market place can do that. The principle of supply and demand is the largest single factor in determining a property’s worth.

How will I be advised of my reassessment change?

Reassessment notices are mailed in reassessment years to each property owner. This notice is not a tax bill, but simply a way to notify owners about a change in the property’s value.

The notice includes several types of information: your new market value, the reassessed value, assessment ratio, number of acres or lots, location of property, parcel identification number, and the appeals procedure. Some property owners may mistakenly interpret that the total assessment is the amount of their taxes. This is not true. Your taxes will be a small fraction of your total assessment. For more details of how this works, please see the example under "How is property taxed?"

How can I be sure my reassessment is fair and correct?

If, after receiving your reassessment notice, you disagree or have questions concerning the new value assigned your property, you have the right to appeal. You have 90 days from the date on the reassessment notice to object. You must submit a signed Letter of Objection to the Charleston County Assessor’s Office, P.O. Box 427, Charleston, S.C., 29402, and state why you believe the reassessment is incorrect.

The Assessor will review your letter and take one of the following actions:

(1) If your letter contains enough information regarding your appeal, such as owner’s opinion of value and evidence to support that value, the Assessor’s Office will review the appraisal of your property in light of the information provided in the letter. After the review is complete, the Assessor will notify you of the results via a reassessment notice.

(2) If your letter does not contain information sufficient to conduct an appraisal review, the Assessor’s Office will, within 30 days (or as soon as practical), schedule a meeting with you to discuss your concerns. The appraiser will review your property record with you and give you information about the appraisal on your property.

If your concerns cannot be resolved by the Assessor’s Office, you may appeal to the Charleston County Board of Assessment Appeals. If you disagree with the Board’s decision, you can further appeal to the S.C. Administrative Law Judge Division.

To be sure your reassessment is fair and correct, you should verify: that any items that affect market value, such as size, number of baths, etc., are correct; that your property is not appraised more than recent sales of comparable properties; and that your property is equally appraised when compared with like surrounding properties.

If your objection or subsequent appeal remain pending on December 31, you will be billed 80 percent of the taxes due until the appeal is resolved. The remaining tax amount will be determined based on the outcome of your appeal.

Will my taxes increase because of reassessment?

This fall when tax bills are mailed, some property owners will notice a decrease in their taxes, some will stay the same and some will pay more taxes. Reassessment is not created to raise taxes, it is intended to distribute the taxes already being collected more fairly among all property owners.

Because it has been several years since the last reassessment, property values have likely increased. Unless a property has suffered damage and needs repair, it is unusual for values to go down. Because of the increase in values during reassessment, state law requires that local governments reduce their millage rates.

State law requires that the total tax revenue collected by local governments in the year of reassessment cannot exceed the previous year’s revenues by more than the Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus any increase that would come naturally from new construction. This, however, does not prevent a school district, county, city or public service district from raising additional revenues to pay for new or expanded services. Any millage rate increase over the CPI must be approved by a super majority of the governing body at a specially called public meeting.

The CPI limitation applies to total tax revenue, not individual tax bills. The important thing to remember is that when values go up, millage should go down to accommodate the CPI limitation.

Taxes on cars, boats and other personal property will go down. This is because value on personal property is kept current from year to year, and the decrease in the millage rate will result in lower taxes.

How is property taxed?

Property that is the owner’s principle residence is assessed at 4 percent of its appraised value, provided proper application has been made. All other residential and commercial property is assessed at a 6 percent assessment ratio. Industrial property, which is appraised by the S.C. Department of Revenue, is assessed at 10.5 percent.

To figure taxes on a property, the market value is multiplied by the assessment ratio to arrive at the assessed value. The assessed value is then multiplied by the millage in your tax district to arrive at the amount of taxes. There are 33 different tax districts in Charleston County.

Example:

The 2004 taxes on a $100,000 home with a legal residence assessment in the unincorporated area of Charleston County is calculated as follows:

	$100,000.00	(Market or Appraised Value)
	x .04	(Assessment Ratio)
	$ 4,000.00	(Assessed Value)
	x .1919	(191.9 Mills)
	$ 767.60	(Property Tax)
	- 118.00	(Local Option Credit - County)
	- 324.00	(State Property Tax Relief - Schools)
	$ 325.20	(Total Tax Due)

The tax may be further reduced if the homeowner qualifies for Homestead Exemption. Also, properties are charged a Recycling and Solid Waste Disposal Fee.

Terms and Definitions

Reassessment: Systematic appraisal of groups of properties as of a given date.

Millage Rate: The ratio used to determine the individual tax to be levied on a property. A mill is equivalent to 1/1000 of a dollar. For example, if the millage rate is 200 mills and the assessed value of a property is $1,000, the tax on that property is $200.

Market Value: The most probable price a property should bring in if offered for sale.

Appraised Value: Also known as Actual or Fair Market Value, it is the true market value of a property.

Assessed Value: The amount of a property’s value to be taxed, as determined by the Assessor. To determine the assessed value, the appraised value is multiplied by the appropriate assessment ratio.

Assessment Ratios: Owner-occupied and agricultural properties are assessed at 4 percent of their appraised value. Commercial and non owner-occupied residential properties are assessed at 6 percent. Manufacturing properties are assessed at 10.5 percent of the appraised value as determined by the S.C. Department of Revenue.