Property reassessment notices, not tax bills, mailed out

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Starting Sept. 14, approximately 195,000 Charleston County property owners will receive reassessment notices, a county news release said.

The notices are to inform real estate and mobile home owners of the new value of their property and whether there are any other tax-related changes.

Every five years or so, the Charleston County Assessor’s office is required by state law to reassess the taxable value of properties, because the value fluctuates over time. Charleston County’s last reassessment was carried out in 2015, based on 2013 sales and values.

This year’s reassessment is based on 2018 numbers.

By law, revenue generated by the reassessment can’t be higher than the previous year’s, so some property owners will see see a decline in their taxes, some will see no change and others will see an increase.

“For most property owners in Charleston County, property values will increase some because property values are higher than the values for the last reassessment,” Charleston County Assessor Toy Glennon said.

During the five years between reassessments, single-family median home values have increased by nearly 21%, the news release said, going from $270,000 in 2013 to $326,300 in 2018, and up to $330,000 in 2019.

Additionally, state law places a 15% cap on the increase in the taxable value of a home.

“Some properties will benefit from the state law that limits increases in taxable value to a maximum of 15% over the previous value,” Glennon said.

That cap does not affect properties that were sold or transferred within the previous year, however. Property sold or transferred in 2019, for example, does not qualify for the cap.

Tax bills will be sent out in the fall by the Charleston County auditor’s office. Taxes can be influenced by several other factors, including millage, exemptions, deductions and special-use values.

“Some property owners mistakenly interpret that the total assessment on the reassessment notice is the new amount of their taxes. This is not true, as the taxes will be only a small fraction of the total assessment,” Glennon said.

Property owners who disagree with their reassessment value have 90 days to fill out the Notice of Objection form that’s included in their mailed paperwork and send it to the assessor’s office.