Just bought a house and the property tax is still based on the bubble price. Called the assesors office and they said that they had dropped the value from the original amount yet they did.not drop the taxes. I am going to fill out the papers to file an appeal also for my current house since it will be a rental property. The values have dropped in half yet the taxes have not. Looks like I'm going to have to do a little work but I'm hoping it will be worth it I hate spending 262 dollars.a month on property tax and 100 a month for the other.

If it works like Maricopa County, there's an 18 month lag in the tax valuation. Welcome to legal rape and robbery.

The value of my house has gone down about 40% in the last 2-3 years, but my taxes have gone UP 25%! WTF!

Your appeal will result in an even higher assessed value.  Lube it up.......

I'm gonna fight this one and I might get everyone in the development involved once I check the records and compare tax rates. I'm tired of all the Shit we get fed by politicians and gov employees that can't do the job they are supposed to do. The line is drawn in the sand I might not win but it will be an awesome fight. Talked to a tax attorney and he said persistence pays off, he said most of the time people get shot down by the girl answering the phone saying nothing can be done. I had my wife call and those where her exact words. We will see...

Your time for an administrative appeal has expired and you may not appeal tax rates only value. The current valuation cycle is for tax year 2011. However, as a new owner you have until December 15th to file a small claims appeal in tax court assuming you purchased after January 1st, 2010.  Be careful appealing the rental. If it's listed as a owner occupied residence and it's discovered to be a rental, the classification will be changed and your taxes will go up.  Your current taxes which have already been paid where based on what your property was worth on the exact day of January 1st, 2009.

It is possible to file a claim if you feel there is an error in your tax rate.  That's complicated and takes specialized knowledge but not impossible.  By the way, very very few attorney's know dick about property tax valuation and appeals.  You're wasting your time talking to one who doesn't specialize in property tax.  There is perhaps one in Pima County that knows what he's doing but he's not an expert in residential as there is no benefit in wasting time on residential appeals.  Good luck.

Original value assessed was 320k now current assessed is 208k yet still paying over 3k in taxes while other house for sale is assessed at 200k and taxes are 2k . Does this mean next year when the new value hits the taxes will be lower? How do they calculate the taxes based on the value if the value goes down and taxes don't?

Tax rates are set on the third Monday of August each year.  The Board of Supervisors of each county have a budget they have to pay for each year.  The tax rates are adjusted each year to pay that budget.  So in theory your taxes should be the same each year regardless if your value changes if the budget stays the same and there is no new construction in your taxing district.  That is theory though and doesn't occur since budgets change, values change and assessment ratios change for different classes of property.

There are some legislative constraints that prevent certain tax rates from going up very quickly but there are no constraints on the rates being lowered.  You will notice that  you actually are taxed on two values, not just one.  The primary value or limited property value is where the majority of taxes are collected.  These taxes pay for schools, fire, etc.  The secondary value or full cash value is the one that is based on what the value of your real estate would sell for in an open market.  And it is the only value that you appeal.  The secondary or full cash value pays for loans, bonds or certain overrides that have been passed by the Board or voter approved.  Generally, three quarters of your tax bill will be the limited property value and one quarter should be from your full cash value.  That's not always the case especially in Pima County which has some pretty strange valuation processes that are unique to that County.  Taxes also vary depending on which school district you live in.  Tax rates generally will be higher in districts that have low property value but high school costs and lower in areas that have high property value and low school costs.  In other words, poor neighborhoods with lots of kids pay more in tax than rich neighborhoods with no kids.  That's not always the case and depends on how much commercial property exists within a district plus other factors.  

Arizona property tax is very complex in relation to the rest of the country.  It also has some of of the lowest residential property taxes in the country and some of the highest commercial taxes.

Thanks for the help. Seems like another reason people should force our gov to be fiscally responsible. I would say our wages are low compared to other areas of the country and taxes are high compared to home values. I just found out that this past assessment dropped to 158k that's less then half the original value and same or more tax rate.........WAKE-UP PEOPLE