Welcome to the Indiana Board of Tax Review
The Indiana Board of Tax Review (IBTR) is the state agency charged with deciding property tax assessment appeals. The IBTR addresses appeals contesting real and personal property assessments. It also addresses appeals from denials or grants of exemptions, deductions and refunds. The IBTR, however, lacks jurisdiction to address appeals where taxpayers contest only their tax bill and not their property's assessment.
IMPORTANT NOTICES
Change in Notice of Public Hearing
LSA Document #11-669
The Indiana Board of Tax Review gives notice that the date of the public hearing for LSA Document #11-669, posted at 20120201-IR-052110669PHA, has been changed. The changed Notice of Public Hearing appears below:
Notice of Public Hearing
Under IC 4-22-2-24, notice is hereby given that on June 21, 2012, at 1:30 p.m., at the Indiana Government Center North, 100 North Senate Avenue, Room N1026, Indianapolis, Indiana, the Indiana Board of Tax Review will hold a public hearing on its proposed amendments to 52 IAC 1, 52 IAC 2 and 52 IAC 3 which include, but may not be limited to, clarifying that a certified public accountant cannot practice before the board for matters involving personal property tax exemptions, making the definition of “practice before the board” consistent in Article 1 and Article 2, clarifying that the prohibitions restricting the practice before the board for certified tax representatives also applies to certified public accountants, local government representatives and representatives of minor and incapacitated parties, allowing a hearing to be held in any county in which an administrative law judge has an office, clarifying that filing a motion for summary judgment is a delay reasonably caused by a party, incorporating the notice requirements of Trial Rule 34(c) relating to subpoenas to nonparties, clarifying that a party that does not object to the election of the board’s small claims procedures for a property that does not qualify for participation in such procedures may be deemed to consent to the small claims procedures for that matter, establishing a time limit for requesting documentary evidence under the board’s small claims procedures, comply with the Indiana Supreme Court’s pro hac vice rule promulgated on September 20, 2011, and adding rules for the board’s voluntary resolution program authorized by IC 6-1.5-3-4.
The Indiana Board of Tax Review has the authority to adopt this rule under Ind. Code § 6-1.5-6-1, Ind. Code § 6-1.5-6-2 and Ind. Code § 6-1.5-6-3. In accordance with IC 4-22-2-24(d)(3), the proposed rule imposes requirements and costs on regulated entities. The purpose of this rule is to amend the Board’s rules to comply with the changes made to the Supreme Court’s procedural rules and to amend the Board’s existing rules for clarity and efficiency.
Copies of this rule are now on file at the Indiana Board of Tax Review, Indiana Government Center-North, 100 North Senate Avenue, Room N1026, Indianapolis, Indiana 46204, and Legislative Services Agency, One North Capitol, Suite 325, Indianapolis, Indiana, and are open to public inspection.
Carol S. Comer, Senior Administrative Law Judge,
Indiana Board of Tax Review
Indiana Government Center-North,
100 North Senate Avenue, Room N1026
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
(317) 232-3776
The IBTR received the following response to its "Small Business Economic Impact Statement" from the Indiana Economic Development Commission. Click here to see the response.
To view the IBTR’s proposed amendments to 52 IAC 1, 52 IAC 2 and 52 IAC 3, click here.
Practice Before the Board
On September 20, 2011, the Indiana Supreme Court issued its “Order Amending Indiana Rules for Admission to the Bar and the Discipline of Attorneys.”
Rule 3, Section 2 now states that “Any court of the State of Indiana, in the exercise of discretion, may permit a member of the bar of another state or territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia, not admitted pursuant to Rule 21, to appear in a particular case or proceeding, only if the court before which the attorney wishes to appear, or in the case of an administrative proceeding, the Supreme Court determines that there is good cause for such appearance” and certain conditions are met. Ind. R. Admis. Bar & Disc. Att'ys 3, § 2 Admission of Attorneys: Temporary Admission on Petition (emphasis added).
This is contrary to the current provisions of the Board’s rule promulgated at 52 IAC 2-3-2(c) which holds that “Attorneys not admitted to practice in Indiana seeking to appear before the board must also file a verified petition with the board setting forth the following: (1) The name, address, and phone number of the attorney’s law firm or employer; (2) The states or territories in which the attorney is licensed to practice law, and that the attorney is currently a member in good standing in all jurisdictions; and (3) That the attorney has never been suspended or disbarred or resigned as a result of a disciplinary charge, investigation, or proceedings from the practice of law in any jurisdiction, or, if the attorney has been suspended or disbarred or resigned from the practice of law, the petition shall specify the following: the jurisdiction; the charges; and the address of the court and disciplinary authority that imposed the sanction” and the provisions of 52 IAC 2-2-4(7), which defines an “authorized representative” to include “An attorney who is a member in good standing of the Indiana bar or any person who: (A) is a member in good standing of any other state bar; and (B) has been granted leave to appear before the board.”
Therefore, any foreign attorney seeking to practice before the Board must petition the Indiana Supreme Court for permission to do so. Despite the Board’s rules to the contrary, the Board does not have the authority to grant leave to practice before it to an attorney who is not licensed to practice in the state of Indiana.
Burden Shifting Legislation
Effective July 1, 2011, the Indiana General Assembly enacted Ind. Code § 6-1.1-15-17, which has since been repealed and re-enacted as Ind. Code § 6-1.1-15-17.2 due to a technical correction. Ind. Code § 6-1.1-15-17.2 provides the following:This section applies to any review or appeal of an assessment under this chapter if the assessment that is the subject of the review or appeal increased the assessed value of the assessed property by more than five percent (5%) over the assessed value determined by the county assessor or township assessor (if any) for the immediately preceding assessment date for the same property. The county assessor or township assessor making the assessment has the burden of proving that the assessment is correct in any review or appeal under this chapter and in any appeals taken to the Indiana board of tax review or to the Indiana tax court.
Assessment and Valuation Dates
For the 2006-2009 assessment years, the valuation date is “January 1 of the year preceding the year of the assessment date.” 50 IAC 21-3-3 (2006). Thus, for a March 1, 2006 assessment, the valuation date is January 1, 2005, while the valuation date for a March 1, 2007 assessment is January 1, 2006, and so on.
For assessment dates after December 31, 2009, “an adjustment in the assessed value of real property under this section shall be based on the estimated true tax value of the property on the assessment date that is the basis for taxes payable on that real property.” Ind. Code § 6-1.1-4-4.5(f) (2010). Thus, for example, the valuation date for a March 1, 2010 assessment is March 1, 2010. See Valuation Date.
Who is the party to defend the PTABOA determination?
If an appeal is based on a PTABOA determination issued after June 30, 2007, then the county assessor is the party to defend the determination. See Ind. Code § 6-1.1-15-3(b) P.L. 219-2007 (SEA 287) §§ 39, 156(c). The statute clearly states that the county assessor is the party to defend the determination of the PTABOA.
For appeals based on a PTABOA determination issued before June 30, 2007, you must determine whether there is a township assessor.
If there is a township assessor, then the township assessor is the party to defend the determination.
If the township assessor’s duties have been statutorily transferred to the county assessor, then the county assessor is the party to defend the assessment.
Thus in most appeals before the Board, the county assessor is the party to defend the PTABOA determination. The only exception is for appeals based on PTABOA determinations issued before June 30, 2007, where there is a township assessor. See Chart.
Appeal Rights
Public Law 219-2007 created new deadlines for a local property tax assessment board of appeals ("PTABOA") to act on a taxpayer's written notice requesting a review of his or her assessment. The new deadlines apply to review notices filed after June 30, 2007. In those cases, a PTABOA must hold a hearing within 180 days after the taxpayer filed his or her review notice, and it must issue a written determination within 120 days of that hearing. If the PTABOA fails to hold a hearing within 180 days and/or fails to issue a determination within 120 days of its hearing, a taxpayer needn't wait for the PTABOA to issue a determination; he or she may file an appeal directly with the Indiana Board of Tax Review. That direct appeal option is only available in cases where a taxpayer filed his or her written review notice after June 30, 2007.
