About Us
Mission
The mission of the Montgomery County Assessor of Property is to
discover, list, classify, and value all taxable property in the
jurisdiction of Montgomery County, Tennessee for Ad Valorem (according
to value) tax purposes. The Assessor of Property is responsible to the
property owners and taxpayers of Montgomery County to ensure that all
property subject to taxation is valued in accordance with state laws,
that no property escapes the assessment process or is under-assessed,
and that no property owner receives unauthorized preferential treatment.
In the performance of these duties, it is the goal of this department
to provide the highest level of professional service and technical
assistance to the public on all matters relating to property assessment
and tax policy.
About the Assessor of Property
The Montgomery County Assessor of Property is a Tennessee
constitutionally elected official who serves at the pleasure of the
Montgomery County citizens for a four-year term of office. It is the
assessor's responsibility to discover, list, classify, and value all
property within the jurisdiction of Montgomery County for tax purposes.
Taxable property is divided into two classes, real property and
personal property. Real property includes land and all buildings,
structures, and improvements to the land. Personal property is machinery
and equipment, fixtures, furniture, and other items that are movable in
nature used by a business.
Responsibilities
The Montgomery County Assessor of Property is a Tennessee
constitutionally elected official who serves at the pleasure of the
Montgomery County citizens for a four-year term of office. It is the
assessor's responsibility to discover, list, classify, and value all
property within the jurisdiction of Montgomery County for tax purposes.
Taxable property is divided into two classes, real property and
personal property. Real property includes land and all buildings,
structures, and improvements to the land. Personal property is machinery
and equipment, fixtures, furniture, and other items that are movable in
nature used by a business.
The Assessor's job is multi-faceted and involves the performance of the following major duties:
Discover
To ensure that all property that should legally be on the county
assessment roll is properly listed, classified and valued, it must first
be located and identified. This task of discovery is a constant attempt
to capture all new construction, additions and demolition of existing
improvements, as well as changes to land use and configuration. To
accomplish this, assessment personnel track building permits, completion
notices, property sales, zoning changes and a host of other sources for
information about property status. Field inspections of all
subdivisions and rural sectors of the county on a regular basis help the
Assessor keep records as up-to-date as possible with regard to property
changes. Discovery of personal property is accomplished through a
reporting schedule that businesses are required to file each year by 1
March, listing all personal property or updating those schedules already
on file.
List
After locating property, assessing personnel must accurately
record and list all of that property’s characteristics to properly value
the land and all improvements. All structures and extra features are
measured, and amenities or features that affect the market value of the
improvements such as bathrooms, interior and exterior trim, floors
finish, roofing type, etc. are noted for quantity and quality. After
all data has been collected on a property, the information is compared
to all similar properties using a computer assisted mass appraisal
(CAMA) system that contains the property characteristics of all land and
buildings in the county.
Classify
Along with assigning a value to property, the Assessor also
establishes the classification or “use category” for each property,
which determines the assessment level that will be used in taxation for
that property. Tennessee law establishes the following assessment levels
for different property classes:
- Residential - 25%
- Commercial and Industrial - 40%
- Farm - 25%
- Exempt - 0%
- Public Utility - 55% (both real and personal)
- Personal Property - 30%
Value
The rules governing the tax appraisal process in Tennessee are
based upon the same principles and procedures that are used throughout
the appraisal profession. There are three basic approaches to the
valuation of real property:
The MARKET approach involves comparison of a property to other properties with similar characteristics that have recently been sold.
The COST approach involves estimating the replacement cost of a structure, and adjusting that estimate to account for depreciation.
The INCOME approach is an analysis of a property's value based on its capacity to generate revenue for the owner.
The goal of the Assessor is to estimate fair market value for all
property in the county. Fair market value is defined as how much a
property would sell for, in an open market, under normal conditions. To
determine market values, the assessor must be familiar with all aspects
of the local real estate market, such as: what different types of
properties are selling for, local construction and repair costs, normal
operating expenses, typical rents, and current financing charges for
borrowing money to build or buy property.
Mapping
For the Assessor, maps are a means to inventory all real
property within the jurisdiction. The Assessor is required to maintain
an up-to-date set of maps that display all of the parcels in the county,
detailing their locations and physical characteristics. In Montgomery
County, this is accomplished through the use of a CAD-based GIS
(Geographic Information System). Master digital maps are updated to
reflect new subdivisions, surveys, property splits and the combining of
parcels as they occur, and then paper maps are printed and placed in
cabinets for reference and public viewing.
Reappraisal
Reappraisal of property for tax purposes is required on a
periodic basis to maintain appraisals at market value and to ensure
equity of appraisals throughout the jurisdiction. Every county in
Tennessee is on either a four, five, or six year cycle of reappraisal.
Montgomery County is on a five year cycle that consists of four years of
comprehensive on-site review of every parcel of property in the county,
followed by revaluation of all property in the fifth year.
Appeals and Tax Rolls
Each year, the assessor is required to create and maintain an
assessment roll detailing all county property, its owner, and its value.
This roll, with preliminary, or tentative assessments, is made
available for public inspection in May. Property owners whose property
have changed in value are notified by mail of those changes, and are
given an opportunity to appeal any values they feel are inconsistent
with the fair market value of their property. The County Board of
Equalization, after hearing owners’ appeals and ordering any changes
they feel are warranted, makes the assessment roll final for the year.
The Assessor of Property then turns the roll over to local taxing
authorities.
Public Assistance
Another important duty of the office is maintaining and providing
public information to assist taxpayers and the general public with
questions regarding property ownership, assessment, and recent property
sales. The Assessor’s office handles thousands of requests annually on
the phone, through the mail, or in person from current or prospective
property owners, as well as from the real estate, legal, and banking
communities.
Myths and Legends
Now that you have a better idea of what the Assessor of Property
does, here are a few things that the Assessor does not do. Contrary to
popular belief, the Assessor:
- does not set the tax rate
- does not create or send out tax bills
- does not collect taxes
Tax rates for Montgomery County and the City of Clarksville are
set each year by their respective legislative bodies (county commission
and city council) based on the budgets they pass to fund programs and
services. The County Trustee is responsible for using that tax rate and
the assessment roll from the assessor’s office to create and send out
tax bills to all county property owners. The Trustee is also responsible
for collecting property taxes.
Equitable assessments assure property owners that they are paying
only their fair share of the costs of operating schools and libraries,
providing police and fire protection, road construction and maintenance,
water, sanitation, and other basic public services. To this end, the
Assessor of Property is responsible to the taxpayers of Montgomery
County to ensure that all property is valued in accordance with state
laws, that no property escapes the assessment process or is under
assessed, and that no property owner receives unauthorized preferential
treatment.