Appeals: The Appeals Process

Note that three things may happen on appeal:

1. The assessed value may be raised;
2. It may be lowered;
3. It may remain the same;

An appeal begins with filing a Form 130 – Taxpayer’s Notice to Initiate an Appeal with the local assessing official. The appeal should detail the pertinent facts of why the assessed value is being disputed. A taxpayer may only request a review of the current year’s assessed valuation. Following an informal conference with the local assessing official, the assessor will make a recommendation either denying or approving the appeal. If denied, the appeal will be forwarded to the county Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals (PTABOA) for review. If the PTABOA denies the appeal, instructions will be provided on appealing the decision to the Indiana Board of Tax Review. After being heard by the Indiana Board of Tax Review, taxpayers may also seek review by the Indiana Tax Court.

A taxpayer can still file an appeal concerning “objective” issues (i.e. factual matters, such as the property record card contains an incorrect description of the property, like a garage that does not exist, incorrect plumbing fixtures, etc.); however, it is on page 2 of the Form 130.

An objective appeal issue may include:

1. The assessment was against the wrong person.
2. The approval, denial or omission of a deduction, credit, exemption, abatement or tax cap.
3. A clerical, mathematical or typographical mistake.
4. The description of the property.
5. The legality or constitutionality of a property tax or assessment.

Objective claims may be made for up to three years of assessments with the submission of the Form-130. However, taxpayers requesting refunds must also file a Claim for Refund form (Form 17T).

Access the appeals flowchart by clicking Procedure for Appeal of Assessment Flow Chart.

Terms and Definitions

Assessment Notice - A written notice to the property owner of the assessed value of certain properties described in the notice. Law mandates that notice be given to the property owner following a revaluation of the property. The Form 11 is the actual notice sent by the Assessor listing some of the property characteristics and the new assessed values.

Land - The ground on which improvements may be placed. Does not include anything but the land itself.

Improvements - Anything that is built on the land. (i.e., house, barn, pool, paving etc.)

Real Property - The sum of tangible and intangible rights in land and improvements on the land. Real Property means the following:

• Land located within this state.
• A building or fixture situated on land located within this state.
• An appurtenance to land located within this state.
• An easement in land located within this state, or an estate, right, or privilege in mines located on the land or minerals, including, but not limited to, oil and gas, located in the land, if the estate, right, or privilege is distinct from the ownership of the surface of the land.
• A gaming riverboat licensed under IC-4-33.

Personal Property - Movable items not permanently affixed to or part of the real estate such as:

• Billboard and other advertising devices which are located on real property that is not owned by the owner of the devices.
• Mobile homes, airplanes, and trailers not subject to the trailer tax under IC 6-6-5.
• Foundations (other than foundations which support a building or structure) on which machinery or equipment is installed.
• All other tangible property (other than real property) which is being held for sale in the ordinary course of a trade or business, held, used, or consumed in connection with the production of income, or held as an investment.

Real Estate - The physical land and everything permanently attached to it.

Tangible Property – The combination of Real Property and Personal Property.

Tangible Personal Property – Personal Property, such as goods, wares, and merchandise. Anything that has physical attributes: can actually be seen and handled physically.

Intangible Personal Property – Personal Property, such as money, deposits, credits, shares of stock, bonds, notes, other evidences of indebtedness, and other evidences of property interests: paper assets.

Inheritance Tax

Repeal of Inheritance Tax
Indiana's inheritance tax was repealed for individuals dying after December 31, 2012. No inheritance tax returns (Form IH-6 for Indiana residents and Form IH-12 for Nonresidents) have to be prepared or filed. No tax has to be paid. In addition, no Consents to Transfer (Form IH-14) personal property or Notice of Intended Transfer of Checking Account (Form IH-19) are required for those dying after December 31, 2012.

FOR INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE DIED BEFORE JANUARY 1, 2013:

Time for fling inheritance tax return.
For decedents dying on after July 1, 2001, to: inheritance tax return is required to be filed within nine months of the date of death rather than one year as for earlier decedent. The probate court still has authority to extend the time for filing and to waive the penalty for late filing

Notices and Hearings.
The assessor is required to give notice of the time and place of the appraisal to each person interested in the estate and to each person designated by the probate court. In most cases this force is waived.

Time for payment of inheritance tax.
For decedents dying on or after July 1, 2001, payment of inheritance tax must be made within nine months of the date of death to obtain the five percent discount. Payments made more the one-year after date of death are subject to interest from date of death until date of payment at ten percent per annum for decedents dying on or after July 1, 2001. The probate court still has authority to reduce much interest from ten to six percent.

Time for payment of Indiana estate tax and Indiana generation skipping transfer tax.
Payment of Indiana estate tax and Indiana generation skipping transfer tax is due twelve months after date of death for decedents dying on or after July 1, 2001. For decedents dying earlier, the due date is 18 months after date of death.

Affidavit of no inheritance tax due.
The provisions for in former affidavit of inheritance tax exemptions were repealed and the department is to prescribe another affidavit form. The new form maybe used to state that no inheritance tax is due after applying the inheritance tax exemptions. Pursuant to the 2001 legislation, the department and the county assessors may rely on This affidavit in determining whether a transfer will jeopardize collection of inheritance tax and whether to consent to the transfer of personal property. 'Flu's affidavit |2 be available only for estates in which tie total value of property transferred to each transferee is not greater than the transferee's exemption then the affidavit is not available for that decedent's estate. If by transferee of a decedent receives property with a value greater than that transferee's exemption, own the affidavit for that decedent's estate. If the affidavit concerns real estate and contains the legal description of such real estate, the affidavit may be recorded in the office of the catty recorder. It is to be presumed that no inheritance tax is due ad no inheritance tax return is required to be filed where such an affidavit is properly executed and is either recorded in decedent's city of residence or submitted to be county assessor to obtain a consent to transfer.

Family Allowance.
The family allowance provided by Indiana code 29-1-4-1 was increased from $15,000 to $ 25,000.

Inventory of Safe Deposit boxes.
The 1999 Legislature amended the safe deposit box inventory requirement by eliminating the requirement as to boxes of decedents dying after June 30. 1999.

Inheritance Tax Exemptions and Rates
Class A Beneficiaries
a) Exemptions
Adult Child $100,000
Minor Child $100,000
Parent $100,000
Other lineal ancestor or descendant $100,000
b) Tax Rates

0 –25,000	1% of net taxable value
25,000 – 49,999	$250 plus 2% of net over $25,000
50,000 – 199,999	$750 plus 3% of net over $50,000
200,000 – 299,999	$5,250 plus 4% of net over $200,000
300,000 – 499,999	$9,250 plus 5% of net over $300,000
500,000 – 699,999	$19,250 plus 6% of net over $500,000
700,000 – 999,999	$31,250 plus 7% of net over $700,000
1,000,000 – 1,500,000	$52,250 plus 8% of net over $1,000,000
1,500,000	$92,250 plus 10% of net over 1,500,000

Class B Beneficiaries
a) Exemptions
Brother or Sister
Descedndant of Brother or Sister $500.00
Son or Dauther-In-Law
b) Tax Rates

0 –99,999	7% of net taxable value
100,000 – 499,999	$7,000 plus 10% of net over $100,000
500,000 – 1,000,000	$47,000 plus 12% of net over $500,000
1,000,000	$107,000 plus 15% of net over $1,000,000

Frequently Asked Questions

Forms

Please take note of the instructions regarding the forms below:

• Blank forms may be downloaded.
• Fillable PDFs will not save as populated under the "save" option. Once filled, they may be printed to a PDF under the "print" option.
• Fillable forms are to be printed, signed, and submitted to the Assessor's office.

Additional Resources

Shelby County, Indiana website - http://www.shelbycounty73.com
Indiana Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) - https://in.gov/dlgf
Indiana Board of Tax Review (IBTR) - https://www.in.gov/ibtr
Real Property Forms:

• Form 130 - Petition to the property Tax Assessment board of Appeals for review or both real and personal property assessment.
• Form 131 - Petition to the State Board of Tax Commissioners for Review of Assessment.
• Power of Attorney - POA-1
• Power of Attorney - IH-28

Tax Bill Estimator

The Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF), in partnership with the Indiana Business Research Center (IBRC) at Indiana University, created the below tax bill projection tools for Indiana taxpayers. These tools will allow the taxpayer to enter their property's assessed value and possible deductions to see a range of tax bill estimates.

The estimates provided by these tools are projections only and should not be taken as a statement of true tax liability.

For a list of Taxing Districts (Number/Name) by Township, please see this listing made available by the DLGF.

Personal Property

Personal Property is a self-assessed valuation system whereby property owners are responsible for reporting all tangible personal property that is used in their trade or business, used for the production of income, or held as an investment that should be or is subject to depreciation for federal income tax purposes.

Completed personal property returns are due on May 15th of the assessment year. A penalty of twenty-five dollars ($25) applies for returns filed after May 15th. For returns not filed within thirty (30) days of the due date, an additional fee of twenty percent (20%) of the taxes payable will be assessed.

Click here for 50 IAC 4.2 Personal Property Regulation or Indiana Code 6-1.1-3

Pursuant to Indiana Code 6-1.1-3-7 (b), a county assessor may grant an extension of not more than thirty (30) days to file the taxpayer’s return. Shelby County is no longer automatically granting extensions of time to file business personal property returns when requested. Extensions are granted sparingly to taxpayers demonstrating a hardship or qualifying circumstances. The requests for extensions will be reviewed and granted on a case by case basis.

Personal Property Exemption

Businesses with $80,000 or more cost per county, with the same federal identification number, will file the required Business Tangible Personal Property returns postmarked by May 15 to avoid penalties.

Businesses with less than $80,000 cost per county, with the same federal identification number will declare the exemption by filing the required forms and marking the checkbox at the top of the Form 103-Long, Form 103-Short, or Form 102 indicating the cost of your assets is less than $80,000.

Not for Profit Organizations that have filed a Form 136 Exemption and have been approved by the PTABOA, will file the required business personal property returns as usual. They will not claim the under $80,000 cost exemption.

For further personal property guidance, please refer to the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF).

Personal Property Online Portal – Indiana (PPOP-IN)

The Indiana Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) has a new online service portal to file business personal property filings, and can be found here.

To Look up your taxing district go to https://budgetnotices.in.gov/

NAICS codes look up go to https://www.census.gov/naics/

Please contact our office at (317) 392-6305 or athurston@co.shelby.in.us if you have any further questions.

Forms