Property transactions that are filed with the Register of Deeds in January and February may not be processed by the Director of Equalization’s office prior to the assessment notices being printed.
This results in the assessment notice on March 1st being sent to the old owner. As a new owner you are responsible for contacting the Director of Equalization’s Office (605-745-5136) and ensuring that the assessed values applied to your property represent market value.
There is a very short couple of weeks in March when you can appeal the value placed on your property. If you miss this window the value will be set for the following January’s tax bill. Tax bills cannot be appealed, only the assessed values in March.
Also, because the old owner would have received the tax bill in January it is a good idea to contact the Treasurer’s office (605-745-5145) to ensure that all taxes on the property were paid. Taxes are due in two payments. The first at the end of April and the second at the end of October.
