Property Tax

Property tax is a recurring obligation — unlike a one-time debt, it is assessed annually. Equity addresses both the individual assessment and, for students who apply it correctly, the ongoing obligation itself.

Students have resolved property tax matters through in-person visits using equitable questions — questions that hold the official to their obligation to act in the best interest of the people they serve. One student went to the county treasurer's office, asked the equitable questions taught in the course, and by the end of the conversation the treasurer was in tears — realizing she had not been acting in the best interests of the people she was supposed to represent. The property tax matter was resolved.

Others have seen property taxes discharged in as little as a few months. Some cases have taken over two years. When properly discharged, the property is no longer assessed — the account is closed, not just deferred.

Property tax matters Equity has addressed:

• Annual assessment demands
• Back tax balances
• County treasurer collection notices
• Tax lien threats

Property tax work often involves direct in-person interaction with county officials — something covered in the court preparation and live interaction modules of Honor with Equity.