Perhaps the most popular post on my website every year is the one about Bergen County tax rates. When choosing an area to buy a home, the two most common questions are, “How good are the schools?,” and, “How low are the taxes?” Answers to the first question are somewhat subjective, but the second response is absolute.

In short, these are the ten areas with the lowest effective property tax rates in Bergen County in 2018-2019.

10 Bergen County Areas With Lowest Effective Property Tax Rates

Alpine, Saddle River and Rockleigh consistently rank among among the lowest taxed areas in Bergen County. However for the uninitiated, all three have median price points over $1,500,000 and almost no homes under $1,000,000. And Teterboro largely consists of a regional airport – there are very few homes in the borough.

Englewood Cliffs and Edgewater are a bit more affordable. Englewood Cliffs is predominantly higher end homes, while Edgewater has an abundance of river-front townhouses. Paramus is a good option for someone seeking affordable suburban living with 1/4 acre of land.

Franklin Lakes offers strong schools combined with low taxes.

What is the Effective Tax Rate?

The property tax rate alone is not an accurate benchmark for comparison purposes. Since property taxes are based on assessed value, not market value, one must also consider the equalization ratio for each area. The equalization ratio specifies the percentage of the assessed value relative to the market value. One borough may have assessments at 80% of market value, while in another they may be at 100%. So for comparison purposes, you should use the effective tax rate. To arrive at the effective tax rate, simply multiply the equalization ratio by the property tax rate.

Areas with equalization ratios well below 100% include Fairview (75.66%), Upper Saddle River (82.14%) and Alpine (89.31%).

FYI, municipalities are re-assessed periodically to bring assessments in line with market values. This typically happens every few years, depending on how much real estate prices have increased or decreased.

The post Bergen County Tax Rates for 2018-2019 appeared first on Michael Shetler's Buying In Bergen.

Learn How To Challenge Your Property Taxes: Saturday, Feb 11, 2017

Do you think your property taxes are too high compared with your neighbors? Come hear Ridgewood attorney Douglas Standriff discuss the process of determining if you’re overpaying and how to challenge your property taxes.

Mr. Standriff has handled over one thousand tax appeals, involving both residential and commercial properties.  He regularly represents owners in the various County Tax Boards as well as New Jersey Tax Court.  He has served as Tax Appeal Counsel for the City of Clifton.  His short presentation will quickly explain how to determine if a property is over-assessed and compute whether the assessment falls inside or outside of the town’s allowable window of error (note: myth demystified – some towns are NOT entitled to a “15% window of error” in regard to assessments – Mr. Standriff will explain how to differentiate between towns that are entitled to a window of error and towns that are not).

The talk will be held Saturday morning, February 11th, from 9-10am in the Ridgewood office of Keller Williams. The address is 257 E. Ridgewood Ave, Ridgewood.

These sessions are brought to you by Michael Shetler, a top agent with Keller Williams Village Square Realty. Coffee and bagels will by provided by Scott Lief of Atlantic Home Loans.

Please RSVP by email.

See more about Bergen County Tax Rates for 2017-2018

The post Winter Session: Learn How to Challenge Your Property Taxes appeared first on Michael Shetler's Buying In Bergen.

UPDATE: See Bergen County Tax Rates 2017-2018.

Compare Bergen County Property Tax Rates

Before you scroll to the bottom of the chart, can you guess which areas in Bergen County have the highest effective tax rates?

In December, the State of NJ published updated tax info for every borough, township, village and city in Bergen County. The three most important data points are the General Tax Rate, the Equalization Ratio and the Effective Tax Rate.

The General Tax Rate is a raw data point which shouldn’t be used for comparison purposes. That’s because homes are assessed differently from one area to the next. In one borough, homes may be assessed at 80% of market value while in another they may be at 100% of market value. Since tax rates are applied to assessed values and not market values, comparing General Tax Rates isn’t a fair comparison.

Which is the reason for the Effective Tax Rate. This is an adjusted figure which takes into account the ratio of assessed value to market value. This ratio, the Equalization Ratio, is multiplied by the General Tax Rate to determine the Effective Tax Rate.

For example, Saddle River has a higher General Tax Rate than Englewood Cliffs. But because Saddle River homes are assessed lower than homes in Englewood Cliffs, the Effective Tax Rate is lower in Saddle River.

For a video further explaining effective tax rates, see Understanding Equalized (or Effective) Tax Rates.

2015 Effective Tax Rates for Bergen County

The bottom line is the areas in Bergen County with the lowest Effective Tax Rates are Alpine, Saddle River, Englewood Cliffs, Rockleigh and Teterboro. (Did you guess it would be Paramus?)

The five with the highest Effective Tax Rates are Bogota, Bergenfield, Lodi, Hackensack and Ridgefield Park.

It can be noted that higher taxes do not correlate with better schools – in fact it’s quite the opposite. Alpine and Saddle River have some of the best schools in the state while none of the high schools in the second group crack the top 100, according to NJ Monthly Magazine. (Read more about the best schools in New Jersey.)

Another conclusion that can be drawn is that areas with more expensive homes have lower tax rates. The average sold price in Alpine was $2,253,000 in 2014 while in Bogota it was $313,000*.

If you’re interested in buying or selling in any of these areas, please register or call me at 201-421-0506 cell.

* source: NJMLS. Info deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

The post Bergen County Property Tax Rates 2014-2015 appeared first on Michael Shetler's Buying In Bergen.