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Increase In Personal Property Taxes Explained - Assessor John Hutchison

We have been getting a lot of calls about the values on the latest tax statements.  The reason you might have an increase in your personal property taxes is due to the following:

In January 2019 the Arkansas Assessment Coordination Division (AACD) sent out the updated vehicle values for 2019.  These values were sent to the software providers for all of the Assessor’s Offices across the state.  Then in August 2019, AACD notified all of the Assessors that a lot of the values sent out in January were incorrect (too low).  AACD left the decision up to the Assessors for each county to either put in all of the new values or to leave them the way they were in January.  The Poinsett County Assessor decided to leave the values as they were in January.  This decision caused the values to remain “too low” for 2019, thus causing them to go up in 2020.  Part of the increase you see in 2020 should have occurred in 2019.

Additionally, in 2020, ACD changed its source of vehicle values to the ones used by the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA).  The values for 2020 showed an increase for many models over those in 2019.

Now in 2021, we are seeing that a lot of used vehicles, especially newer models, have not seen value decreases since last year - some have actually increased.  The values reflect market activity.  Fewer new models are available because of decreased production during the Covid-19 Pandemic in auto plants, and the lack of new cars on the market has pushed up the price of used vehicles.  It is basic supply and demand. 

The current values are correct and reflect market value as provided by NADA, the most credible source for vehicle values.  You can access the NADA website and look up your vehicle’s value at www.nada.com.  AACD used the “Clean Trade In” value of those listed.  Keep in mind - the values that were provided are already a few months old.  As the year goes by there may be more difference between a value looked up and the one in our system because of the requirement that the assessment be based on a January 1st value.

Visit my page for more answers to assessment questions.

Sincerely,
John Hutchison