Opinion ID: 1922946
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Tax Assessment Process

Text: Under D.C.Code § 47-820(a)(3), [2] properties must be assessed on the basis of their estimated market value as of January 1 of the preceding tax year. Estimated market value is defined as 100% of the most probable price at which a particular piece of real property ... would be expected to transfer under prevailing marking conditions .... D.C.Code § 47-802(4). Once assessments are made, there is a three-level appeal process consisting of (1) an informal first-level appeal, [3] (2) an administrative hearing before the BRPAA, and (3) an appeal to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The hearing panel for a first-level appeal is usually comprised of three to five assessors. Appeals that proceed through the first level may result in an increase in the assessment, a decrease, or no change. By informal practice, a fourth option of withdrawal evolved among the assessors in the Major Properties Section. Under what came to be known as the five o'clock rule, a property owner could withdraw a first-level appeal in writing before 5:00 p.m. on the day of the informal hearing, thereby avoiding the risk of an increased assessment. Following a first-level appeal hearing, a Decision Form was prepared which would set forth each contention by the taxpayer and OTR's response. Once this form was completed, appellant would review it for edits and judgment revisions. He would then circulate it among the assessors who took part in the hearing, and thereafter, unless there were additional edits proposed, the form would be signed by appellant and each assessor, entered into the Appeals Tracking System database, and then mailed to the appropriate parties or their representatives.