Last Thursday we went to an event to help us with applying for two exemptions of our real estate tax. Real estate tax here is high - we pay around $8,000 a year for our real estate taxes and we pay rather low real estate taxes. People easily pay $15,000 to over $20,000 for a subdevelopment house - more of course for fancy houses. To help “older” people stay in their houses and in recognition that they probably don’t have children in the schools, there are two kinds of exemptions that one can receive if one is over 65, has income below certain levels and the property is one’s primary residence. Since husband turned 65, we are now entitled to these exemptions.
I should also explain that our real estate taxes has two different components (well actually a lot more than two, but two sets of billing for them). One type is the “general levy”. This is billed annually in January and is paid in January and July. It consists of the county assessments, the township assessments, the fire department assessments, the police department assessments (police is one, the police stations is another...), the garbage district assessments, assessments for water pipes (we also pay for water usage monthly), sewer assessments (pipes ar one, sewage plant is another) and so on. The other type is the school taxes which also includes the library district assessment and is billed in October (yes, we got the new one today) and is payable in October and April. (So we pay each tax twice a year, but pay real estate taxes quarterly as they alternate quarters.)
Being an accountant I downloaded the forms and filled them in. I am pretty good with forms - and it seems to me that I have helped clients with them in the past. I have been unable to reach anyone with some questions I had. I thought that I posted about this, but can not find it - when I call the County Assessors office I get a message that there is no one there to take my call (not that they are busy, there is no one there) and I should call back. No matter what day of the week or time I called I received this message continually. After some days of trying there was an additional part to the message - it gave their address and told one that parking is “extremely” limited, which to be honest, is true as it is the County office building - but basically they are saying “No one is here to talk to you by phone and don’t come here either”. So we went to one of their help sessions for this paperwork. It was much emptier than a thought and one was able to meet individually with employees about one’s forms.
Looking over the employees I noticed the attitude of one, compared to the others and knew that I did not want her. So, of course, we got her. She looks at our general levy exemption paperwork. and says to us “Your income on this one item is too high - you are not eligible!” I point out to her that we have medical expenses which can be subtracted from the income by their rules, which bring us down under the income amount. “It has to be out of pocket expenses!” (Each of these comments was said as a challenge.) Just our medical insurance premiums alone almost bring us down enough - add the prescription costs and I did not even bother get print outs from our doctors. Understand, canceled checks or other receipts is not proof of the medical expenses, one must get a print out for the year from who the money went to. “Oh! Okay”. Now I had filled in the form on their website. “This is the wrong form! It is the form from the website! We don’t use that form!” Huh? I did not ask her why then the form is on the website and one is told to download it and use it, then again, there is a link to the state to submit income information to it for the other exemption and not only does it not work, when I telephoned the state, I was told that they don’t do that - all income goes to the county - if I complained, who knows how bad this would get. She then takes the copy of our state tax return I brought with us for the other exemption, which is suppose to require it. “IT’S HANDWRITTEN!!!! We can’t accept this!” Huh? I do our own return. She then goes to someone else and comes back with our return and a page of information. I have to contact IRS and get copies of all our 1099, W2, etc forms. The page has the local number to call to get this. “You will have to take this home and wait until you get the papers from them and then send it in to us altogether with the correct form!” Okay.
Now she goes to other exemption’s paperwork. In our state we have a general exemption from part of the school taxes if one owns their home and it is their primary residence. This is called a STAR exemption. (It means school something or other I am sure.) The money for this one comes from the State, not the County. Some years it was subtracted from what one pays, other years it has come as a check back to us after we pay the taxes, basically so we “see” that the our “wonderful” state senators and representatives are “giving” us a break on our school taxes. If one qualifies for same, is over 65 (or one spouse is), has no children in school, and has income under a much higher limit than the first tax has one has their school taxes lowered much more. I prepared for another set of arguments. “Why are there three forms?” I had the County form and the State form, and another form from the State which will automatically renew this exemption. She throws the State form back at me. “You don’t need this!” I tell her the State office told me to fill it in. “No, it is unneeded!” She then looks at the form to renew it automatically. “What this!!!” She reads it, turns it over, then reads it again. “Oh you want it to renew automatically?” Well, hmmm, do I want to go through this every year for both exemptions, or would I rather get it one of them automatically. I reply, “yes”. Again, she does not ask for any of the paperwork - birth certificates, deeds, etc,that the paperwork’s instructions said to bring. She looks it over and stamps the form. Makes a copy (yes, they had copy machines and every thing - and I had brought a copy and even a stapler, just in case) and stamps the copy and hands it to me. Hopefully we really did not need the other form.
So we went home. I called the IRS number. It actually has a choice to get the printout requested. I put in my info. “There is no available information for this person.” Huh? I try husband’s info and I am able to pick which one of two printouts I want - his income tax info or adjustments made. I pick the former figuring that will give us - or at least him - the 1099, etc. copies printed out. I try again for me - again I am not available. I then see that there is also a form to request the info. I go to the IRS website and download the form and fill in a copy for me and one for husband. On this form I see a choice for the 1099 forms to be sent. Hmmm, does that mean we are not getting them from the telephone call as that item is listed separately? I don’t know, but the forms went to IRS the next day. Hopefully one way or the other we will get the information.
We have until December 31 to fill these papers. (This is an early date - most places in the state have until next March.) I am so glad that I did not wait for the last minute. If the information from IRS arrives in time there are additional sessions around the county until October 19 and we can go in again, if not we will have to either mail it in or husband will drive there and circle while I go in and deal with it.
This process is so much worse than dealing with IRS or our State about any type of taxes. Then again, perhaps despite their holding sessions to help people deal with the paperwork, they don’t want people to get the exemptions as, lets face it, it cuts down on the amount of taxes they will collect and they have to come up with the money elsewhere - including maybe raising the taxes.
THOUGHT OF THE WEEK - When dealing with the government one has to have everything they want - even if they won’t want it - plus anything else one can think with. Even then something will be missing or go wrong. Never yell at the government employee or things will not come out well for you. (Sorry if any readers are government employees - but at least I am telling people not to yell at you.)
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