The 2010 Tax Rate $5.291 per $100 Assessed value. The 2010 Ratio is 48.80%.
The Tax Assessor’s Office is responsible for maintaining property assessments. The assessment of your property is based on the market value and is done on a mass appraisal approach. We use a price per square foot to calculate the value uniformily throughout the Township according to the quality of construction and amenties that are included with the structure. The average ratio to true value (above) should be used to calculate the indicated market value based on the assessment. By dividing your assessment by the average ratio this indicates what we estimate your property would sell for if exposed to the open market. See the State of New Jersey Division of Taxation Tax Appeal Brochure. If after you've made this calculation you feel your assessment exceeds the fair market value you may file an appeal to the Gloucester County Board of Taxation. A regular appeal must be file on or before April 1st of the tax year. The assessment of your property can be changed as a result of improvements that are made tot he property. For example, finished basements, inground pools, decks and patios, sheds, additions, garage conversions may be picked up for up to 24 months retroactive to their completion date. These are called added and omitted assessments and occur in September of each year. If you do any improvements to your property you can expect an added assessment bill to be mailed in October and due November 1st from the time the improvements were completed through December 31st of the current tax year. Tax appeals on added and omitted assessments must be filed to the Gloucester County Board of Taxation on or before December 1st of the tax year.
In addition to assessing the value of your property, the Assessor administers the various tax deductions and exemptions that are available to Senior Citizens, Totally Disabled, Veterans, and the Widows of Veterans (Deduction Forms) living within the Township. See the State of New Jersey Division of Taxation Tax Benefits Brochure. The Assessor is also responsible for the administration of the Farmland Assessment Act of 1964 (Farmland Forms) consistent with New Jersey state law.
The Assessor’s Office maintains the ownership records of all the property in the Township. These records are updated daily to reflect information contained on deeds received from the County Clerk’s Office. It generally takes three to four weeks for the deeds to be forwarded from the County Clerk's Office to the Tax Assessor. The Assessor’s Office verifies property ownership, as well as building square footage and age over the telephone, as well as by faxed requests. You can look up tax records in the State of New Jersey through New Jersey Association of County Tax Boards site by clicking here (be sure to set the county to Gloucester and the district to Washington Township).
If you are applying to the Planning Board or the Zoning Board of Adjustment, you may need a certified list of property owners within a 200’ radius of your property. The Assessor’s Office prepares and certifies that list. This usually takes one to two business days to prepare and costs $10. The property owner can request the information by telephone at 856-589-0520, extension 222, in person at the Township Building, or by mail sent to the Tax Assessor's Office, PO Box 1106, Turnersville, New Jersey, 08012. There is a 200' Request Form you can complete to assist in your request. The $10 fee is payable upon when you pick up of the list.
TAX ABATEMENT PROGRAM
The Clerk's Office is responsible for accepting applications for Property Tax Abatement for Commercial/Industrial properties, as well as collects the $25 filing fee. The Assessor reviews the application for completeness, estimates the assessed value and the in-lieu of payments. The Assessor then forwards the application to the Economic Development Board and the Governing Body. If the project or improvements meet the program requirements and obtains the recommendation of the Economic Development Board, the Township Council discusses the abatement as an agenda item. If approved, an Ordinance setting the conditions of the approval is enacted. The Tax Abatement Program is for commercial/industrial projects, and if approved under the Tax Abatement Program, the property would pay “in lieu of” taxes on the building portion as follows:
1st year 0% of regular taxes
2nd year 20% of regular taxes
3rd year 40% of regular taxes
4th year 60% of regular taxes
5th year 80% of regular taxes
A copy of the Township Tax Abatement Ordinance can be shown by clicking here.