New Jersey Supreme Court Issues Order Extending Filing Deadlines for 2020 Tax Appeals
Last updated April 1, 2020
On March 27, 2020, the Chief Justice of New Jersey’s Supreme Court issued an Order which affirmed and continued the Court’s March 19, 2020 Order extending all filing deadlines for 2020 tax year appeals to the New Jersey Tax Court, as well as the 21 County Boards of Taxation. That prior Order provided that those deadlines are extended to “the later of May 1, 2020 or 30 days following a determination by the Governor that the State of Emergency declared under Executive Order 103 has ended.” In that Executive Order, issued March 9, 2020, the Governor declared that a “Public Health Emergency and State of Emergency exist in the State of New Jersey” across all 21 counties in New Jersey and stated that the Order “shall take effect immediately and “shall remain in effect until such time as it is determined by [the Governor] that an emergency no longer exists”.
Given the current state of affairs, it is most likely that the second component of the deadline extension, “30 days following a determination by the Governor that the State of Emergency declared under Executive Order 103 has ended”, will be controlling for the 2020 tax year. Therefore, taxpayers will have a 30-day window between the end of the State of Emergency and the filing deadline to have their properties reviewed and analyzed to determine whether a tax appeal is warranted. We will be issuing further alerts on the status of these deadlines.
While the primary concern during this time is obviously the health and safety of all, the economic consequences resulting from this crisis are already self-evident. How those consequences play out in the real estate marketplace is still to be determined. For the 2020 tax year, the “valuation date” for tax assessments was October 1, 2019 which obviously predated the full extent of the coronavirus crisis. However, those consequences are likely to be so significant that any analysis of a property’s market value at this time needs to be reconsidered.
CSG’s Property Tax Group has already begun this analysis and we welcome the opportunity to evaluate properties for appeal potential at no charge. Tax appeals generally are handled by the firm on a contingency fee arrangement, although other fee arrangements, including application of standard hourly rates, can be utilized.
For additional information pertaining to the coronavirus outbreak, please visit CSG's COVID-19 Resource Center.
This publication contains general information on recent legal developments and is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
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