LISTED VALUES - Are determined by the local community Listers/Assessors. These numbers reflect the Appraised Value of property for Tax purposes. The listed values are reported annually by each town to the Vermont Department of Taxes on Form 411. Each town reports at their own common level of appraisal, that is, a variable percentage rate, which often reflects less than the Fair Market Value of the properties (not in all cases). It is difficult to determine the accuracy of the actual property value, due to the overall market behavior over time.
EQUALIZED VALUES - (similar to Aggregate Fair-Market Values or Eqaulized Education Grand list Value) are annually adjusted local listed values. These adjustments are based on ratios (which, in turn, are based on 3 years of sales). The adjustment process is an attempt to convert the listed value to 100% of the market value. However, the equalized value does not necessarily reflect the accurate market value. It is possible that the listed value may reflect a more accurate value, depending on overall market behavior.
The "Average Values" - The Listed or Equalized values of the various categories for the town, for the given year(s) are divided by the total number of parcels of the categories (e.g. Residential - R1, etc.) talleyed for the given year (obtained from Form 411) within the town.
RESIDENTIAL (R1 and R2) - Include houses with four apartments or less, such as - non-operating farms with a highest and best use as year-round residences. If the parcel is not occupied as a residence, it may be more accurately defined as a vacation property. Always keep in mind the highest and best use of the property when making this determination. The ownership of the property is not the deciding factor. R1 residential property is less than six acres of land. R2 residential property is six or more acres of land.
MOBILE HOME (MU and ML) - Mobile Home (Unlanded) is a mobile home set up on land not owned by the owner of the unit. Also included in this category are trailer coaches (so-called travel trailers), which are taxable under 32 V.S.A. section 3692(b), unless one has designated the "Other" category specifically for this type of property. Mobile Homes (Landed) are mobile homes set up on land owned by the owner of the mobile home.
VACATION (V1 and V2) - This category includes all properties with a highest and best use for seasonal occupancy. This may include non-operating farms seasonally occupied, summer homes, ski chalets, hunting camps, camps and cottages on lakes and ponds, etc. Also included are condominium units similarly used unless one has designated the "Other" category specifically for this type of property. The highest and best use of the property determines the category, not the ownership. V1 is property less than six acres of land. V2 is property of six acres (or greater) of land.
COMMERCIAL - Includes properties where the highest and best use is in providing goods and services for sale. These include retail stores, malls, motels, hotels, filling stations, restaurants, office buildings, bowling alleys, golf courses, etc.
COMMERCIAL APARTMENTS - Apartment buildings with more than four apartments.
INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING PLANTS - Includes properties such as - cheese making facilities, micro-chip manufacturing plants, sawmills, creameries, ice cream factories, etc. Industrial manufacturing plants are distinquished from commercial properties, in that, raw materials are used to produce a product, rather than a product or service simply being sold.
UTILITIES, ELECTRIC - Property owned by a public utility and used in the production, transmission, or distribution of electrical energy, such as - hydro plants, substation, poles, lines, and fixtures, etc. Property owned by a public utility, which has a highest and best use other than for electrical energy would be coded as another category.
UTILITIES, OTHER - Property owned by public utilities where the highest and best use is in carrying on the business of that utility. This would include real property owned by water companies, telephone companies, cable television companies, or gas distribution pipelines. Property owned by such a utility, which has a highest and best use other than for the distribution of the relevant commodity would be coded as another category. Additionally, property used in carrying on a propane business is not of the Utility category. This would be classified as Commercial.
FARM - Operating Farms with buildings involved. Formerly farmed properties where the highest and best use is for residential or vacation purposes is not of the Farm category. Non-Contiguous land (a piece of land on another parcel) used within a farming operation (say, to grow corn or hay) without buildings is not considered a farm. Rather, such vacant land is considered in the Miscellaineous category.
WOODLAND - Undeveloped (mostly forested) land. Such parcels may have buildings of little value, such as a one-hundred acre parcel of forestland with a small deer camp.
MISCELLANEOUS - Undeveloped land, which is primarily non-forested. Included within this category would be - shore lots, residential building lots, unimproved agricultural land, etc. Such parcels may have buildings of little or no value.
OTHER - Contact Property Valuation and Review for guidance on the use of this category. It is only to be used for a specific type of taxable property. For example, one may choose to use it for all condominium properties, rather than dispersing them within the R1 and V1 categories. One may choose to use this category to separate the trailer coaches (travel trailers) if there are a large number of such properties not intended for for the Mobile Home (Unlanded) category. This category is not used for 'Exempt' properties or properties NOT specifically earmarked for a type of property.
PROPERTY TAX - Property taxes are imposed for the support of education and municipal services. A statewide education property tax is imposed on all nonresidential and homestead property at the rate of $1.10 per $100.00 of equalized education property value. The State determines the municipalities' education property tax liability by multiplying $1.10 by the municipalities' equalized education grand list for the previous year. If a municipality votes a budget with local education spending in excess of the general state support grant amount, a local share tax is imposed. The local share tax is equalized so that a penny on the tax rate raises the same amount of money in every town that has a local share tax. Municipal taxes are raised on the municipal grand list. All three taxes are assessed by and paid to the municipality in which the property is located.