The first issue is the filing deadline: All property tax appealsin New Jersey must be filed no later than April 1, 2008. This daterequires that the appeal be received by the Tax Court on that date.Merely mailing the appeal with a postmark of April 1st will resultin a dismissal. As a precaution, taxpayers would be well advised tofile their appeal anytime after January 1, 2008. When the appeal isfiled, all property taxes due and owing must be paid in order forthe appeal to be considered by the court.

The second issue revolves around the need to timely respond toChapter 91 requests that have been made by the assessor. Manyassessors routinely send Chapter 91 requests to taxpayers seekinginformation about income-producing property. These requests, whichmust be answered within 45 days of receipt, are sometimes ignoredby taxpayers - that is a fatal error. If the assessor sends outsuch a request, it must be answered in order for the taxpayer tohave the right to file a tax appeal the following year. Many validtax appeals have been dismissed for this failure.

John Garippa is senior partner of the law firm ofGarippa, Lotz & Giannuario with offices in Montclair, NJ andPhiladelphia. He is also the president of the American Property TaxCounsel, the national affiliation of property tax attorneys, andcan be reached at [email protected].