Michigan MCAO Certification flashcards
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32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Assessment date
- December 31 preceding the tax year; property status, ownership, and value are determined as of this date under MCL 211.2.
- State Tax Commission
- Michigan body that certifies assessors, publishes the Assessor's Manual, issues bulletins, and performs state equalization.
- State equalized value
- Assessed value after county and state equalization; represents 50% of true cash value and caps taxable value.
- March Board of Review
- Annual board beginning the Tuesday after the first Monday in March that hears valuation appeals and corrects the assessment roll.
- True cash value
- Usual selling price at the assessment date in an arm's-length transaction between a willing buyer and seller.
- Taxable value cap
- Proposal A limit: prior taxable value adjusted by inflation up to 5%, plus additions, minus losses.
- Principal Residence Exemption
- Exempts an owner-occupied home from a portion of school operating millage; claimed on Form 2368 filed with the assessor.
- Qualified agricultural property
- Agricultural real property receiving an 18-mill school operating exemption; recapture applies if converted to non-agricultural use.
- Property classification
- Assignment of property to one of six statutory classes: agricultural, commercial, industrial, residential, developmental, or timber-cutover.
- Transfer of ownership
- Event that removes the taxable value cap and resets taxable value to state equalized value, subject to statutory exceptions.
- Highest and best use
- Legally permissible, physically possible, financially feasible use that produces the highest value for the property.
- Cost approach
- Value method adding land value to replacement cost new less physical deterioration and functional or external obsolescence.
- Sales comparison approach
- Value method comparing the subject to verified arm's-length sales, adjusting for time, location, and physical differences.
- Income approach
- Value method dividing net operating income by a market capitalization rate derived from comparable investment sales.
- Coefficient of dispersion
- Statistical measure of assessment uniformity; lower values indicate more consistent ratios across parcels in a study.
- Price-related differential
- Ratio of the mean ratio to the value-weighted mean; detects vertical inequity between high- and low-value properties.
- Median sales ratio
- Middle ratio of assessed value to sale price in a sales study; indicates the overall level of assessment.
- Equalization factor
- Multiplier applied to a class of property so aggregate assessment equals 50% of true cash value.
- Sales study period
- Twelve-month window preceding the assessment date, typically October 1 through September 30, used in ratio studies.
- Assessment roll
- Official list of parcels, owners, classes, state equalized values, and taxable values delivered to the board of review.
- Tax roll
- Document prepared by the treasurer from the assessment roll that authorizes collection of taxes on each parcel.
- Clerical error correction
- July and December boards of review may correct clerical errors and mutual mistakes of fact under MCL 211.53b.
- Tax Tribunal appeal
- Petition filed within 35 days of the board of review decision to challenge valuation or exemption determinations.
- Millage rate
- Tax rate expressed in mills; one mill equals one dollar of tax per thousand dollars of taxable value.
- Headlee Amendment
- Constitutional limit capping total millage at the 1978 level without voter approval; triggers rollbacks when assessments rise.
- Proposal A
- 1994 amendment establishing the taxable value cap, the 6-mill state education tax, and state funding of school operations.
- Millage reduction fraction
- Annual factor computed by the county and applied to prior levy to determine the maximum authorized rate.
- Assessor certification
- State Tax Commission credential at levels I through IV required to serve as an assessing officer in Michigan.
- Continuing education
- Required hours and content set by the State Tax Commission to maintain assessor certification and professional competence.
- Records retention
- Assessor records are kept per the Michigan Records Management Act and General Schedule for required periods.
- Conflict of interest
- Situation where an assessor's private interest could improperly influence official valuation or exemption decisions.
- CAMA system
- Computer-assisted mass appraisal software that computes values from cost tables, land tables, and neighborhood modifiers.