A homeowner's guide to tax rolls

by Carolyn Andrews 09/17/2023

Tax roll is a term you may have encountered when figuring out your property taxes. But what exactly is a tax roll, and why does it matter to the average homeowner? If you're wondering how this term factors in to your situation and real estate overall, here is a short guide to help:

What are tax rolls?

A tax roll is a list of all taxable properties in a specific area. Tax rolls are also called assessment rolls, and are maintained by the corresponding municipal government. There are usually multiple levels of tax roll, including local, county, state and national databases.

What are the different types of tax rolls?

The two main types of tax rolls are property tax rolls and motor vehicle tax rolls. There might also be separate rolls for tracking other types of taxable assets not fitting into either category.

Why are property tax rolls important?

Tax rolls are important for several reasons. They serve as an official record of property taxes in a given area and for specific properties. They contain detailed information about each property, including legal description, property classification, the assessed value of the land and improvements made, the individual ratepayer's contact information and owners code.

Having this information all in one place makes it easy to track variables like home values and corresponding tax obligations. It also means issues involving unpaid taxes can be spotted and dealt with accordingly by the local tax authorities. While property tax rolls may not be important during everyday life for most homeowners, they are important to understand when buying, selling or refinancing a property.

About the Author
Author

Carolyn Andrews

Carolyn Andrews has over 30 years licensed Brokerage experience in both California and Colorado. Born in England, Carolyn moved to California in 1980, then relocated to Denver, Colorado in 1991. Carolyn has also received recognition for Top Sales at RE/MAX Alliance Aurora in 2007-2008 and is a member of the RE/MAX Hall of Fame & Chairman’s Club, as well as a recipient of the ReMax Lifetime Achievement Award. Carolyn has sold over 2000 homes personally in her career. Carolyn has been actively involved in many aspects of the Real Estate business including investment property, luxury homes, mountain resort property, skiin/ski out, REO/default management, loss mitigation, valuations, and disposition. She has been a speaker and panelist at several conferences and has been consulted on many occasions by various organizations in the REO/financial industries for her expertise and served on many boards. She has attended numerous ongoing classes to stay abreast of changes in the ever-evolving Real Estate industry. She is the prior State Director for Colorado for VAREP(Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals). She is a member of 3 boards of Realtors including Metro Denver, Colorado Springs and Summit County mountain areas. She heads up The Andrews Group and is or has been an active member of NAR, CAR,REOMAC, CIPS, CRS, AREAA, NAPW, NAHREP, and is an original member of the ELITEReal Estate network. She was ranked #1 for most homes sold in Denver 2007 by Denver Board of Realtors, #2 for 2008, and #2 for 2009, #5 in 2010 and #4 in 2011 and has been consistently in the top 10 ever since. Carolyn Andrews has been a top rated Endorsed Local Provider for the Dave Ramsey Organization and also a Top Producing agent for 2018 for the Homelight Company.