Update: This post is a work in progress as every step takes quite some time. As of early February, I’ve submitted a Written Appeal given what ChatGPT has provided and will update this post with the results when they come in. In Maryland, your home is assessed every three years and your property taxes are based on that assessment. We last dealt with this in 2023 and the appeal was successful. I contested it based on Qualify Factor, which was a multiplier used on our base assessment. The state felt we were a 6, which meant you multiplied your base value by 1.37. We lowered it to a 5, which is a multiplier of 1.17. That resulted in big savings (20%!). This year, we can’t do that because we’re still at a Qualify Factor of 5. Three years ago, I spent a few hours learning how it all worked but this time, I wanted to see if ChatGPT could give me a hand. I know the process of an appeal but ChatGPT could give me insight into how it all really worked… and it delivered. And I filed an appeal in about ten minutes. First, I requested our Residential Worksheet and the Comparable Sales List used for my assessment from Maryland. Then, I fed the documents into ChatGPT and had it analyze my chances and tell me exactly what to do. Table of ContentsChatGPT Identified Appeal TargetsSubmitting a Written AppealAppeal Results [TBD] ChatGPT Identified Appeal Targets The Residential Worksheet gave ChatGPT enough information about our property to compare it with the sales list and see if there were areas we could contest. Here’s what it said about the comparable sales: Your Area Sales Listing (Neighborhood XXXXXXXX.XX) is gold Here’s what jumps out immediately from that sheet: A. Recent Sales Cluster Lower Than Your Assessment Many 2023–2025 arms-length sales in your exact neighborhood code show: Sale prices commonly between:$775k – $1.05M Several large-lot properties (5–10 acres) selling well below your assessed value Homes with: Similar vintage (1970s–1990s) Similar or larger living area Similar acreage Often equal or better quality ratings Yet SDAT places you at $1.3M. That gap is the core of your appeal. For context, we live in an area where large lot properties tend to be much older because they pre-date the massive amount of building that has happened the last twenty or thirty years. Most of the new single-family homes now are on half acre lots or, at most, three acre lots. We’re a house built in 1990 on 10 acres and it’s only so many acres because it’s uneven, woody, and (lucky for us) too expensive to subdivide and build. So if you know the area, this is all true and the valuable argument plausible. ChatGPT also identified likely errors: 3. Likely Assessment Errors / Pressure Points These are the arguments that typically land: 🔹 1. Overstated Market Adjustment Factors SDAT applied: County Multiplier: 1.60 Quality Factor: 1.17

Getting a big tax refund can feel like a financial relief, but in many cases it simply means you paid too much out of each paycheck all year long. When your tax withholding is set correctly, you get to keep more of your money as you earn it instead of waiting for it to be returned to you months later. The post The Truth About Tax Refunds appeared first on The Budget Mom.