Changing the preliminary property assessment for 2022

The preliminary property assessments for 2022, which were released in September 2023, have received sharp criticism from several experts and homeowners due to errors and too high assessments. In this article, we will take a closer look at the conditions that must be met for you as a homeowner to apply for a change to the preliminary property assessment for 2022.

If you were already a homeowner by the end of 2023, you are ensured that you will not pay more in property taxes in 2024 than in 2023, even if the preliminary property assessment for 2022 on your property is too high. The reason for this can be found in the so-called tax discount.

However, the tax discount will not be transferred to a new owner upon a change of ownership. Therefore, it would be a good idea for future sales purposes to have the preliminary property assessment changed if it deviates significantly, as this will affect how much a potential new owner will have to pay in property tax and property value tax on the property in the future. In other words, if there is a preliminary property assessment from 2022 on your property that is flawed, it can affect the price that a potential buyer is willing to pay for the property.

If you wish to check your preliminary assessment for 2022, you can click here.

If you are selling a property where the preliminary property assessment deviates significantly, you can, in very special cases, apply to have it changed. It is therefore not possible to appeal against the preliminary property assessment. To have the preliminary property assessments changed, it is a condition that the property value set by the Assessment Authority (Vurderingsstyrelsen) deviates by more than +/- 20 percent compared to the converted asking price/trade price in 2022 levels (or 2023 levels in some cases). Later in the article, we will return to when it is relevant and how it is documented. When you apply to have the preliminary property assessments changed, and if this is approved by the Assessment Authority, you have the opportunity to adjust the temporary property tax until the final assessment is available in 2025. If the criterion for deviation by +/- 20% is met, the property tax will also be revised, and the Assessment Authority will set a new temporary property tax. When the final assessment is available in 2025, the tax will be recalculated and adjusted accordingly.

If the property tax appears to be unrealistically high, you have the opportunity to point this out. The Assessment Authority must then reassess whether there are obvious errors in the property tax set on the property. If this is the case, it is possible to correct it, even if the property value is not +/- 20 percent compared to the converted asking price/trade price in 2022 levels (or 2023 levels in some cases).

To change a preliminary assessment in connection with purchase or sale, homeowners must complete an application and attach necessary documentation. Sellers, for example, can present a sales listing to document the asking price, while buyers can use a purchase agreement as documentation of the trade price. The Assessment Authority will then convert these prices to either 2022 levels or in some cases 2023 levels.

In case of multiple owners, consent from all parties is required to implement the change.

If you wish to apply to have your preliminary property assessment changed, it must be done through Vurderingsportalen.dk.

As mentioned earlier in the article, it is not possible to appeal against the preliminary property assessment for 2022, as it will be adjusted with the final assessment, which will be issued in 2025. However, when the final property assessment is issued from 2025, you as a homeowner have the opportunity to appeal against this.

Below, a number of special cases are outlined where it is possible to apply to have the preliminary property assessment for 2022 changed. In addition, the Assessment Authority has, on its own initiative, decided to revise assessments that have proven to be particularly flawed.

Significant deviation: If the preliminary property assessment has a significant deviation from the expected price.

Purchase and sale: If you as a homeowner intend to sell your property, and the real estate agent expects a trade price that deviates by +/- 20 percent from the preliminary assessment, the owner has the option to contact the Assessment Authority and request that the preliminary assessment be adjusted in accordance with the expected trade price. A buyer who acquires the property at a price that deviates by more than +/- 20 percent from the preliminary assessment has the right to have the preliminary assessment changed to the price the property is bought for.

New construction, renovation, and other significant changes: If you have made an extension or renovation requiring a building permit, which has either increased or decreased the value of the property, it may not necessarily be reflected in the preliminary assessment. If this is the case, you have the opportunity to have the preliminary assessment adjusted by presenting documentation demonstrating that the property has been changed to a degree that would normally result in a reassessment. This also applies to properties whose land area has changed by at least 25 m², properties that have undergone demolition, properties that have suffered significant damage due to flooding, fire, or storm, changed zoning, sale of land area, or, for example, identified pollution.

Exemption from property tax or exception from assessment: If you can demonstrate that there is a basis for full or partial exemption from property tax or exception from assessment, and this is not already included in your preliminary assessment, you have the opportunity to have this adjusted.

Property tax determined by court or other higher authority: You have the opportunity to adjust your preliminary assessment if you can provide documentation that a higher authority has determined your property tax to a specific size at the assessment as of January 1, 2020. For certain properties assessed in 2023, the relevant higher authority must have determined the property tax to a specific size at the assessment as of March 1, 2021.

A higher authority can, for example, be a assessment appeal board, the Tax Appeals Board, the National Tax Tribunal, or a court.