Sec. 1.2. (a) A county or township official who receives a written notice under section 1.1 of this chapter shall schedule, at a time during business hours that is convenient to the taxpayer, a preliminary informal meeting with the taxpayer in order to resolve the appeal. If the taxpayer raises a claim regarding a matter that is in the discretion of the county auditor, the informal meeting must include the county auditor. At the preliminary informal meeting, in order to facilitate understanding and the resolution of disputed issues:

(1) a county or township official;

(2) the county auditor, if the matter is in the discretion of the county auditor; and

(3) the taxpayer;

shall exchange the information that each party is relying on at the time of the preliminary informal meeting to support the party’s respective position on each disputed issue concerning the assessment or deduction. If additional information is obtained by the county or township official, the county auditor, or the taxpayer after the preliminary informal meeting and before the hearing held by the county board, the party obtaining the information shall provide the information to the other party. If the county or township official, the county auditor, or the taxpayer obtains additional information and provides the information to the other party for the first time at the hearing held by the county board, the county board, unless waived by the receiving party, shall continue the hearing until a future hearing date of the county board so that the receiving party has an opportunity to review all the information that the offering party is relying on to support the offering party’s positions on the disputed issues concerning the assessment or deduction.

     (b) The official shall report on a form prescribed by the department of local government finance the results of the informal meeting. If the taxpayer and the official agree on the resolution of all issues in the appeal, the report shall state the agreed resolution of the matter and be signed by the official and the taxpayer. If an informal meeting is not held, or the informal meeting is unsuccessful, the official shall report those facts on the form. The official shall forward the report on the informal meeting to the county board.

     (c) If the county board receives a report on the informal meeting indicating an agreed resolution of the matter, the county board shall vote to accept or deny the agreed resolution. If the county board accepts the agreed resolution, the county board shall issue a notification of final assessment determination adopting the agreed resolution and vacating the hearing if scheduled.

     (d) The county board, upon receipt of a written notice under section 1.1 of this chapter, shall hold a hearing on the appeal not later than one hundred eighty (180) days after the filing date of the written notice. The county board shall, by mail, give at least thirty (30) days notice of the date, time, and place fixed for the hearing to the taxpayer, the county or township official with whom the taxpayer filed the written notice, and the county auditor. If the county board has notice that the taxpayer is represented by a third person, any hearing notice shall be mailed to the representative.

     (e) If good cause is shown, the county board shall grant a request for continuance filed in writing at least ten (10) days before the hearing, and reschedule the hearing under subsection (d).

     (f) A taxpayer may withdraw an appeal by filing a written request at least ten (10) days before the hearing. The county board shall issue a notification of final assessment determination indicating the withdrawal and no change in the assessment. A withdrawal waives a taxpayer’s right to appeal to the Indiana board.

     (g) The county board shall determine an appeal without a hearing if requested by the taxpayer in writing at least twenty (20) days before the hearing.

     (h) If a taxpayer appeals the assessment of tangible property under section 1.1 of this chapter, the taxpayer is not required to have an appraisal of the property in order to initiate the appeal or prosecute the appeal. If the taxpayer presents an appraisal to the county board that:

(1) is prepared by a certified appraiser in compliance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice to determine the market value in use;

(2) is addressed to the property owner or the assessor’s office;

(3) is commissioned for the purpose of the assessment appeal; and

(4) has an effective date that is the same date as the date of the assessment that is the subject of the appeal;

the value of the property contained in the appraisal is presumed to be correct. If the county board disagrees with the taxpayer’s appraisal, the county board may seek review of the appraisal by a third party independent certified appraiser or obtain an independent appraisal report conducted by a certified appraiser in compliance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. If the county board’s appraisal differs from the taxpayer’s appraisal, the county board shall weigh the evidence and determine the true tax value of the property based on the totality of the probative evidence before the county board. The county board’s determination of the property’s true tax value may be higher or lower than the assessment but may not be lower than the lowest appraisal presented to or obtained by the county board, or higher than the highest appraisal presented to or obtained by the county board. After the assignment of value, the parties shall retain their rights to appeal the assessment or assessments to the Indiana board, which must hear the appeal de novo.

     (i) At a hearing under subsection (d), the taxpayer shall have the opportunity to present testimony and evidence regarding the matters on appeal. If the matters on appeal are in the discretion of the county auditor, the county auditor or the county auditor’s representative shall attend the hearing. A county or township official, or the county auditor or the county auditor’s representative, shall have an opportunity to present testimony and evidence regarding the matters on appeal. The county board may adjourn and continue the hearing to a later date in order to make a physical inspection or consider the evidence presented.

     (j) The county board shall determine the assessment by motion and majority vote. Except as provided in subsection (m), a county board may, based on the evidence before it, increase an assessment. The county board shall issue a written decision. Written notice of the decision shall be given to the township official, county official, county auditor, and the taxpayer.

     (k) If more than one hundred eighty (180) days have passed since the date the notice of appeal was filed, and the county board has not issued a determination, a taxpayer may initiate any appeal with the Indiana board of tax review under section 3 of this chapter.

     (l) The county assessor may assess a penalty of fifty dollars ($50) against the taxpayer if the taxpayer or representative fails to appear at a hearing under subsection (d) and, under subsection (e), the taxpayer’s request for continuance is denied, or the taxpayer’s request for continuance, request for the board to take action without a hearing, or withdrawal is not timely filed. A taxpayer may appeal the assessment of the penalty to the Indiana board or directly to the tax court. The penalty may not be added as an amount owed on the property tax statement under IC 6-1.1-22 or IC 6-1.1-22.5.

     (m) The determination of an appealed assessed value of tangible property by a county or township official resulting from an informal meeting under subsection (a), or by a county board resulting from an appeal hearing under subsection (d), may be less than or equal to the tangible property’s original appealed assessed value at issue, but may not exceed the original appealed assessed value at issue. However, an increase in assessed value that is attributable to substantial renovation, new improvements, zoning change, or use change is excluded from the limitation under this subsection.

As added by P.L.232-2017, SEC.11. Amended by P.L.121-2019, SEC.3; P.L.236-2023, SEC.26; P.L.239-2023, SEC.3; P.L.9-2024, SEC.168.