Tax Card Reconciliation

Tax Card Reconciliation

The tax card is the most-cited and most-wrong document in residential work. Reconcile it line-by-line instead of trusting it.

Steps

1. Load the tax card from the job's research packet and the state module's tax-records guide (states/<state>/tax-records.md) — it explains that state's card layout, valuation fields, exemptions, and known failure modes (e.g., Maine cards often lag renovations and count finished basements inconsistently).

2. Build the comparison table. For each field, columns: tax card value → observed/other source → match? (✓ / ✗ / unverified):

   • Owner of record vs. deed vesting
   • Lot size / legal description vs. deed & GIS
   • Year built; effective year
   • Building style, stories, exterior
   • GLA and finished area vs. appraiser's measurement (ANSI Z765) — note that assessor areas frequently include non-GLA space (below-grade finish, unheated porches)
   • Room / bedroom / bath counts
   • Basement (size, % finished), garage/outbuildings
   • Heating/cooling type and fuel
   • Additions & outbuildings vs. what's physically present (anything present but not on the card = possible unpermitted work → cross-check the permit file)
   • Exemptions and classifications (homestead, veteran, current-use programs) — flag any classification with valuation or penalty consequences (e.g., Maine Tree Growth withdrawal penalty) as a report disclosure item
   • Assessment history and any recent revaluation

3. Classify each mismatch:

   • MATERIAL — affects GLA, room count, condition, legal use, or marketability → must be resolved (which source wins and why) and addressed in the report
   • MINOR — note in workfile, no report impact
   • UNVERIFIED — becomes a VERIFY: follow-up with the office/portal to contact

4. Append everything to discrepancies.md with date and sources. Update workfile-index.md.

5. Resolution guidance: for each MATERIAL item, state the hierarchy of evidence (appraiser's measurement > permits/plans > tax card; deed > tax card for legal data) and draft the one-to-two-sentence report comment explaining the difference — appraiser approves.

Output

End with: match/mismatch counts, the MATERIAL list with proposed resolutions, remaining VERIFY: items with where to verify, and next skill suggestion.