Since the taxing authorities valuation is apparently based on the sales
price, the question would be how much the appliances were worth at the
time of the sale. Specifically, what would he have paid for the house
without the appliances vs. how much he paid for the house with the
appliances. He could very well argue that the value of the appliances
was what he would have had to pay for new appliances, as many people
would not want to buy used appliances to furnish a new home. I would
think getting an appraised value of the appliances might cost more than
he would reduce his tax. My suggestion would be to make a listing of
the appliances, call some store asking what new appliances of the same
quality cost, and assign what he thinks is a fair value to the
appliances. Only he himself can say how much he "overpaid" for the
house because the appliances were included. If he can find some similar
homes that sold at the same time without appliances, and that sold for
less than he paid, that would be good evidence.

Sales tax may or may not be an issue. In some jurisdictions there is no
sales tax applied to sales between individuals.

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"Fred" wrote in message
news:P8lze.9107$4U5.2991@trndny03...

I understand what you're saying however the way it's working in my area
(Pgh, PA), I am to deduct the afore mentioned items from the sale price.
The local municipality is trying to nail me on sale price rather than by
assessment.




Assessment is usually a portion of the sale price and can be from 50% to
100%. The percentage does not matter as long as it is applied equally.
That actual rate is set by the town and then the mil rate is fixed on that.

Are you trying to say the appliances should be deducted from the sales price
of the house since they are not a part of it? If that is the case, the
value would be what they are worth today, which is probably not much. You
may have better luck browning a used appliance dealer where you will find
your dishwasher is $150. Unless t hey are something super quality, it will
be a lot of work for tiny gain. They may then want you to prove that you
paid the previous owner for the appliances and want to collect sales tax.
You may have a tough battle on your hands.