An assessor is a specialist who calculates the value of property. The value calculated by the assessor is then used as the basis for determining the amounts to be paid or assessed for tax

Tax

To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...

 or insurance

Insurance

In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...

 purposes.

In Local government in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, an assessor is an appointed or elected official charged with determining the value of each taxable property in a county

County (United States)

In the United States, a county is a geographic subdivision of a state , usually assigned some governmental authority. The term "county" is used in 48 of the 50 states; Louisiana is divided into parishes and Alaska into boroughs. Parishes and boroughs are called "county-equivalents" by the U.S...

, municipality

Municipality

A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

, or township

Civil township

A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States, subordinate to, and geographic divisions of, a county. Specific responsibilities and the degree of autonomy vary based on each state. Civil townships are distinct from survey townships, but in states that have both,...

; this information is then used by the locality to determine the necessary rate of taxation to support the community's annual budget. In Vermont, this office is known as a "Lister". (This is a specialization of the previous sense; a person who performs similar work for a private employer is more often called an appraiser

Appraiser

An appraiser , is one who sets a value upon property, real or personal. In England the business of an appraiser is usually combined with that of an auctioneer, while the word itself has a similar meaning to that of "valuer." In the United States, the most common usage relates to real estate...

 or, specifically in the insurance industry, an adjuster

Claims adjuster

Claims adjusters investigate insurance claims by interviewing the claimant and witnesses, consulting police and hospital records, and inspecting property damage to determine the extent of the company’s liability. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, the Caribbean and New Zealand...

.)

A professional organization for assessors and source for innovation, education, and research in property appraisal, assessment administration, and property tax policy is the International Association of Assessing Officers.

External links

• IAAO, International Association of Assessing Officers