About Golf Tax

About Our Company

In 2004, my company began searching for a way to reduce costs at two courses we had under contract to manage for a banking institution. As most managers would do, we first looked to find savings in the "typical" areas.......ie, labor and other variable cost centers.

After digging a little deeper and looking closely at the fixed costs, we just couldn't find any rhyme or reason behind the course property values and subsequent tax burden those values represented. Both properties were struggling financially, golf participation rates were sliding, and the local economies were sluggish. The property values and taxes at both courses, however, were not reflecting this......... in fact they were increasing!

What followed was an extensive search to find someone who could explain how golf course properties are appraised and how, or if, we could have any impact on that process. I talked with appraisers, course owners, CPAs, and even the County Auditors. I found that although there were a plethora of opinions on how golf courses should be appraised, it seemed that there was only one method being employed.........."the replacement cost method".

There was also only one course of remedy available to us as taxpayers wanting to argue the appraised values. Since the value had been determined and the tax bills received, our only option was to file an appeal.

I considered going through this appeal process on my own, but the fact of the matter was, the task looked pretty daunting. Added to that, the "success" stories from courses that had tried to file and win their own appeals, were few and far between.

I then began a search for an "expert" in golf course valuation and luckily, soon found a company called Tax Profile Services, Inc. Based in Denver, Colorado, TPS has a long history of successfully appealing golf course real estate values, with well over 100 golf course clients benefiting from their service.

What differentiates TPS from other companies is their unmatched expertise and understanding of how county governments do golf course appraisals, what's wrong with how they do it, and how to correct it so that everyone, including the county, is educated on the accepted and legal way to assign a value to special use properties. And, unlike all but a very small handful of other companies, Golf Course appraisal for tax purposes is ALL THEY DO!

I met with Jeff Monroe, President and Founder of TPS, and had him evaluate both of our property's assessed values. You guessed it, Jeff informed me that both courses were being appraised incorrectly and both were significantly overvalued. TPS then went to work gathering the necessary information to file our appeals. The appeal and supporting data TPS presented to the taxing authorities was overwhelming and indisputable. TPS was successful in having the assigned values substantially lowered at each property. In both cases, the annual tax savings were over twenty thousand dollars! The cost to have TPS represent us was minor compared to the income we were adding to our bottom line.........potentially, for years to come.

I was so impressed with TPS that we formed a working relationship and Golf Tax will now assist them in identifying and helping courses "determine their fair share" throughout the country. Golf Tax works hand in hand with TPS, indentifying courses/clubs interested in lowering their property tax burden by gathering the preliminary information needed and presenting it in such a manner as to convince the taxing authority to correct the value or, if this fails, to file an appeal.

The professionals at TPS have testified as experts in hundreds of appeal hearings, both at the local and state level. They boast almost a 100% success rate for favorable appeal decisions.

The goal of TPS and Golf Tax is to change the way golf course properties and country clubs are assessed, while educating local taxing authorities in the process. It's tough enough to make ends meet in the golf business, without overpaying your taxes. What we've found is that golf course and country club property taxes are one "fixed" cost, that in many cases, need "fixing".