Book excerpt: CCH's U.S. Master Property Tax Guide is a practical, quick-answer resource to the key issues and concepts that professionals who deal with state and local property taxes need to know. This handy desktop reference contains concise explanations on major property tax areas in a readily accessible, easy-to-use and easy-to-understand format. It provides an overview of the property tax and valuation assessment methods used by the different taxing jurisdictions, and provides readers with the key definitions, concepts and procedures necessary to understand the application of local property taxes. Supported by multistate charts and discussions of the state and local property tax systems, helpful state-by-state coverage includes: - property subject to tax - exemptions and exclusions available for different classes of property and taxpayers - how property taxes are determined, including the classification, valuation, equalization, assessment and levy of tax - currently available credits and abatements of property tax - options available to taxpayers prior to the state court system - property tax due dates - key contacts in the various taxing jurisdictions, and more. The U.S. Master Property Tax Guide provides a helpful annual snapshot of key property tax provisions and is a convenient desktop complement to CCH's comprehensive Internet update subscription service--the Multistate Property Tax Guide.