What improvements raise your property tax archived

When you pull permits, you flag your property for a tax increase. And a ll updates to your home require permits so it's a catch 22. New kitchens, baths, a deck, etc. will up your taxes. Finishing an attic into usable square footage would qualify as well. All that being said, obviously, a kitchen redo would be levied far more heavily than an electrical update.
What town are you in?

Improvements, and the dormers are improvements, result in an increased assessment. Repairs don't increase assessments.

I heard that if you dont increase the footage and it is not used as a living space (bedroom) it doesnt increase.
I live in Maplewood

If you presently have a finished attic (with slnted walls) and you are being taxed for a finished attic, then you can bump out your attic (Dormers) to your exterior walls, and your taxes should not go up. The reason is that the town taxes you on the complete sq footage of your attic (to the exterior wall edges) even thouh only 1/3 is livable (>5ft high). So if you put large dormers in (or build out the rrof), thus extending your livable sq footage to the exterior wall edges, you did not increase your sq footage that you are presently being taxed on. I am not sure about twhat the previous poster said about making it into a bedroom causes an increase, that may be true.

In this town, you don't have to do anything for your property taxes to go up.

A lot.

Improvements are taxed based on the estimated increase in value because of the work. This number can be more or less than the actual cost of the improvement, at least in theory. Is the attic heated? If it isn't it isn't considered living space and that might, repeat might, effect the increase in your assessment.

We need to do some improvements on our house in South Orange. Of course, our taxes are sky high already and we're trying to avoid any more increase... but work needs to be done. Do I need a permit to replace really old drafty windows. How about updating a bathroom (tiles, tub, radiator, sink) with no movement on the plumbing?

When we had central A/C installed in our Maplewood home a couple of years ago we recieved a notice telling us of the tax increase specifically related to that improvement.

Around the same time we had to totally redo our master bath because of failing plumbing. On the same building permit as the bathroom we also replaced a couple of windows that were in sad shape (to say the least). (One was a large window that we replaced with a french door of the same width.) There were inspections relating to this project. We did not get a tax increase relating to this "improvement". My conclusion: there seems to be some differentiation between necessary repairs and things like a new bath where none existed before or a kitchen remodel that might include structural changes.

Posted By: rosetarotI heard that if you dont increase the footage and it is not used as a living space (bedroom) it doesnt increase.
I live in Maplewood

Au contraire - Bobbest is correct. We knocked a wall, hence losing a room, when we did our kitchen. But the larger kitchen added value to the house. No square footage change. Big tax change. Then again, we ripped out and moved a bathroom and added C/A.

Almost anything that the town knows about.

I'm a painter too, and considering the same project. My idea - just sheetrock the attic yourself. It'll be usable work space, but far from livable space.