Visit Gateway SDF Assessor Edit at
Indiana Property Tax File Management System
Assessor Edit Tool Instruction Manual
Table of Contents
Introduction
Purpose
Verifying and Validating the SDF Online
Part 2 County Assessor
Part 3 County Auditor...... 7
Part 4 – Receipt for statement of credit/deduction of assessed
Completing the SDF Online...... 8
Determining if an SDF Fee is Required...... 20
Obtaining an SDF Login and Password...... 21
Introduction
The Department of Local Government Finance (Department), in partnership with the Indiana Business Research Center (IBRC) at Indiana University, has developed an online sales disclosure form (SDF) tool to assist the general population and County Governments when submitting SDF data to support the county property tax management processes. This tool provides a convenient and efficient method for managing SDF information for use by counties and the Department.
Purpose
Indiana counties are required to provide verified and validated county specific SDFfiles to the Department annually as part of the property tax management files.The final county SDF records are used as a basis for trending, ratio studies, and other analysis to assist with determining neighborhood factors. The Department is required to analyze and certify the county SDF records submitted by the counties,along with verifying the subsequent analysis as part of the budgetary processes.
As part of the verification and validation processes the online tool allows county assessors to view the SDF records submitted for their county, make corrections or changes to the SDF data submitted, and verify the assessed values applied to the parcels.
Verifying and Validating the SDF Online
The public will use the Gateway SDF Single Form Entry Application for submission of an SDF that the county assessor must verify and validate. The Department has created the Single Form Entry Application in Gateway SDF and the Assessor Edit Tool for this purpose. Additionally, county assessors have access to make corrections and changes to the online submission, based on changes made to the hardcopy of an SDF prior to submission to the county for processing.
The SDF is three pages long. The first two pages, all sections of Part 1, are completed by the filers and submitted to the county assessor for processing.
Parts 2 and 3 of the SDF are completed by the county assessor and county auditor.
Part 2 County Assessor
Indiana law requires anSDF to be reviewed for completeness by the county assessor before being forwarded to the county auditor and must be completed whenever certain conveyance documentsare filed. Part 2 is divided into two separate parts, both completed by the county assessor: items 1 through 14 must be completed before the form is sent to the county auditor; items 15 through 18 must be completed by the assessor when validating the sale. Both portions may require the assessor to contact the preparer, buyer, and/or seller to request additional detail about the sale.
The assessor must provide information in items 1 through 9 about each parcel documented in the SDF including the parcel number, the assessed value of the land and improvements, and the personal property, the total assessed value, the property class code, neighborhood code, state taxing district number, and acreage of each parcel. Information about physical changes to the property between March 1 and the date of the sale and determination of whether the form is complete, if a sales fee is required, the date of the sale, and the date the form is received are also provided by the assessor.
When validating the sale the assessor must identify special circumstances related to validating the sale, determine if the sale is valid for trending, identify if the validation of the sale is complete, and identify the assessor staff responsible for validating the sale.
Response to items 1 through 9 and 11 through 14 are required, while item 10 is completed at the discretion of the assessor. Should item 11 be marked NO, the form is rejected. Items 16 through 18 are required to be completed, while item 15 is completed at the discretion of the assessor. If the assessor is satisfied that the SDF is complete, the assessor will stamp and process the SDF.
Part 3 County Auditor
Indiana law requires anSDF to be reviewed for completeness by the county assessor before being forwarded to the county auditor.The auditor must document information on fees collected, the receipt number, and the date of transfer, and determineif the form is complete, whether a fee is collected, and if the attachments are complete. In order to complete Part 3 the auditor may be required to contact the preparer, buyer, and/or seller to request additional detail about the sale.
Response to items 1 through 8 are required. If the auditor is satisfied that the SDF is complete, the auditor will stamp and process the SDF.
Part 4 – Receipt for statement of credit/deduction of assessed
When the SDF is used as an application for specified deductions and the assessor and auditor are satisfied that the deduction(s) should be granted, the auditor will issue Part 4 as a receipt to the buyer. The SDF ID and date, the parcel number, and the deduction(s) applied for will be listed, along with the buyer’s contact information. The auditor will sign the receipt and add the deduction(s) to the tax billing record for the parcel listed. The receipt is returned with the deed to the party who submitted the deed.
Completing the SDF Online
The GatewaySDF login page can be accessed at
Please select, “Assessor Tools.”
This will take you to the login page. Please enter your usernameand your password that was assigned by the Department. Once done, please select “Log In.”
If you are having difficulties logging in you may contact the Department at for assistance.
There are two options for selecting a record:
- enter the SDF ID of a single record to review, OR
- select a record from the list.
Note: The selection list can be sorted by any of these columns:SDF ID, SDF Date, Parcel Count, Form Complete, Assessor Stamp, Auditor Stamp, Validated, or ValidTrending.
Either method will open the assessor Sales Disclosure Main Screenfor the selected record.
Pleaseverify the content of Part 1 Table B Conditionsunder the “Enter Information Here” label to the right side of the screen. Any changes submitted on the hardcopy should be entered here.
Note: The green areas on the left side of the screen contain the information as submitted by the preparer of the SDF. Initially this same information is rolled to the assessor edit area for correction.
When a step is completed, please be sure to click, “Save” to ensure all data has been saved.
Pleaseverify the content of Part 1 Table C Sales Data under the “Enter Information Here” label to the right side of the screen. Any changes submitted on the hardcopy should be entered here.
When a step is completed, please be sure to click, “Save” to ensure all data has been saved.
Please verify the content of Part 1 Table D Preparer. To check the content of the database and/or make changes as submitted on the hardcopy, click the “Edit”button next to the preparer name.
This will open the Preparer Information Corrections Screen.
Pleaseverify the content of Part 1 Table D Preparer under the “Enter Information Here” label to the right side of the screen. Any changes submitted on the hardcopy should be entered here. The original information as entered by the preparer is provided on the left side of the screen for reference.
To ignore/cancel the changes made (before clicking either of the save options), click the “Cancel Changes and Return to SDF Main.”
To post the changes made while continuing to work on this screen, clickthe “Save and Continue”button.
When a step is completed, please be sure to click, “Save Changes and Return to SDF Main” to ensure all data has been saved.
Pleaseverify the content of Part 1 Table E Seller and Table F Buyer. To check the content of the database and/or make changes as submitted on the hardcopy, click the “Edit”button next to the seller or buyer name from the Sales Disclosure Main screen.
This will open the Buyer Information Corrections Screen or Seller Information Corrections Screen.
Please verify the content of Part 1 Table E Seller and Table F Buyer under the “Enter Information Here” label to the right side of the screen. Any changes submitted on the hardcopy should be entered here. The original information as entered by the preparer is provided on the left side of the screen for reference.
To ignore/cancel the changes made (before clicking either of the save options), click the “Cancel Changes and Return to SDF Main.”
To post the changes made while continuing to work on this screen, click the “Save and Continue” button.
When satisfied with the changes made, click the “Save Changes and Return to SDF Main.”
Pleaseverify the content of Part 1 Table A Parcel information. To check the content of the database and/or make changes as submitted on the hardcopy, click the “Select”button next to the parcel from the Sales Disclosure Main screen.
To add parcels to the SDF, please refer to the Part 1, table A section at the top of the main screen. This table is nearly identical to the one referenced at the end of Part 1. It is listed twice as a convenience to usability.
This will open the Sales Disclosure Parcel Screen.
Please verify the content of Part 1 Table A Parcel information under the “Enter Information Here” below the information submitted by the preparer. Any changes submitted on the hardcopy should be entered here. The original information as entered by the preparer is provided for reference.
Pleaseverify the content of Part 2 items 1-9 information under the “Enter Information Here” to the right of the information submitted by the preparer. The system will post data from the Most Recent Certified Parcel Data column which has been extracted from the most recent data submission to Department from the county.
Although this data is provided for convenience, you must still verify the data and correct the entries under the “Enter Information Here” column. If no data is present, a match with the parcel ID could not be made through automated routines.
The assessor must determine the validity of the content deduction(s) applied for using the SDF. This information will be helpful to the county auditor in determining issuance of the deduction(s).
Additionally, the assessor should click the appropriate check box to verify features listed are present on this parcel.
To ignore/cancel the changes made (before clicking either of the save options), click the “Cancel Changes and Return to SDF Main.”
To post the changes made while continuing to work on this screen, click the “Save and Continue”button.
When satisfied with the changes made, click the “Save Changes and Return to SDF Main.”
Once back at the SDF Main page,pleasecomplete Part 2 items 10-14 and identify if the assessor stamp is posted to the hardcopy SDF form. Additionally, complete Part 2 items 15-18 to validate the sale.
When a step is completed, please be sure to click, “Save” to ensure all data has been saved.
Pleasecomplete Part 3 items 1-8 and identify if the auditor stamp is on the hardcopy SDF, once the form has been returned by the auditor.
When a step is completed, please be sure to click, “Save” to ensure all data has been saved.
Once you have a final hardcopy SDF, it should be scanned in Adobe .pdf format and uploaded using the upload utility.
To locate the file, click on “Browse.”
Your last step in uploading your hardcopy SDF is to click the “Add File” button.
Determining if an SDF Fee is Required
The following illustration is provided to identify when a sales disclosure fee is necessary.
Obtaining an SDF Login and Password
Access to the Assessor Edit Tools must be approved by the county assessor. Please find the request form located at:
Complete all required fields and submit to the DLGF via e-mail to . Enter “SDF Assessor Edit Tools” on the line Application(s) for which Login is Requested. Once received, the DLGF can complete the account creation process and provide further instructions.
If you have any questions while completing this form please contact the Department at r at (317) 232-3777.
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