As a landlord and a small business, if you become a pass-through entity — an LLC or an S-corporation — you may be eligible for a 20 percent deduction for qualified business income.

If you rent out your home, be sure to track your expenses and talk to your insurance agent. "If you use it as a rental property, even partially, your insurance coverage needs will change," said Smith.

Report your rental income or loss on Schedule E when you file your taxes.

On the other hand, if your rapidly appreciating property is in a prime destination, consider that you won't have to claim the rental income if you rent your space for less than 14 days over the year.

Fight back
Finally, if you disagree with your municipality's assessment on your home, you can contest the findings.

Get to know your city's appeal's process, which can be deadline sensitive and will vary from one town to the next.

Expect to gather evidence of your home's market value, too.

You can hire an appraiser to provide your city's tax assessor with reports and comparable property values to back up your findings, said Brigid D'Souza, a CPA and founder of Civic Parent, a website that follows property tax developments in Jersey City.

The national average cost of hiring an appraiser is about $329, according to HomeAdvisor, a home improvement website.
Comparables are best if you can say that this home is assessed at what yours should be, and you have similar square footage and features," said Steffen. "But be careful: They could raise your neighbor's taxes."