A tax assessment is the assessment made on a person's income or property with regard to the amount of taxes the person or company owes on the income of property. The most common type of tax assessment is relative to property owned by a taxpayer. During a tax assessment, property is assessed by determining the value of the property when compared to similar properties in the same category. For instance, the value of a building used for business purposed isn't assessed using the same criterion that is used to assess the value of a personal home. In the same manner, a home that is located in an up-scale part of town isn't assessed in the same manner as a home located in a poorer section of a town.