November 29, 2016
By Paragon News Director Paul Joseph –
Not only is it time for the holidays, but it’s time to pay Oklahoma state property tax.
Property taxes are local taxes. County officials value each property, set tax rates and collect the taxes. However, state law governs how the process works.
Counties vary on when they get their tax bills (or statements) out in the mail to property owners, however, no matter in which county one may live, property taxes are all due on December 31st.
Custer County Treasurer Janet Roulet says different counties in the state vary on when they may be able to get their tax statements out. She says it can vary as much as a month.
Beckham County Treasurer Jennifer Drury says her department received the tax roll from the Beckham County Assessor in mid-November and says she’ll get the county tax statements in the mail to Beckham County residents the first of December.
Property taxes are based on the value of a piece of property.
A property’s market value is the price for which it would sell when both buyer and seller want the best price and neither one is under pressure to buy or sell.
Roulet says her office received the tax roll earlier and mailed Custer County statements on November 9, making them payable as early as November 14. It just depends on when the treasurer’s office receives the levy information.
Drury says most people, however, pay their property taxes through their home loan. It’s part of the loan payment and is handled automatically.
If a person pays property taxes as part of their home loan payment, they won’t receive a tax statement so they can simply check online to make sure it’s paid by their home loan company before the 31st.
She says it’s a good idea to make sure their tax bill was actually paid by the loan company.
The property tax provides more tax dollars for local services in Oklahoma than any other source. Property taxes help to pay for public schools, city streets, county roads, police, fire protection and many other services.
All property is taxable unless otherwise exempted by federal or state law.
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