Columbia County residents have reached the halfway point to the deadline for assessing property this year without incurring a penalty on their personal property tax bill.
Arkansas residents are responsible for listing all their personal property in the county and school district where their property is located between January 1 and May 31 each year at the County Assessor’s office.
Property assessed after May 31 is subject to a delinquency penalty of 10%, unless the property was acquired after the deadline. Any property acquired between Jan. 1 and May 31 must be assessed by the deadline.
After county assessor has assessed a resident’s property, the county tax collector will calculate how much they owe in property taxes for 2020.
Property taxes go back into local services, staying within the community as a source of funding for public schools, county and city governments.
According to the Arkansas Division of Agriculture, in 2016, about $1.8 billion, 77% of the property taxes paid by Arkansans, went to public schools in the state. County governments received 15% of the tax dollars, and cities received 8%.
Property taxes are due at the county Tax Collector’s office between March 1 and Oct. 15. Taxes paid after the deadline will be subject to a 10% penalty on all property taxes owed.