It is mid-September; do you know where your property tax is? If you pay your property taxes directly, you do know because you just got your 2023 statement for property taxes that will be due October 1. That of course would be true only if you read your statement thoroughly and carefully, which not everyone does, but should. You may pay only half now and the balance in March, but that first half must be paid in October to avoid penalties.
If you are paying your property taxes via an escrow account, you probably never get to see your full statement, unless you specifically request it from your lender or your county treasurer. Most likely that means that you have no idea how much you are paying or how and where your tax dollars are being spent.
Regardless of your billing status, you are paying these taxes and you should be well informed because there are a slew of bond issues and budget overrides coming up for votes shortly. Being well informed enables tax payers to make sound decisions as to whether to vote YES or NO on these bond issues and budget overrides.
The information contained herein pertains only to Maricopa County, but there is a high likelihood that most or all the other 14 counties in Arizona follow a similar pattern.
In Maricopa County we have made some huge improvements in the content and usefulness of the property tax bill. These improvements were initiated by previous treasurer Royce Flora, and are continuously being enhanced by current treasurer John Allen.
A sample bill, with comments and explanations, is available on the Maricopa County Treasurer’s website and may be viewed by clicking HERE However, for your convenience, we are including here a copy of that sample bill.
Three observations are in order regarding this sample.
First, the parcel number and the property address are fictitious, but the numbers are real.
Second, the total tax liability in this sample is very low. For example, in the Paradise Valley Unified School district, the average property tax is considerably higher. But this is still useful information because the percentages are fairly consistent throughout the county.
Third, pay very close attention to the last part of the bill, under the heading “WHERE DO MY TAXES GO?”
UNDERSTANDING YOUR TAX BILL
- eNotices Authorization Code: Please see insert “How to set up your eNoticesOnline account”
- Primary Limited Values: Limited Value is a figure determined by mathematical computations provided for in statute. This area explains the property, shows the property limited value, shows the property classification percentage, and shows the limited assessed value. The limited assessed value is figured by multiplying the limited value by the ratio.
- Secondary Full Cash Values: Full Cash Value represents the Assessor’s approximate market value.
- Area Code: Assessor-assigned code that represents the sub-political jurisdiction that receives the tax dollars. The first two digits represent the school district, the next two digits represent the city or town, and the last two digits represent special districts.
- Special District: These districts are authorized by statute and approved by the local voter’s government to provide specific services to the taxed individual. The assessments for these special districts are not always calculated on the values of the property. They can be based on the value in acreage, value in dollars, or value in frontage square feet.
- Total 2023 Assessed Taxes: Total tax assessed for the property tax year.
- QR (Quick Response) Code: Scannable barcode link for the Maricopa County Treasurer’s website, Treasurer.Maricopa.Gov.
- Address Block: The mailing address is usually obtained from the Assessor’s Office, who in turn receives the information from the Deed or Affidavit of Value recorded with the Recorder’s Office. The mailing address may be different from the situs address.