LOCAL PROPERTY APPRAISAL

Mississippi’s property tax system is administered by various county and state officials. Locally elected Tax Assessors, Tax Collectors, Chancery Clerks, Boards of Supervisors, City Alderpersons/Councilpersons, School Boards all play a role at the county level.

At the State level, elected members of the Mississippi Legislature enact laws that define Mississippi’s property tax system.  The Department of Revenue provides oversight into the valuation of property to ensure compliance with Mississippi laws, while the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor provides oversight into the collection of property taxes.

The Mississippi Legislature provides the framework for Mississippi’s property tax system through the laws they pass.  Generally, the Legislature has established the standard of value for property tax appraisals at market value.  However, Mississippi law does provide for special modes of valuation for certain types of property, like public utility owned property and farm property, to name a few.  Mississippi law also exempts certain types of property from property taxation

Mississippi law also establishes five classes of property and requires that property belonging to each class be assessed for taxes at a percentage of its true value.  The five classes are:

With Mississippi’s property tax system being an ad valorem or “value based” tax, the value of your property must be determined regularly to ensure each property owner is paying their fair share of the tax burden.  The job of determining property values in any given county belongs to a locally elected Tax Assessor.

Your property includes all improvements to your property. For property tax purposes, improvements include all structures.  State law requires that the county Tax Assessor regularly physically inspect your property and appraise your property at its true value.  Real property must be revalued at least once every four years. Taxable personal property is revalued annually.  Interior inspections of residences are not required.

The Department of Revenue plays a significant role in the administration of Mississippi’s property tax system, primarily to ensure the valuation process is uniform and equal across the state.  Some of the Department’s responsibilities include:

Issuing technical guidance on acceptable appraisal practices used by property tax appraisers,

Auditing county’s appraisal work to ensure compliance with state laws, rules and regulations,

Assisting with the development, instruction, and testing of educational courses and specialized certifications for property tax appraisers, and,

Assisting county and contract property tax appraisers with questions and problems.

A locally elected county tax collector is responsible for collecting property taxes in each county.  In many counties, a single elected official fulfills the role of both tax collector and tax collector, but there are counties in which the two offices are held by separate elected officials.  If you have questions about your tax bill, you should to talk to your tax collector.

A locally elected chancery clerk serves several roles in Mississippi’s property tax system.  They are the custodian of public land records where they receive, record and maintain all land ownership records.  These records are used by tax assessors to determine who owns the properties they are responsible for valuing and by tax collectors to determine who owes the resulting property tax.

Chancery clerks work closely with the board of supervisors of their county to facilitate the approval of the county’s annual tax rolls (lists of property ownership, property values, and associated taxes).  They also assist the board with property valuation appeals and with the filing of necessary compliance reports with oversight agencies.

Another role the chancery clerk fills is to administer an annual county tax sale.  When property owners fail to pay their property taxes and the tax is deemed delinquent, state law requires that the property be sold for taxes at an annual tax sale.  Properties sold for taxes can be subsequently redeemed for a period after the sale. The chancery clerk is responsible for maintaining all records of properties sold for taxes.

The board of supervisors serves as the governing body for the county.  Each county in Mississippi is split into five districts and the voters of each district elect a representative to serve as their supervisor. These five locally elected supervisors in each county comprise the county’s board of supervisors.

In the administration of Mississippi’s property tax system, the board of supervisors is responsible for reviewing property valuations determined by the tax assessor, hearing taxpayer objections to property valuations, formally adopting property tax rolls the tax year, and directing the tax collector to collect property taxes based on the adopted tax rolls.

Additionally, the board of supervisors acts as the taxing authority for the county.  (see TAXING AUTHORITIES)

Taxing authorities are government bodies that are empowered to levy taxes. In the context of Mississippi’s property tax system, taxing authorities generally consist of the county boards of supervisors, municipal boards of alderpersons/councilpersons, and certain school boards.  Taxing authorities establish budget requirements to fund the various services provided at their level of government and set a millage rate (tax rate) for their jurisdictions.

Property tax rates, commonly referred to as millage rates, are figured in mills. One mill is equal to 1/1,000 of a dollar. For instance, if the millage rate for your area is 100 mills, you would pay $100.00 for every $1,000 of assessed value.  

Depending on where your property is located, your property may be subject to more than one jurisdiction’s millage rate.  All properties are subject to a county millage rate and a school district millage rate.  But if you live within a city’s limits, or within a special levee district, you will also pay a property tax to that jurisdiction based on its millage rate. 

Generally, there are two factors that affect the amount of property tax you pay: the value of your property and the millage rate levied in your jurisdiction.  

Physical changes such as additions and/or improvements to your property, inflation, appreciation, and other economic factors can affect the value of your property. As such, state law requires that property values be regularly reappraised.

Likewise, millage rates can fluctuate annually in each taxing jurisdiction. Property values tend to appreciate over time, however, for a variety of reasons, total property values in a given jurisdiction can ebb and flow.  Taxing authorities have the flexibility to adjust their millage rates each year to ensure their budgets are funded.

EXAMPLE CALCULATION OF PROPERTY TAXES

If you disagree with the valuation of your property, you can request a hearing with the Board of Supervisors. For more information, contact your county’s Chancery Clerk.  Normally, an appeal to the Board of Supervisors must be filed by the first Monday in August preceding the due date of the taxes.

Property taxes are assessed each year to the owner-of-record on January 1. The corresponding tax bill would be issued later that year in November – December.  The tax is due by the following February 1.  If February 1 falls on a weekend or legal holiday, taxes may be paid the following Monday without penalties or interest.

Property taxes are paid to the Tax Collector of the county in which the property is located.  If you don’t receive a tax bill, or if you have questions about your tax bill, you should contact your county Tax Collector’s office.

When property taxes are not paid timely, penalties and interest accrue. If property taxes remain delinquent, the property is subject to being sold at the county’s tax auction.  Some counties’ auctions are held on the first Monday in April, while other counties hold tax sales on the last Monday in August. For more information about tax sales in a specific county, contact that county’s Tax Collector’s office.

If a property auctioned at a county’s tax sale is not purchased, the property is sold to the State of Mississippi.  Such properties are managed by the Mississippi Secretary of State. For more information, contact the Secretary of State’s office at 1-866-835-2637.

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