Interest - Delinquent Taxes

To the amount of tax due and payable, interest of one and one-half percent (1.5%) shall be added on March 1, following the tax due date and on the first day of each succeeding month.¹  Specific statutory provisions may affect imposition of penalty and interest for those in the military and for property transactions involving the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

There is no statutory authority which authorizes the trustee to waive accrued penalty and interest. No person, public official, governmental entity or court shall have the power or authority to waive, compromise, remit, prorate, apportion or release property taxes, penalty, interest or court costs nor the first lien securing the same.²  Courts, using equitable powers, may relieve a taxpayer of interest and penalty under certain conditions; however, a taxpayer's inability to pay because of  financial misfortune will not excuse the imposition of penalty and interest on the unpaid taxes.³

Municipal property taxes become delinquent on the delinquency date established by charter or existing law. As is the case with county taxes, municipal taxes not paid on or before the established delinquency date accrue interest of 1.5 percent, beginning on the first day of March following the tax due date and continuing on the first day of each succeeding month.⁴

Reappraisal and Collection of Penalty and Interest .  If a county is undergoing a countywide reappraisal and the values established by the reappraisal program are not turned over to the county by October 1 of the tax year, no penalty and interest may be collected until five months after the date the tax roll is completed. The assessor is required to provide the trustee with written notification which specifically states the date that the tax roll was delivered to the trustee so that the five month period can be determined.⁵