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View All General - PT, Real Property FAQs

What is annual equalization?

All Alabama counties are now under an ‘annual reappraisal’ program which requires the assessing official to review 1/4 of the County each year, and to assess any/all additional buildings identified during this process for the upcoming tax year. A review of 100% of the property in a county will be completed over a four year equalization cycle. The benefit to annual equalization is to improve equalization among similar and dissimilar properties. The annual equalization process also provides a stable as well as an enhanced revenue stream from property taxes for schools, municipal, county and state government. An equally important result is the small annual market value increase annually instead of the large market value increase of the four-year cycle. The Director of the Property Tax Division has the duties and responsibilities of managing the activities of the Division. The Code of Alabama 1975, Section 40-7-74 and 40-2-11, directs that the property reappraisal program shall be administered by the Commissioner of Revenue and supervised by the Director of the Property Tax Division.

All Alabama counties are now under an ‘annual reappraisal’ program which requires the assessing official to review 1/4 of the County each year, and to assess any/all additional buildings identified during this process for the upcoming tax year. A review of 100% of the property in a county will be completed over a four year equalization cycle. The benefit to annual equalization is to improve equalization among similar and dissimilar properties. The annual equalization process also provides a stable as well as an enhanced revenue stream from property taxes for schools, municipal, county and state government. An equally important result is the small annual market value increase annually instead of the large market value increase of the four-year cycle. The Director of the Property Tax Division has the duties and responsibilities of managing the activities of the Division. The Code of Alabama 1975, Section 40-7-74 and 40-2-11, directs that the property reappraisal program shall be administered by the Commissioner of Revenue and supervised by the Director of the Property Tax Division.
Related FAQs in General - PT, Real Property
Property taxes are due October 1, and are delinquent after December 31.
There are two reasons for your property taxes to increase: (1) a tax rate (millage) increase, or (2) an increase in the appraised value of the property. The first reason, a tax rate increase, would have to come from a vote of the citizens or by the taxing authority (County Commission) to increase (or decrease) the millage rate. The second situation, involving an increase in the appraised value, would come from a court ordered re-appraisal or from an “economically-based” increase in the market value of properties in the county, resulting in an increase in the appraised value.
If you are over 65 years of age, or permanent and totally disabled (regardless of age), or blind (regardless of age), you are exempt from the state portion of property tax. County taxes may still be due. Please contact your local taxing official to claim your homestead exemption. For county contact information, view the county offices page.
The County Revenue Commissioner is not required to mail tax notices and does so only as a courtesy to the taxpayer. You are responsible for the payment of taxes whether you receive a statement or not.
A homestead exemption is defined as a single-family owner-occupied dwelling and the land thereto, not exceeding 160 acres. The property owner may be entitled to a homestead exemption if he or she owns a single-family residence and occupies it as their primary residence on the first day of the tax year for which they are applying. There are several different types of exemptions a home owner can claim in the State of Alabama. Please visit your local county office to apply for a homestead exemption. For more information regarding homestead exemptions, view our Homestead Exemptions page.

A mill is one-tenth of one cent. The number of mills an agency charges for taxes is multiplied times the assessed value of the property, and the result is the tax amount due. For example: $100,000 (Appraised Value) X (Assessment Rate: 10%) = $10,000 (Assessed Value) X .0325 (County Millage Rate) = $325.00 (Tax Amount)