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Oklahoma County Assessor
Facts and Questions
 WHAT
IS THE JOB OF THE COUNTY ASSESSOR?
The county assessor is responsible for the
following:
Lists and maintains records on each piece of taxable real and personal property in
Oklahoma County.
REAL PROPERTY includes land and
buildings.
PERSONAL PROPERTY includes
business furniture and fixtures, business equipment, business inventory, farm equipment,
and manufactured homes. As Oklahoma County Assessor,
Leonard Sullivan is responsible for the equitable assessment of all taxable properties in
Oklahoma County. Individual parcels now number close to 300,000 and cover an area of 720
square miles. An unprecedented amount of this information is now being made available in a
variety of formats. Please follow this shortcut to view the Assessors Records Reproduction
Policy. Click Here Records Reproduction
Policy.
Determines fair market value annually for homes, businesses and
other taxable property in Oklahoma County. Fair market value may go up or down
depending on the real estate market in the county.
Notifies property owners of any increase in the fair
market value of their property.
Assists taxpayers in filing
HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION and affidavits for property that is exempt under Oklahoma law.
Resolves questions or protests about valuation.
Preparation and certification of the assessment and tax rolls.
Appears before the COUNTY BOARD OF EQUALIZATION.
HOW DO I FIGURE MY TAX?
The method for figuring ad valorem taxes requires
four steps: You must know the taxable market value of your property, the assessment
ratio(11% Real Property - 13.75% Personal), any exemptions, and the
tax rate for your area of the county. The example is
based upon a property that has a taxable market value of $50,000 with homestead exemption
and a tax rate of $100 per thousand.
In this example, the final tax bill is $450. This
could vary if the district in which the property is located had higher or lower school,
city or other bond issues. Rates generally vary from $86 to $134 per thousand within the
county.
HOW ARE TAX RATES SET FOR MY PROPERTY?
Tax rates or millage levies are set by procedures established in the
Oklahoma Constitution or voted directly by the
taxpayers. Rates are not set by the County
Assessor. There are over 75 different rates in
Oklahoma County and those vary across the county depending on which school district, city
limit and vocational-technical school district the property is located. The tax or millage
rate levied against a property makes a great deal of difference in the taxes paid. Rates
in Oklahoma County have varied from $75 to $134 per thousand.
WHAT IS A MILL?
A mill is one-thousandth of a dollar. For convenience in
Oklahoma, a tax rate (the sum of all mills levied) is expressed as dollars per thousand
dollars of assessed value. A Tax rate of 80 mills, for example, would be 80 tax dollars.
WHERE DOES MY PROPERTY TAX MONEY GO?
Property taxes are an important source of revenue for local schools,
vocational-technical education, libraries, city and county government. As in most states
in the United States, property taxes are the backbone of funding of local government and
schools. Oklahoma’s property tax with some changes has fulfilled this basic function
since statehood.
Generally, local schools receive the largest share of the property tax. Schools are
followed by city bond issues, county government, vocational-technical schools, libraries,
and city-county health department. Except for those provided for in the Oklahoma
Constitution, millage levies are controlled by the voters.
As noted in the chart, ad valorem revenues in a typical year are distributed among
several groups.
Oklahoma County Ad Valorem Tax Dollar
When do I pay my tax?
The County Treasurer sends out a tax bill in October each year.
Taxes may be paid on two installments. If exactly one half is paid by December 31, then
the last half is due by March 31. If nothing is paid by December 31, the full amount is
due and becomes delinquent January 1 with applicable penalties owed.
Oklahoma Ranks 47th
lowest in property taxes...............
only Mississippi, Alaska, & Alabama are lower....see
story below
What about the notion of relocating to take advantage of lower taxes
in other states? Although it's not for everyone, it appears that a
growing number of people, particularly the wealthy, are doing just that.
According to a 2006 article in Barron's, large numbers of taxpayers are
moving from high-tax states to those with lower taxes. One of the big
motivators is that 18 states and the District of Columbia have recently
implemented significant estate taxes. Angered by high state and local
taxes, residents of the Northeast are fleeing to Florida -- and not just
for the sunnier weather. Florida has no income tax and no estate tax.
Highly taxed Californians are making tracks to places such as Arizona
and Nevada in record numbers..
In America, voting with one's feet remains a viable form of tax
protest. But Alaska, despite its low taxes, probably won't witness any
mass migrations from the lower 48 anytime soon. Unless you're talking
about flocks of birds.
| Taxes by state |
|
State |
Gasoline* |
Cigarettes |
Retail sales** |
All state, local taxes*** |
Rank |
All federal, state, local
taxes*** |
Rank |
| Alabama |
20.3 |
$0.42 |
4% |
8.8% |
46 |
27.5% |
50 |
| Alaska |
8 |
$1.80 |
|
6.6% |
50 |
27.9% |
49 |
| Arizona |
19 |
$2.00 |
5.6 |
10.1% |
32 |
29.9% |
29 |
| Arkansas |
21.8 |
$0.59 |
6 |
10.3% |
27 |
29.1% |
40 |
| California |
40.1 |
$0.87 |
7.25 |
10.9% |
15 |
32.7% |
9 |
| Colorado |
22 |
$0.84 |
2.9 |
9.8% |
38 |
30.7% |
23 |
| Connecticut |
40.5 |
$1.51 |
6 |
11.3% |
9 |
35.9% |
1 |
| Delaware |
23 |
$0.55 |
|
8.4% |
48 |
29.7% |
33 |
| Florida |
31.9 |
$0.34 |
6 |
9.7% |
39 |
31.0% |
21 |
| Georgia |
21.3 |
$0.37 |
4 |
10.4% |
25 |
30.6% |
25 |
| Hawaii |
31.8 |
$1.60 |
4# |
11.7% |
5 |
31.2% |
17 |
| Idaho |
25 |
$0.57 |
6 |
10.2% |
31 |
29.0% |
42 |
| Illinois |
32.5 |
$0.98 |
6.25 |
10.9% |
14 |
32.7% |
10 |
| Indiana |
26.6 |
$0.56 |
6 |
11.0% |
12 |
30.7% |
24 |
| Iowa |
22 |
$0.36 |
5 |
10.4% |
26 |
29.4% |
36 |
| Kansas |
25 |
$0.79 |
5.3 |
10.7% |
18 |
30.5% |
26 |
| Kentucky |
18.5 |
$0.30 |
6 |
10.7% |
20 |
29.8% |
31 |
| Louisiana |
20 |
$0.36 |
4 |
11.0% |
11 |
29.2% |
37 |
| Maine |
28.3 |
$2.00 |
5 |
13.5% |
1 |
33.1% |
7 |
| Maryland |
23.5 |
$1.00 |
5 |
10.7% |
19 |
32.0% |
13 |
| Massachusetts |
23.5 |
$1.51 |
5 |
10.3% |
28 |
33.4% |
6 |
| Michigan |
30.8 |
$2.00 |
6 |
10.8% |
16 |
31.1% |
19 |
| Minnesota |
22 |
$1.49 |
6.5 |
11.9% |
4 |
33.6% |
5 |
| Mississippi |
18.8 |
$0.18 |
7 |
10.2% |
29 |
28.0% |
48 |
| Missouri |
17.6 |
$0.17 |
4.225 |
9.9% |
34 |
29.4% |
35 |
| Montana |
27.8 |
$1.70 |
|
9.5% |
42 |
29.0% |
43 |
| Nebraska |
28 |
$0.64 |
5.5 |
11.6% |
6 |
30.9% |
22 |
| Nevada |
32.5 |
$0.80 |
6.5 |
9.5% |
43 |
31.6% |
14 |
| New Hampshire |
19.6 |
$0.80 |
|
7.3% |
49 |
29.2% |
39 |
| New Jersey |
14.5 |
$2.58 |
7 |
10.8% |
17 |
34.3% |
3 |
| New Mexico |
18 |
$0.91 |
5 |
9.9% |
36 |
28.5% |
45 |
| New York |
41.7 |
$1.50 |
4 |
12.9% |
2 |
35.1% |
2 |
| North Carolina |
30.2 |
$0.35 |
4.5 |
10.5% |
23 |
30.3% |
27 |
| North Dakota |
23 |
$0.44 |
5 |
9.8% |
37 |
29.8% |
30 |
| Ohio |
28 |
$1.25 |
5.5 |
12.0% |
3 |
31.3% |
16 |
| Oklahoma |
17 |
$1.03 |
4.5 |
9.6% |
40 |
28.2% |
47 |
| Oregon |
24.9 |
$1.18 |
|
9.9% |
35 |
30.2% |
28 |
| Pennsylvania |
32.3 |
$1.35 |
6 |
10.4% |
24 |
31.2% |
18 |
| Rhode Island |
31 |
$2.46 |
7 |
11.5% |
8 |
33.0% |
8 |
| South Carolina |
16.8 |
$0.07 |
5 |
10.2% |
30 |
29.2% |
38 |
| South Dakota |
24 |
$1.53 |
4 |
9.2% |
45 |
28.9% |
44 |
| Tennessee |
21.4 |
$0.20 |
7 |
8.6% |
47 |
28.2% |
46 |
| Texas |
20 |
$1.41 |
6.25 |
9.4% |
44 |
29.7% |
32 |
| Utah |
24.5 |
$0.70 |
4.75 |
10.5% |
22 |
29.5% |
34 |
| Vermont |
20 |
$1.79 |
6 |
11.1% |
10 |
31.3% |
15 |
| Virginia |
19.2 |
$0.30 |
5 |
9.5% |
41 |
31.1% |
20 |
| Washington |
34 |
$2.03 |
6.5 |
10.9% |
13 |
33.7% |
4 |
| West Virginia |
27 |
$0.55 |
6 |
10.6% |
21 |
29.1% |
41 |
| Wisconsin |
32.9 |
$0.77 |
5 |
11.6% |
7 |
32.2% |
12 |
| Wyoming |
14 |
$0.60 |
4 |
10.1% |
33 |
32.4% |
11 |
| District of Columbia |
20 |
$1.00 |
5.75 |
12.8% |
|
35.1% |
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*Additional federal levy is 18.4 cents
nationwide
**Base state rate (local tax may be higher)
***Average, as percentage of income
#General excise tax instead of sales tax
Sources: Tax Foundation, Tax Policy Center,
American Petroleum Institute, American Lung Association
Updated Feb. 8, 2007
CNN/Money ranks Oklahoma 5th nationally for best local
property taxes!
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