Pike County Revenue: General Information

General Information

Responsibility of the Revenue Commissioner

The Revenue Commissioner is responsible for collecting the ad valorem taxes on real estate as well as personal property. Taxes are due and payable each year on October 1 and become delinquent January 1. Any questions regarding the payment of ad valorem property taxes should be directed to this office.

The Assessing office is responsible for the assessment of property, both real and personal, for the purpose of ad valorem taxation. All exemptions, applicable under Alabama State Law, must be applied for in this office. This office maintains records of property ownership by subdivision, lots and also metes and bounds descriptions. Plat maps are available for research. Recorded subdivision plats are available for research as well as a listing of ownership of lots. Old assessment records and plat books are available for research purposes. Some records date back to the 1800's.

Ad Valorem Taxes

Property (ad valorem taxes) are taxes on real and/or personal property. Real property includes land and improvements. Personal property refers to items which are movable or not permanently attached to the land. Some examples of personal property would be furniture, fixtures, tools and equipment used in the daily operation of a business.

How Taxes Are Collected

Property Classification

You multiply the appraised value of the property by the percentage shown for proper classification to determine the assessed value.

Class I - Utility - 30%

Class II - All Other Property - 20%

Class III - Farm Property, owner-occupied - 10%

Millage Rates

Millage rates are set by the County Commission and other taxing agencies, in response to:

Needs of the county general fund

Needs of others who receive property tax revenues

A mill is one-tenth of one cent (0.001). When all of the taxing authorities millage requests are added together, you can calculate a total tax bill. The amount of the taxes to be paid is determined by multiplying the appropriate millage rate by assessed value less the proper exemptions. If you own and live in a residence, you would be taxed on 10% of appraised value. All other property would be taxed at 20%, except Class 1, which is taxed at 30% of the appraised value.

In Pike County, your tax bill is based on millage rates applied for the following purposes:

Agency	Rate (Mills)
State	6.50
County General	8.50
County Road & Bridge	4.25
County Wide School	6.70

School District
School 1 (Troy City)	3.00
School 2 (County Schools)	0.30

Additional School Funds
School 1 (Troy City)	1.00
School 2 (County Schools)	0.30

Municipalities
Troy	0.03695
Brundidge	0.03725
Goshen	0.03725
Banks	0.03725
TOTAL COUNTY MILLS	0.02925

Paying Your Property Tax

If you purchased property during the year, you need to make sure the taxes are paid. The tax bill will usually be in the previous owner's name. You are responsible for taxes on all property you own, no matter how the tax bill may be listed.

Tax notice cards are not required, but a courtesy provided by this office.

Payment may be made as follows:

(a) You may come to the Revenue Commissioner's Office and make payment in person by cash, check, money order, VISA or Mastercard.

(b) You may pay by mail, with check or money order to:

Curtis Blair, Revenue Commissioner

120 W. Church Street

Troy, AL 36801

(d) Pay property tax online.

This gives you the ability to pay your property taxes at your convenience, anytime day or night; the convenience of paying from your home, work or anywhere that you have access to the internet. The online option gives you the opportunity to pay your taxes securely using either your PayPal account, credit card and a debit card. A 2.25% convenience fee +$0.30 will be applied. This is not a fee charged by the Revenue Commissioner's Office, it is charged by PayPal as a convenience fee.

To pay your property taxes online, CLICK HERE.

Appeals Process

If you feel your property tax is too high, you may file a protest with the Pike County Board of Equalization. The deadline to file is 30 days from the date the notices are mailed out.

In a reappraisal year, taxpayers are given 10 days to file an appeal after receiving written notice of change in valuation.

Upon your appeal, a field audit will be conducted by the Appraisal Department and the Board of Equalization will be advised of the appraiser's findings. A decision will be made at that time concerning the value of your property. You will be notified by mail and you may approve or disapprove the value. If you approve, this value will go into the tax roll for the next year.

If you disapprove, you will have a hearing before the Board of Equalization to present any information that could justify a change in value. Following this hearing, you will be notified of the decision of the Board of Equalization. If, after this hearing you are still not satisfied, you may appeal to the Circuit Court.

In order to preserve your right to carry the appeal process to Circuit Court, taxes must be paid by December 31, or a bond filed in Circuit Court is double the amount of the taxes due.

Assessments

Each taxpayer is required by Alabama Law (Code s40-7-1) to provide a complete list of all property which is owned. The person acquiring property is responsible for reporting to the Revenue Commissioner a complete legal description of the property and should at that time claim any exemptions for which he is eligible. The Revenue Commissioner should be furnished a correct mailing address for all properties. The property owner must report any changes in ownership to the Revenue Commissioner. All assessments and bills are based upon ownership and status as of October 1 each year.

When Taxes Are Not Paid

Each year any parcel with unpaid property taxes will be auctioned off at a public sale at the County Courthouse. Individuals who come to the sale and buy the tax liens are issued a "Certificate of Purchase." If no individual buys the tax lien, a "Certificate of Purchase" is made out and delivered to the State Land Agent.

The property owner has three years from the date of the tax sale to redeem the property from the Revenue Commissioner's Office by paying all taxes and costs. If the property was bought at the tax sale by an individual and the owner does not redeem it within three years from the date of the sale, the individual who purchased the property at the tax sale is issued a tax deed.

Property that sells to the state for taxes can be redeemed at any time until the state transfers the certificate to an individual who makes application to purchase from the state. The state can transfer a certificate at any time after the tax sale until the owner redeems the property. If the state transfers the certificate before the three year redemption period is up, the owner may still redeem the property. As stated above, the certificate holder is entitled to a tax deed after three years from the date of the tax sale.

After a tax deed has been issued, redemptions can no longer be made in the Revenue Commissioner's Office. The property owner must resort to a court of law to reclaim the property.

Donation to Alabama Firefighters Annuity & Benefit Fund

ACT 2010-726

During the 2010 Regular Session of the State Legislature Senate Bill 299 was introduced, passed by both the Senate and House of Representatives and signed into law by Governor Riley as Act 2010-726. This act creates the Alabama Firefighters Annuity and Benefit Fund. Section 7 of the Act provides for the funding of the Alabama Firefighters Annuity and Benefit Fund as follows:

"(a)...an annual fee of two dollars may be voluntarily contributed by indicating on a check-off box which shall be provided on annual ad valorem tax statements or a document provided with the annual ad valorem tax statement that is prescribed by the person or authority administering the program and agreed to by the executive director. If a taxpayer voluntarily indicates, two dollars shall be added to his or her amount and paid to the appropriate person or authority administering the program."

"(b) The amount of all such fees shall be remitted by the person or authority collecting the same to the executive director on the tenth day of the month next succeeding that in which the fee is paid."