Lookup and pay your Real Residential or commercial property tax bill and discover answers to your questions about real residential or commercial property taxes.

As genuine residential or commercial property tax payments continue to stream in, the County's Department of Finance and its third-party supplier are working vigilantly to process all payments in a prompt style. For residential or commercial property owners who mailed in their payment to receive the early riser discount rate, however who's payment has actually not yet been withdrawn from their checking account, Finance guarantees it will honor this discount rate on all payments gotten by Friday, August 15th.

If you have any extra questions and/or concerns concerning your real residential or commercial property tax payment, please contact Finance's Tax Client service Office at 410-313-2062 or email customerservice@howardcountymd.gov for additional support. We thank you for your patience.

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Real Residential or commercial property Taxes are billed by Howard County on a yearly basis on July 1 although numerous taxpayers have the choice of semi-annual payments. Many types of Residential or commercial property Tax Credits are provided to assist taxpayers. Failure to pay taxes can lead to Tax Sale.

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MuniciPay Convenience Fees

MuniciPay charges a benefit fee of $1.00 for e-check transactions and 2.4% ($ 2.00 minimum) for all other debit and credit card transactions for payments of Real Residential or commercial property Taxes. These are immediately included throughout your transaction.

Due to bank and credit card processing times, please allow 3-5 company days for your transaction to procedure.

Real Residential Or Commercial Property Fee Disclaimer

Payment by charge card does not give Howard County Government access to your charge card number. That information is kept strictly by MuniciPay. MuniciPay takes full benefit of web security in the handling of your credit card details.

Real Residential Or Commercial Property Tax Information Guide & Questions

Tax Rate Schedule

The genuine residential or commercial property tax rate, which is set each year by the County Council, is used to the assessed worth of the residential or commercial property. Real residential or commercial property tax is levied annually on all taxable land and enhancements.

Tax Rate Schedule Effective July 1, 2025

Kinds Of Taxes Billed

General County Real Residential Or Commercial Property Tax:

This tax is imposed on all residential or commercial property in the County and funds, in part, such basic services as education, public security, public works, and community services.

State Real Residential Or Commercial Property Tax:

This tax is levied by the State of Maryland, however collected by Howard County and is utilized for the payment of principal and interest on State bonds.

Fire Tax:

This tax is gathered countywide and supports all fire and emergency response operations.

Trash Fees:

The annual cost for the collection and disposal of residential trash is $391 for those families getting trash, recycling and lawn services, $376 for those homes getting garbage and recycling services just and $55 for those families getting recycling service just.

Ad Valorem Charges:

An ad valorem charge is levied on genuine residential or commercial property situated within the Metropolitan District. Ad valorem charges are mostly utilized to money the expense of brand-new building and construction and/or replacement of the water and sewer system's infrastructure and may be utilized for operation costs too.

Front Foot Charge:

All owners of residential or commercial properties found on a street, road, lane, street or right of way in which a water or sewer primary exists, pay an annual front foot advantage assessment charge.

State Bay Restoration Fee:

The Maryland State Government enacted the State Bay Restoration Fund in 2004. Howard County is required to costs users of private septic tanks a fee of $15.00 per quarter for a single domestic house. For additional info please visit the Maryland Department of the Environment web site at www.mde.state.md.us.

Watershed Protection Fee:

This cost supplies funding for County storm water projects mandated by the federal government to treat impervious surfaces. To find out more see CleanWaterHoward.com.

When Taxes Are Due

All taxpayers living in their primary home might pay their real residential or commercial property tax costs on a semi-annual basis, unless they opt out of the semi-annual schedule by making a yearly payment, on or before September 30th. Taxpayers who are principal homeowners will receive tax costs which will show both payment alternatives. Taxpayers who escrow their tax payments might pick to pay yearly, however must notify their lending institutions by May 1st of their intent to pay each year.

Starting July 1, 2012, genuine residential or commercial property tax on little business commercial residential or commercial property can be paid on a semi-annual basis. To qualify for semi-annual payments, the overall of county taxes, state taxes and special taxing district taxes must not go beyond $100,000.

- Annual expenses and the very first installments of semiannual bills are due on or before September 30th and end up being overdue on October 1st.
- Howard County allows a 1/2 percent discount rate on the General County Real Residential or commercial property Tax paid in the month of July.
- The second semiannual installation is due on or before December 31st and becomes delinquent January 1st.
- Delinquent taxes are subject to interest and charge at the rate of 1.5% monthly on all County taxes and costs and 1.0% on State taxes.
- Interest and charges are applied to the quantity levied net of any credits.

Taxpayers who remain delinquent since March 1st of each year will get a last legal notification. Additional penalties are imposed since April1st of each year and payments made since this date going forward must be in the kind of cash, licensed check, or charge card. Delinquent taxes might likewise result in the sale of a residential or commercial property tax lien through public Tax Sale.

How to Pay Taxes

Taxpayers have a number of options for paying their residential or commercial property taxes.

- Taxpayers can set up to have their taxes paid by their mortgage company from an escrow account.
- Taxpayers should mail their check or cash order made payable to Director of Finance along with their payment discount coupon, if offered, to Howard County Maryland, PO Box 37237, Baltimore, MD 21297-3237.
- If taxpayers do not have a payment coupon, they can pay by check or cash order made payable to Director of Finance mailed to Howard County Maryland, PO Box 3370, Ellicott City MD 21041-3370.
- For a fee taxpayers can pay by charge card (VISA, Master Card, American Express, or Discover) or e-check on line.
- Taxpayers can pay personally at the Department of Finance, Cashier's Office on the first Floor, 3430 Courthouse Dr, Ellicott City, MD. The office is open Monday - Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM other than for Howard County Government holidays. Payments in individual can be made by cash, check, or money order. Map & Directions
- Taxpayers can likewise utilize the drop box situated to the left of the doors at 3430 Courthouse Drive to deposit their payments. Payment left in the drop box need to remain in the form of check or money order. Drop box payments will be processed reliable the next County company day.

Convenience Fee

Payments made by credit card or e-check are examined a benefit charge. This charge is imposed by the Charge card processor and can not be waived by Howard County.

Payments made by means of the site are charged with a benefit cost that varies with the amount of the charges. See payment website for specific convenience cost for your payment quantity.

Mortgage Information

All taxpayers in Howard County receive an initial tax bill and are accountable for guaranteeing that their taxes are paid on time. Howard County likewise supplies a complete listing of taxes due on all residential or commercial properties in the County to mortgage business who request it. These mortgage companies will match the residential or commercial properties for which they hold escrow accounts and pay to the County. These payments are made reliable July 31st (1st installment semi-annual and annual) and December 31st (second installment semi-annual), but may not be posted up until the beginning of the following months, based upon their high volume. Taxpayers will not be charged interest in these cases.

Residential or commercial property owners might want to contact their lender to guarantee that the lending institution recovered the tax expense and has actually included that expense in the payment process. If the loan provider does not have the correct billing details, you need to forward a copy of your expense to your lender.

Refinancing

If you are re-financing your mortgage around the due dates for residential or commercial property taxes, you must make sure that the taxes are not paid by both lending institutions or by the loan provider and the title business at settlement. Make sure to notify the old mortgage business well in advance of settlement that you are closing the escrow account and advise them not to make payment if payment will be made at settlement.

State Assessments

The State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) figures out the taxable assessment of your real residential or commercial property. The taxable evaluation equals the complete money value, as identified by the Assessor's Office. It is very important to verify any assessment notifications received from SDAT for precision. Assessments might be appealed.

Online assessment info is readily available at SDAT.

Residential or commercial property owners requiring more accurate details about an assessment, or the appeal process, must call SDAT's regional workplace at 410-480-7940 or email sdat.how@maryland.gov, SDAT's main line at 410-767-1184 or email sdat.411@maryland.gov, or check out SDAT's website at https://dat.maryland.gov.

Change of Address

In Maryland, SDAT is the official main file of all addresses relative to State and County taxes. If you want to change your address, you need to notify SDAT. We have supplied a Change of Address Form for your convenience.