FAQs: Tax Information
There is a change of address and e-mail Form at the bottom of the Home Page.
It is the taxpayer's responsibility to notify the tax collector of a change of address. If you do not receive a tax statement, the taxes and penalties still apply.
Real Estate and Personal Property taxes are the primary funding mechanism for our public schools. Each year, school administrators determine their budgets using the assessment values and last years tax collections. A quality education is necessary for the growth of our county. An educated workforce is a key pathway to economic success. Currently, there are 10 school districts in the county. Approximately 76.3% of the average tax bill that we collect, is paid to our local schools. That is an average of $.76 of every dollar the taxpayer pays in county taxes goes directly to fund our school's operations and teacher salaries.
26-36-206 Distraint of goods to pay delinquent personal property taxes
If the county collector distrains goods and chattels under subsection (a)(1) of this section, the county collector shall immediately proceed to advertise the sale of the goods and chattels in three (3) public places in the county, stating the time when and the place where the goods and chattels shall be sold. (3) The county collector shall collect taxes and penalties under this subsection and deposit the taxes and penalties under this subsection into the county school fund. (b)(1) If the taxes for which property is distrained, and costs which shall accrue thereon are not paid before the day appointed for sale, which shall not be less than ten (10) days after taking the property, the county collector shall proceed to sell the same at public venue, or so much thereof as will be sufficient to pay the taxes and the costs of the distress and sale. (2) The county collector shall not distrain any goods and chattels for taxes levied on real property, except as provided in § 26-3-204. (c)(1) The county collector is authorized and empowered to levy on and sell the goods and chattels of the person liable for taxes provided, in the same manner and under the same restrictions as goods and chattels are required to be levied and sold under execution on judgment at law, when not inconsistent with the provisions of this subchapter. (2) No goods and chattels of any person shall be exempt from levy and sale. (d) The county collector is allowed the same fees for making distress and sale of goods and chattels for the payment of taxes which are allowed by law to the county sheriff for making levy and sale of property on execution under § 21-6-307 for each delinquent taxpayer. (e)(1) If a taxpayer operating a business in a county is delinquent in the payment of personal property taxes for personal property owned by or used in the business, then following the certification and publication of delinquency under § 26-36-203, the county collector may distrain goods or chattels of the taxpayer owned by or used in the business under subsection (a) of this section by publication of a Notice of Distraint and Tax Sale in three (3) public places in the county or in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. (2) The Notice of Distraint and Tax Sale shall contain: (A) The location, date, and time of the sale; (B) The name of the taxpayer and business under which the goods or chattels to be sold is assessed; (C) The principal sum of personal property taxes owed with a certification of the principal sum by the county collector; (D) The following specific information: "The goods or chattels of the taxpayer listed above located within __________ County, Arkansas, is under distraint and shall be sold to satisfy the delinquency in the payment of personal property taxes under Arkansas Code § 26-36-206. Under Arkansas Code § 26-34-101, the taxes assessed on real and personal property shall constitute a lien entitled to preference over all other judgments, executions, or encumbrances, or liens whensoever created. Under Arkansas Code § 4-1-201, a buyer in ordinary course of business does not include a person that acquires goods in a transfer in bulk or as security for or in total or partial satisfaction of a money debt.”; and (E) A statement that it is a Class B misdemeanor to remove, destroy, or deface the Notice of Distraint and Tax Sale or to interfere or obstruct the sale of or the access to the goods or chattels on the date of the sale by the county collector, the county sheriff, or their deputies. (3) The county collector shall provide a copy of the Notice of Distraint and Tax Sale to the taxpayer by regular mail or by posting a copy at the physical location where the goods or chattels are held. (4) The Notice of Distraint and Tax Sale shall be posted conspicuously at the location of the sale. (5) In lieu of physically securing the goods or chattels or storing or transporting the goods or chattels to another location for sale, the sale may be held at any place of business, warehouse, storeroom, or facility owned or under the possession of the taxpayer, including without limitation the current location of the goods or chattels to be sold. (6) It is a Class B misdemeanor to knowingly remove, destroy, or deface a Notice of Distraint and Tax Sale posted under this section or to knowingly interfere or obstruct the sale or access of the county collector, the county sheriff, or their deputies to the goods or chattels on the date of the sale.
Most of the time, the taxpayer has added a vehicle, boat, motor, RV, or trailer to his/her last assessment, and this always results in higher personal property taxes. Maybe a newer vehicle was purchased and that caused an increase in your assessment value causing higher personal property taxes. You need to call the assessor and ask about your assessment, 501-303-5622.
If the value and/or the millage has increased since the prior year, the current tax bill will be higher. Tax is calculated by multiplying the effective value times the millage.
With questions about the amount of your tax bill, always call the assessor's office (501-303-5622). Ask for a copy of your last two assessments. That information will verify why your personal property taxes are higher than last year.
If your taxes are current, (not delinquent) simply write a personal check made payable to the Saline County Collector and mail it to the address below. We do not accept credit card checks or temporary checks.
If your taxes are delinquent, we do not accept personal checks. We will only accept a money order, a cashier's check, cash, or pay on-line with a credit/debit card here.
Important Reminders
- Do not send cash through the postal mail.
- Include your taxpayer ID number on your check or enclose your tax statement stub.
- If you want a PAPER RECEIPT, enclose your self-addressed stamped envelope.
- We will e-mail you a FREE receipt if you include your e-mail address on your tax statement stub.
- Payment must be received, or USPS Postmarked by the due date. Metered or Kiosk postmarks are not proof of timely mailing.
MAKE CHEcKS PAYABLE TO:
SALINE County COLLECTOR
Mail to:
Saline County Collector
215 N Main St, Suite 3
Benton, AR 72015
PLEASE DO NOT SEND PAYMENT TO THE BRYANT OFFICE.
How Are My Personal Property Taxes Calculated?
Saline County residents are required to give a declaration of personal property by contacting the Saline County Assessor between January 1st to May 31st every year. Failure to do so will result in a 10% assessment penalty of the total assessment.
Your ad valorem (Latin for "according to value") general taxes are billed one year behind and are calculated by multiplying the "taxable value" (20% of the appraisal value established by the Assessor) times the millage rate (a mill is 1/10th of a penny). You can view the current millage rates under the "Tax Info" tab.
Personal Property (Arkansas Code 261101)
What is personal property? As with real property (real estate), personal property is subject to ownership and is tangible. Personal property, however, is movable and may be either animate or inanimate. Basically, personal property is everything that is subject to ownership, tangible and movable, excluding money.
Examples of taxable personal property include:
Cars
Boats
Livestock
Motorcycles
Recreational vehicles
We are unable to accept partial payments on delinquent taxes, those must be paid in full. However, we encourage all taxpayers to make tax payments (in any amount and at any time) between March 1 and October 15. If the tax bill is not paid in full before October 15, a 10% penalty will be applied to the balance due on October 16.
If you have property that has been delinquent more than two (2) years, you will need to contact the Commissioner of State Lands. The Real Estate Office is located at 1020 W 4th ST., 5th Floor, Little Rock, AR 72201. The phone number is, 501-324-9422; to visit their website click here. To search their website for a parcel of delinquent land click here.
26-37-101. Transfer of tax-delinquent lands.
(a) (1) (A) All lands upon which the taxes have not been paid for one (1) year following the date the taxes were due, October 15, shall be forfeited to the state and transmitted by certification to the Commissioner of State Lands for collection or sale. (B) The Commissioner of State Lands may accept an electronic certification of tax delinquent parcels from a county. (2) Tax-delinquent lands shall not be sold at the county level.
(b) The county collector shall hold all tax-delinquent lands in the county for one (1) year after the date of delinquency, and, if the lands are not redeemed by the certification date, which shall be no later than July 1 of the following year, the county collector shall transmit it to the state by certification, after notice as provided in this chapter, indicating all taxes, penalties, interest, and costs due and the name and last known address of the owner of record of the tax-delinquent lands.
(c) Upon receipt of the certification, title to the tax-delinquent lands shall vest in the State of Arkansas in care of the Commissioner of State Lands.
26-23-204. Tax bill information.
In order to assist property taxpayers to better understand their property tax bills, the following information shall be included on each tax bill sent by the county collector:
(1) The dollar amount of the taxpayer's total tax bill distributed to each taxing unit in the county where the taxpayer's property is taxed;
(2) The millage rate (a mill is 1/10 of a cent) levied by each taxing unit used to determine the tax distribution to each taxing unit and the percentage of the full value of the taxpayer's property that each millage rate levy represents;
(3) The percentage of the full value of the property shall be calculated by multiplying the legal assessment level by the appropriate millage rate levy; and
(4) The sum of the millage rates levied by each taxing unit, the percentage of the full value of the taxpayer's property that the sum of the millage rate levies represents, and the total dollar amount due and billed.
To read the publication, right click the pdf and select Open Link in New Window.
Video Tutorial
Watch this brief video to learn more about voluntary taxes:
Saline County has three (3) voluntary taxes. A sample tax statement is attached and you will see just below the Total Mandatory, there are three voluntary taxes. 1) County Animal Care & Control, 2) The Saline County Sheriff's Law Enforcement Protection Services, 3) the Weather Warning System.
The only amount you must pay is the Total Mandatory. The three voluntary taxes are REAL NEEDS in Saline County. Attached you can view the ordinances that were passed to allow these voluntary taxes to be collected.
26-25-106 and 26-73-103 authorize the imposition and levying of voluntary taxes for the benefit of residents; and the Arkansas Attorney General in Opinion No. 94-003 has opined that a county quorum court can establish a voluntary tax by ordinance.
Saline County Tax Statement Sample.pdf
Voluntary Animal Care & Control.pdf
All mortgage companies, that pay escrow taxes, must submit a parcel list to the Collector prior to February 1st of each year. The tax statement is then sent to them for payment. All escrowed accounts must be paid in full by the last business day in April. Most real estate property owners that have a mortgage, have an escrow with that mortgage company. The escrow, in most cases, is set up to pay the real estate taxes and homeowners' insurance. If you receive a tax bill from the tax collector for your real estate, call your mortgage company and have them call the tax collector's office at 501-303-5620. If it is not paid by the April deadline, the parcel will be put back on your tax statement.
Opinion No. 2010-042
May 27, 2010
In Ark. Ops. Att’y Gen. Nos. 90-040, 90-040A, 94-143 and 96-006, various of my predecessors opined that the collector could not accept partial payment of delinquent taxes. Although A.C.A. § 26-35-501, as amended by Act 295 of 2003, authorizes the initial payment of taxes in installments, the Code contains no parallel provision for the partial payment of delinquent taxes. In my opinion, then, the collector is not authorized to accept any such partial payment, regardless of whether the lien would continue to attach.
If the value and/or the millage have increased since the prior year, the current tax bill will be higher. Tax is calculated by multiplying the effective value times the millage.
All forms of payment need to be made out to Saline County Tax Collector. Please note that we do not accept personal checks on delinquent accounts. Delinquent Accounts can be paid with money order, cashier's check, credit/debit card (processing fee applies) or cash in office.
It is the taxpayers responsibility to make sure their personal property and real estate taxes are paid on time. Failure to receive a statement does not excuse you from the taxes or the penalties and interest.
26-35-601. Personal property taxes to be collected with real estate taxes.
- Each collector shall be charged with collecting personal property taxes shown to be due by the taxpayer as reflected by the records in the county collector’s office at the time the taxpayer pays the general taxes due on real estate. (b) Any county collector willfully accepting payment of general real estate taxes without requiring the payment of personal property taxes due as on the records shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined in a s sum not less than ($25) nor more than ($100).
- (c) (1) It is the intention of this section to require the collection of personal property taxes and prevent a tax payer from paying real estate taxes without payment of personal property taxes. (2)