Understanding Maricopa County Property Taxes

Understanding property taxes can be quite difficult, unless you have a background in real estate. Even seasoned attorneys often find it hard to make sense of the situation. However, a little light on the situation can help immensely.

Maricopa County, which has a tremendous range, reaching out over most of the Phoenix metropolitan area, judges property taxes based on the calendar year, rather than the fiscal year (i.e. January through December). Any arrears are paid in the following order:

January 1 through June 30 is considered First Half taxes and come due on the first of October of the current year. If they are not paid by November 1 of the current year, they are considered delinquent.

July 1 through December 31 is considered Second Half taxes and are due on the first of March of the following year (not the current year). They become delinquent if they have not been paid by the first of May of the following year.

Taxation of owner occupied residences is currently set at 10% of the full cash value, as determined by the county tax assessor's office. While the property tax rates of each community do vary slightly, the variance is insignificant. For instance, Fountain Hills had a property tax rate of $6.63 per $100 of home value during the 2006-2007 period.