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Tax Office
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Tax Sale
Persons seeking information about annual tax sales
or those wishing to make tax payments may review our
updated (6/09/14)
tax sale document
(170 KB).
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Pay Your Tax Bill Online
You can now pay your real estate tax bill online
using credit or debit cards. Have your
Property Tax ID Number ready (you can obtain this
by using the property search function
below) then click on
the link below:
Pay Online
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Maryland State Tax Credit Program
The homeowners' and renters' tax credit programs
are designed to help homeowners and renters by
limiting the amount that they must pay in property
taxes. To receive the tax credit, an application and
all supporting documents must be sent to the State
Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) no later
than September 1st of each year.
State Tax Credit Information and Forms
Caroline County Senior Credit
To apply for the Caroline County Senior credit you
must either, meet the state requirements for the State
Homeowner credit and apply annually with them or, if
you do not meet those requirements, you must file
annually with the county using
this county form ( 74 KB).
Please read the attached
information sheet ( 109 KB)
first to determine if you qualify for this credit
and if you need to file with the State or directly
with the county.
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Property Tax Information
Property Tax Search
Please call and double check figures for settlements to
make sure all additional fees have been collected such
as excise, homeowner recapture and other miscellaneous
charges. Notes such as tax sale, bankruptcy or excise
tax are printed in the bottom left space on the bill.
This site is updated every 48 hours so payments received
today will be reflected on the website the day after
tomorrow.
Tax Sale process begins in May of each year. If there
are taxes due on a property in May and June it is in the
tax sale process and you need to call for figures that
reflect legal and advertising fees. If a property has a
note that it was sold at a previous year tax sale you
must call for figures to get the updated legal and prior
year's taxes.
Please let us know if you have problems with our site
so we can better serve you. The next step in this
process will be to collect taxes online. We hope to be
able to offer this service in 2008.
Tax Sale Information Sheet ( 93 KB)
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Homestead Credit
Homestead Credit
To help homeowners deal with large assessment increases
on their principal residence, state law has established
the Homestead Property Tax Credit. The Homestead
Credit limits the increase in taxable assessments each
year to a fixed percentage. Every county and
municipality in Maryland is required to limit taxable
assessment increases to 10% or less each year.
Technically, the Homestead Credit does not limit the
market value of the property as determined by the
Department of Assessments and Taxation. Instead, it
is actually a credit calculated on any assessment
increase exceeding 10% (or the lower cap enacted by
the local governments) from one year to the next.
Learn more here (with example) ( 146 KB)
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Mission
The Caroline County Tax Office is responsible and
accountable for all funds collected, invested and disbursed. It
is our objective to serve the citizens best interest.
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Comptroller Cathie Moore
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What We Do - When We Do It
Office hours are 8 AM to 5 PM on business days. Our window is
open from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.
Our operations are tied to the county's fiscal year:
July/August
Mail real property tax bills to all property owners. (14,500)
Mail personal (business) tax bills. Update files to new fiscal
year and correct addresses on returned mail.
September
Heavy tax collection month both at the counter and mail. (Taxes
draw interest beginning October 1st.)
October
Collect taxes and invest funds.
November
Collect taxes and invest funds.
December
Collect taxes and prepare delinquent notices for personal taxes.
Heavy tax collection and deeds stamped due to end of calendar
year. Send out semi-annual billing.
January
Collect taxes.
February
Prepare letter and send certified requests to towns for Tax
Sale information. Mail delinquent notices to taxpayers between
February 15th and March 1st (Caroline County Code). Work
extensively on returned mail addresses. At this time of the
year we are often overwhelmed with calls and visits from
taxpayers who received delinquent notices.
March
Receive tax information from towns for Tax Sale; compile this
information with County's and prepare legal notices. Approve
business licenses.
April
Mail out 30 day legal notices for Tax Sale. Set up new fiscal
year tax bill with software company regarding any legal changes.
Set up new information for next fiscal year tax bills. Remind
municipalities to submit new tax rate by May 30.
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Peggy A. Smith - Account Clerk III
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May
Mail bid requests on a line of credit to all banks in Caroline
County for the next fiscal year. (One third of State Income Tax
Funds are received May 30th and June 30th, therefore, since we
operate on a zero balanced budget, we find it necessary to
borrow on a short term basis. This type of borrowing is through
a Tax Anticipation Note.)
Prepare and advertise delinquent taxes for four consecutive
weeks in a local newspaper. Heavy tax collections both over
the counter and by mail. Mail requests for towns to provide
Motor Vehicle Registrations within their incorporated town
limits for reimbursement of Highway User Revenue. When
possible, all delinquent taxpayers are contacted personally.
June
Tax Sale: Second Wednesday in June. (Note: this is a change in
date from previous years, to avoid a conflict with the meeting of
the County Commissioners.) Prepare Certificates of Sale;
reimburse towns for taxes collected within their incorporated
limits. Award Line of Credit Bid and notify all bidders. (This
is for the new fiscal year.)
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Miscellaneous Taxes
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Barbara Nashold - Account Clerk II
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Ditch Taxes
There are 40 active out of the 70 tax ditches in the County that
the Tax Office accounts for. This includes billing,
collecting and investing funds associated with ditches and
payment of any approved bills.
Front Foot Taxes
Any subdivision with dirt roads may petition the County by
providing all signatures or the property owners, to have a road
paved. The property owners pay a front foot tax, based on the
benefited footage. The tax is paid over a 10-year period and is
billed annually with real property tax.
Excise/School Tax
A tax is assessed to any new subdivision when a lot is sold. These
funds are collected at the time of transfer by our office. These
funds are invested in a special account.
Trailer Park Taxes
There are 15 official trailer parks in the County. These park
owners collect a $15 tax each month which is remitted to the
County, for each occupied trailer. The Tax Office is
accountable for the collection of this tax from each Trailer Park
owner.
Other Miscellaneous Revenue
- Public Works Fees
- Dog Licenses
- Insurance Payments
- Planning & Zoning Fees
- Bond Proceeds
- Liquor Board Fees
- Confiscated Funds
- Sheriff Department Fees
- ALS/BLS Fees
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