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Tax Sale

Adobe Acrobat Reader

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).


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

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 (PDF Document 74 KB). Please read the attached information sheet (PDF Document 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.

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  (PDF Document 93 KB)



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)  (PDF Document 146 KB)


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.
Comptroller Cathie Moore
Comptroller Cathie Moore


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.
Peggy A. Smith Peggy A. Smith - Account Clerk III


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.)


Miscellaneous Taxes

Barbara Nashold
Barbara Nashold - Account Clerk II
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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Tax Office of Caroline County

109 Market Street
Room 133

P.O. Box 459
Denton Maryland 21629

Phone: (410) 479-0410
Fax: (410) 479-4060
email: comptroller@carolinecounty.org


Copyright © 1999-2014, Tax Office of Caroline County Maryland, All Rights Reserved