When are
property tax payments due?
Summer property tax payments
are due July 1st and payable without interest or penalty through
September 14th. Winter tax
payments are due December 1st and payable without interest or penalty
through February 14th.
What should I
do if I do not receive a tax bill?
Tax bills are mailed to the
last known address on July 1st and December 1st of each
year. Every attempt is made to make certain the property owner’s receive their
bill. The tax law clearly states the property owner is responsible for the
timely payment of the taxes even if they have not received a tax bill. Failure to receive your tax bill does not
exempt you from being assessed late charges.
If you do not receive a tax bill, please contact the Treasurer’s Office
immediately at (248) 960-7040.
Why have I received a tax bill when my mortgage company pays my tax bill?
As a courtesy, an
Information Copy is sent to you for your records. Please check the copy that you have received. If it states “Information Copy” on the lower
right hand side, then the original bill has been sent to the mortgage company
whose name appears on the top left-hand side of your tax bill. If your mortgage company does not receive
your tax bill, please notify them to contact the Treasurer’s Office.
Should I
notify anyone if I have changed mortgage companies?
Yes. If you have an escrow from which your tax
bill is being paid, you should contact the Treasurer’s Office to make certain
they have received the information.
Can I use a
credit card to pay my taxes?
You may charge your taxes
either by phone or Internet through a credit card processing service provider,
Officials Payment Corporation. Please
note: a convenience fee will be charged
to the taxpayer. Click on Credit Card Payment
Option [GE1]for more information and the amount of the
convenience fee.
What is the difference between “homestead” and “non-homestead” tax rates?
If you own and occupy your
home as your principal residence, it should qualify as
What is the
supplemental school tax that appears on my tax bill?
The supplemental tax is only
levied on homestead properties. When the
“Proposal A” tax law became effective in 1993, the State of
My taxes are too high. How can I find out if my property is being fairly taxed?
Your taxes are based on the
taxable value of your property. You
should first contact the Commerce Twp. Assessing Dept. for an explanation of
how your taxable value was computed.
Check your assessor’s field sheet for errors. Check out sales on
comparable properties in your area.
Discuss all of these things with the Assessor’s Office.
Do you accept
postmark?
Yes. We do accept postmarks for the September 14th,
February 14th, and the February 28th deadlines.
We generally wait approximately 10 working days past the February 28th
deadline, to see if any postmarked payments come in. If we get a February 28th postmark
after we have completed our collection data, we must send those on to
How come my mortgage company says they paid my taxes but the Township doesn’t show it paid for quite a while?
Most mortgage companies pay
their taxes through a taxing service such as First American Tax Service or
Transamerica Tax Service. Your mortgage
company deducts the tax from your escrow and sends it to the tax service. The tax service then prepares all the taxes
they are paying for all their mortgage companies that they are servicing. The taxing service then usually sends a
magnetic tape to the County for payment processing.
Am I responsible to pay penalties and interest if my mortgage company pays my taxes late?
No. The mortgage company
should not take the penalty or interest from your escrow.
How are my
taxes calculated?
Multiply your taxable value
by the millage rate and divide by 1,000. If there are any ongoing specials included in
your winter tax bill, those must be added to the amount calculated. We now have an “Estimated Tax Calculator”
last item on the left side of the Treasurer’s Department heading.
WHAT IS A
MILLAGE RATE?
1 mill = $1.00 per each
$1,000.00 dollars of taxable value.
Each local government agency
has the ability to levy millage, to create funds for
operating. The different levels of
government are: Village
Township
County
Intermediate
Schools
Local
School Districts
The Village of Wolverine
collects their own taxes (Village millage only).
TOWNSHIP-The Charter Township of Commerce may levy up to 5
mills for operating purposes. See millage rates for current
operating millage levied.
We also have voted millage for Fire, Library and Law Enforcement. The voted millage
may be for a specific time span and then the millage
either retires, or a new election is required for the millage
to continue. Sometimes the ballot
language is granting millage only to be levied to
cover a specific dollar amount. For
instance, our township passed a ballot question giving us permission to levy millage for an additional four (4) police officers and one
(1) additional detective. Each year we
calculate how much money is needed to cover current salaries for these
positions and then compute the millage based on
current taxable value.
OAKLAND COUNTY-In
August of 1974, Oakland County citizens voted to create the first unified form
of county government in the history of Michigan. Less than 60 such governments exist across
the nation. The county millage was originally established at a maximum of 5.26
mills and since the Headlee Amendment became
effective, this has been rolled back each year to compensate for inflation. See millage rates for current millage levied.
INTERMEDIATE
SCHOOLS-Since 1963 the State constitution changed the county
office into a multidimensional agency designed to provide services to local
districts in a cost efficient manner, especially services that are too
specialized or too costly to offer in each local school district. One of these county agencies is the intermediate
school district. The two major contributions are vocational and special
education. There are four
special/vocational schools located in Oakland County. Currently the ISD also provides data
processing services to 25 of the 28 local school districts in the county. The ISD also provides technical assistance in
meeting state and federal requirements in developing curriculum and locations
for these special school programs. See millage rates for current millage levied.
OAKLAND
COMMUNITY COLLEGE: This is a 2-year junior college where students may
go locally to get their Associates Degree and then go on to a four year
college. There are 3 campuses. See millage rates for current millage levied.
Where do I file
my Homestead Affidavits and Property Transfer Affidavits?
File your homestead and
property transfer forms with our Assessor’s office. The property transfer affidavit must be filed
within 45 days of closing on the purchase your property. If this is not done, there is a fine which
accrues at the rate of $5.00 per days beginning the 46th day after
closing and continues to accrue up to a maximum of $200.00.
Where do I
make name and address changes?
The Assessor’s office does
the name changes but the Treasurer’s office also does them, and provides
assessing with the information. The
Assessor’s office also provides the change information to Treasurer’s office so
that we may send any due taxes or specials out to the new owners, or new
addresses.
We make every effort to find
correct names and addresses on any returned tax and special assessment
bills.