This is early in the Month of May, and most states in the United States of America have property tax payments due about this time. Federal income taxes are filed on April 15 for most people, so property tax is easier when it’s not due on the same month as income taxes.
The following is edited from Wikipedia.
History of Property Taxing in the USA
Property taxes in the United States originated before the Revolutionary War, in colonial times.[65] Local communities recognized that pooling funds of citizens for common-good projects would make it possible to improve the lives of everyone. Roads, bridges, canals, and gathering places meant better commerce and community experience. By 1796, state and local governments in fourteen of the fifteen states taxed land, but only four taxed inventory (stock in trade). Delaware didn’t tax property, just the income from it. In some states, "all property, with a few exceptions, was taxed; in others, specific objects were named. Land was taxed in one state according to quantity, in another according to quality, and in a third not at all. Responsibility for the assessment and collection of taxes in some cases attached to the state itself; in others, to the counties or townships." Vermont and North Carolina taxed land based on quantity, while New York and Rhode Island taxed land based on value. Connecticut taxed land based on type of use. Procedures varied widely.[66]
During the period from 1796 until the Civil War, a unifying principle developed: "the taxation of all property, movable and immovable, visible and invisible, or real and personal, at one uniform rate."[67] During this period, property taxes came to be assessed based on value. This was introduced as a requirement in many state constitutions.
After the Civil War, intangible property, including corporate stock, took on greater importance. Taxing jurisdictions (cities, school districts, counties, etc…) found it difficult to find and tax this sort of property. This led to the introduction of alternatives to the property tax (such as income and sales taxes) at the state level.[16] Property taxes remained a major source of government revenue below the state level.
Hard times during the Great Depression led to high delinquency rates and reduced property tax revenues.[68]Also during the 1900s, many jurisdictions began exempting certain property from taxes. Many jurisdictions exempted homes of war veterans. After World War II, some states replaced exemptions with "circuit breaker" provisions limiting increases in value for residences.
Various economic factors have led to taxpayer initiatives in various states to limit property tax. California Proposition 13 (1978) amended the California Constitution to limit aggregate property taxes to 1% of the "full cash value of such property." It also limited the increase in assessed value of real property to an inflation factor that was limited to 2% per year.
Currently:
Most local governments in the United States impose a property tax, also known as a millage rate, as a principal source of revenue, so that the state and local governments have a means to pay for public services. This tax may be on real estate or personal property. The tax is nearly always calculated as the fair market value of the property, multiplied by a tax rate, and is generally an obligation of the owner of the property. Property values are determined by local officials; property owners may dispute the assessed values.
The tax is administered at the local government level. Many states impose limits on how local jurisdictions may tax property. Overlapping jurisdictions may have authority to tax the same property.[7] These include counties or parishes, cities and/or towns, school districts, utility districts, and special taxing authorities which vary by state.[8]
One advantage property tax has over sales tax or income tax is that the tax revenue always equals the tax levy. It can be a disadvantage to the taxpayer, in that the tax is fixed on the property value, while a taxpayer's income may vary. When elderly people retire in homes they own, the property value may rise, but the owner’s income usually does not. This can be a hardship even if they have no debt on their home.
What’s the Property Value?
Tax assessors for taxing jurisdictions determine property values in a variety of ways, but are generally required to use fair market value.[12] Fair market value is that price a willing and informed seller would sell the property to a willing and informed buyer.
Once the value is determined, the assessor typically notifies the last known property owner of the value determination. The property owner may then contest the value.[13] Property values are generally subject to review by a board of review or similar body, before which a property owner may contest determinations.[14]
After values are settled, property tax bills or notices are sent to property owners.[15] Payment times and terms vary widely. If a property owner fails to pay the tax, the taxing jurisdiction has various remedies for collection, in many cases including seizure and sale of the property.
What’s My Tax?
Most taxes are paid to a County Tax office, which will divide the payments to the overlapping authorities like city, school, watershed, etc… To find your local County Tax office, start with finding your county. Once you know which county you’re in, you can look that office up on their web site. Most counties have a (dot)gov site name, so you can type in something like this: www.washingtoncounty.gov, or www.washingtoncountymd.gov, and you may find your county’s home page.
The tax offices have on-line descriptions of properties, and what taxes are being used for, and how much the taxes and the property value are. There will be people you can ask questions of, although any tax time is fairly busy and you may have a long wait on hold for an answer.
Wikipedia. Property Taxes in USA