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Important Info Regarding Personal & Real Property

You must assess each year between January 1st and May 31st. All assessments rendered after May 31st will receive a 10% late assessment penalty as required by law.

You may assess by phone by calling 479-968-7418, in person by coming to our office on the second floor in the Courthouse located at 100 West Main in Russellville, or on-line by clicking the on-line assessment link on this website.

Assessed values for personal property are provided by the Arkansas Assessment Coordination Division of DF&A (AACD). Your assessment is based on 20% of the appraised value, then multiplied by the millage rate of the school district that you live in to arrive at a tax amount. Your current year assessment will not be billed to you until the following year.

Approximately 90% of your tax dollars go to the public school systems. Your tax statement will show how much of your taxes go to each taxing unit.

Taxes are not pro-rated. You will pay on the personal property that you own as of May 31st each year. Any items purchased after May 31st must be assessed, but will not receive a value on assessment until January of the following year. Please contact the Assessor's Office upon selling any personal property listed on your assessment.

Examples of items you need to assess include but are not limited to: vehicles, boats, campers, motorcycles, ATV's, jet skis, farm equipment, trailers, airplanes, and livestock. As of January 1, 1999, a Vehicle Identification Number is required on all newly acquired vehicles.

The following items are needed to license your vehicle at the Arkansas State Revenue Office:

Current year assessment
Tax clearance for previous tax year
Title, bill of sale, or renewal notice
Proof of insurance

Car tags can be renewed online at www.arstar.ihost.com. Have your renewal reminder, current vehicle mileage and valid credit card ready.

Important Information Regarding Real Property

Unlike personal property, it is not necessary to assess your real property every year. You only need to contact our office if you have made a change to your property by adding or removing items such as houses, additions, outbuildings, etc.

Each parcel of real property is reviewed every three or five years due to state mandated reappraisal. The AACD determines whether it is three or five years based on market growth. Please keep in mind, the Assessor's Office does not set market value. Market value is set by the numerous sales transactions between buyers and sellers. In turn, the Assessor's Office gathers field data and analyzes those sales, which are then used to generate assessments reflecting the local market. This process is performed in compliance with the laws and standards set forth by the State of Arkansas.

Amendment 79 applies a 5% cap on property claimed as homestead and a 10% cap on all other property (excluding new construction, newly discovered or substantial changes).

In accordance with Arkansas Code 26-26-1118 thru 1124, if you own a home in Pope County (26-26-1122) and it is your principal place of residence, under Amendment 79 and Act 142, you are eligible for up to a $425 Homestead Credit. If you are Eligible for the Homestead Credit and you are 65 or older or disabled according to Social Security Administration, your assessment value is eligible for a freeze with possible exception of any newly discovered additions or out building, etc. Proof of eligibility must be provided.

The 85th General Assembly of the State of Arkansas passed Act 2284 in the 2005 Regular Session. This new law became effective January 1, 2006. It states that "when a person sells his or her real property, the county assessor shall assess the real property at twenty percent of the appraised value at the next assessment date after the date of the transfer". This is saying that that all caps will be removed the following January after the sale.

Due to Act 1131, our office is required by the Arkansas Assessment Coordination Division of DF&A to verify sales in the county. A form is mailed quarterly to property owners for each real estate transfer. This form is to be filled out and returned to the Assessor's Office as soon as possible. There are other questionnaires that we mail out occasionally to gather specific information about commercial sales and rental properties. By completing and returning these forms, you are helping us to establish documentation for the local market which will result in fair and equitable values.