General Questions

Deeds are usually recorded by the property owner, real estate agent, or closing attorney in the Mobile County Probate Court records department. If your deed was recorded, you may purchase a copy. For more information you can call the records department of the Mobile County Probate Court at 251-574-8490.

CODE – DEED TYPE AND DEFINITION

1. Value of the property
2. Your millage rate
3. The classification of your property (Class II, Class III)

Let’s get started. Your property’s assessed value is determined by its fair market value and its usage. If you own a single family residence occupied by you as the deed holder (NOT rented out), you qualify for Class III property to be taxed at 10% of its fair market value. If you own vacant land, or it is NOT exclusively owner-occupied, your property is Class II and will be taxed at a rate of 20% of the fair market value. Your assessed value is displayed on your property tax record located on this website.

To get your assessed value, take your market value and multiply it by the class tax rate that applies to your property. (Class II – 20%, Class III 30%)

For an example, let’s use a Class II property that has a market value of $200,000.  Since it is a Class II, I will need to multiply the market value by 20% (.20 in decimal form).

Step 1: Market Value x Class Tax Rate = Assessed Value

200,000 x .20 = 40,000

Next, we need to locate the millage rate. Millage rates are a percentage of the monies collected from property owners as tax. This tax is then distributed by the Mobile County Revenue Commission to state and county agencies for needs and services. Each agency receives their portion of the millage which is set by the Mobile County Commission. Because the needs and services of rural areas differ from those inside the city limits, millage rates also differ to meet the demands of both districts. Municipalities or areas within Mobile County that provide police, fire protection or utilities, collect additional millage to compensate for these services.

MILLAGE RATE
Mobile City or Prichard City Limits 56.5 Mil
Mobile County 48.5 Mil

(For a listing of the distribution of millage, see “Where does my tax money go”)

Since millage is expressed as one thousandth of one dollar, it needs to be in that decimal form for calculation purposes. Move the decimal three places to the left (for the three zeros in 1000). For example: 48.5 would be .0485 for the calculation.

Step 2: Assessed Value x Millage Rate = Rough Estimate of Taxes

40,000 x .0485 = $1,940 estimated taxes

If you have any questions about your tax estimate or would like to confirm the estimated taxes for a property, please contact us at 251-574-8530.

If you DO NOT agree with the adjustment, you will respond by returning the notice marked disapproved. You will be notified by the Board of Equalization of the scheduled hearing date. On the date of the hearing you will appear before board members to give just cause as to why your property’s fair market value is incorrect. The board will then rule on the value. Your fair market value will be set to reflect the board’s findings.

If you are unsatisfied with the board’s decision, you may appeal to the Circuit Court .

In order to preserve your right to appeal through the Circuit Court, Alabama State Tax Law requires that all property tax must be paid by the December 31 deadline or a supersedeas bond doubling the outstanding tax amount will be filed.

For more information on appealing your fair market value, you may contact the Mobile County Board of Equalization.

Click here to go to the Board of Equalization’s Website

The Revenue Commission mails “Courtesy Tax Notices” to all property owners October 1 of each year. This notice is sent as a courtesy and is not required by law. If you did not receive a notice for any reason, you may contact our office for a duplicate notice.

Past due tax accounts are subject to penalty and interest after December 31 of each year.

Valuation Notices are sent to property owners each year to provide the fair market value for the current tax year.

The fair market value reported on this notice is the result of the property assessment required by the Alabama State Department of Revenue and conducted by the Mobile County Revenue Commission.

The “fair market value” is a fair and reasonable amount that you could expect your property to bring on the open real estate market from a willing buyer with no pressure to sell.

Information collected and held by the Revenue Commissioner’s Office can be requested by government agencies, individuals, or businesses. This office will create a special program to gather, edit and arrange this information. The data is then provided to the client via email OneDrive or FTP.

Click here for the Information Request Form.

For further information, contact the Revenue Commission.

The Alabama Manufactured Home Act (91-694), signed into law July 18,1991, changed the way manufactured homes are treated for tax and revenue purposes in Alabama. Under the Act those manufactured homes located on the owner’s property and not held for rental or lease can be carried on the real property tax rolls in the Revenue Commission.

Proof of ownership, along with a description that includes size, year made, and model of manufactured home, and proof of sales tax paid for the home should be brought to the Revenue Commission to make an assessment. The listed owner name on the manufactured home must exactly match the owner name as listed on the deed to the real property. 

The owner will receive a decal to display on the right front corner of the street-facing side of the home as proof that taxes are paid.

Once an owner has completed an assessment to add the manufactured home to the tax parcel, they may claim any applicable exemption.

For more detailed information, please contact us at 251-574-8530.

If you own a business in Mobile County, you are required by law to claim equipment and or machinery used in your business. This requirement applies to all businesses owned by individuals as well as partnerships, and all types of corporations.  This report is for the purpose of taxation, and the assets on the report are “Business Personal Property.”  To begin an account, contact our office at 251-574-8530 and ask to speak to our Business Personal Property department.

To report your assets as Business Personal Property, a Personal Property Rendition Form must be completed and submitted through the online portal no later than December 31 of each year. The BPP department will send a letter to you with instructions on how to complete the online form, and other necessary information. If you have not received a letter from this office to complete and submit, please call our Business Personal Property Department at 251-574-8530.