LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — While many may be waiting on their tax refund, if you live in Pulaski County, you may have already gotten your personal property tax bill with what's owed based on the value of things like your car or boat.
Joe Thompson, chief administrator of the Pulaski County Assessor's Office, said they receive thousands of questions yearly.
"I think we took 7,200 calls last week," Thompson said. "Over the year, we've taken about 67,000 phone calls."
But some good news for taxpayers is that you may owe less than last year.
"With the world calming down a little bit and COVID under control, to some extent, new care a now available again," Thompson said. "Car parts [and] used car prices are going back down."
Here are the key dates Pulaski County taxpayers need to know:
- The bills coming in the mail right now are for 2023
- That payment is due by Oct. 15
- You can already assess for 2024, anytime before May 31 will avoid a 10% penalty
Some state legislators, like Rep. Stephen Meeks, hope to phase out personal property taxes altogether.
"I've always felt the personal property tax was kind of unfair," Meeks said. "When you purchase a vehicle, you pay taxes on it at the time of purchase, but then you have to pay taxes on it again, year after year after year... if you have to pay taxes on it every year, do you actually own that vehicle?"
Phasing it out would mean amending the state constitution and finding a new funding source for where the tax money currently goes.
"While my colleagues support it, it's just not quite enough to get it over the finish line," Meeks said. "A lot of that money that's collected goes to our schools to help fund public education, and so we would have to look for other funding sources for us to phase that out."
The next time constitutional amendments about things like personal property taxes can be addressed will be during the next regular session in 2025.
Pulaski County real estate taxes won't be widely assessed again until 2026.
The Pulaski County Assessor's Office also hired more Spanish-speaking assessors this year to make their service more accessible.
Click here for more information on how to reach out to the Pulaski County Assessor's Office.