(6/25) Frederick County property owners will receive their real estate tax and fee bills from the Treasurer’s Office around July 1. The tax bills are in a new and improved format, and contain payment and other important information on the reverse of the bill. At the request of the Frederick Board of County Commissioners, the new format also includes a breakdown of the expenditures that are funded by county real property taxes so that citizens may be informed of the use of their tax dollars.

The bills will cover the period from July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2013. A one percent discount for the county tax portion is available to those who pay their tax bills during July. After July 31, property owners still have time to receive one half of a percent discount for the county real estate tax portion for payments made by August 31, according to the Treasurer’s Office.

Board President Blaine Young commented, "The Board of County Commissioners had a goal of better communicating to the property taxpayers about where the tax dollars are allocated by category. We hope that this is a more transparent property tax bill to achieve that goal.

"We also want to reiterate that the real property tax rate is set at $.936 per $100 of assessed value and if we wanted to produce the same real property tax revenues as last year, the tax rate would have to be $.9663. This is called the constant yield rate. However, the commissioners decided to assist the taxpayers by keeping the tax rate at $.936, which is $.0303 less than the constant yield tax rate and in essence a ‘tax decrease.’"

Also new this year is a tax differential rate for properties located in The City of Frederick and Town of Myersville. Previously, the county used a tax equity program to reimburse municipalities that do not receive services from the county, but provide the same services to residents out of their municipal taxes. For the first time, the County Commissioners have also instituted an optional tax differential system, where municipal taxpayers have a lower county tax rate than those in unincorporated areas. The Town of Myersville and The City of Frederick decided to use the tax differential system with a new county tax rate and municipal tax rate for their taxpayers. Citizens with questions regarding The City of Frederick or Town of Myersville tax rates are asked to contact the individual municipalities.

Frederick County tax bills are officially due on September 30 and interest begins accruing on October 1 at the rate of one percent per month until paid. Accounts not paid by the last day of February 2013 will be considered delinquent and notices will be sent out to alert these citizens that the property is eligible to be sold at the county's annual tax sale held the second Monday in May.

To access a tax bill online, visit to the Frederick County Government website (www.FrederickCountyMD.gov) and click on "real estate tax inquiry" under "online payments." Or, simply go to www.FrederickCountyMD.gov/taxinquiry. After clicking on this link, owners who input their property address or parcel identification number may view their 2013 tax bill amount and other information. This online service is helpful to citizens who wish to confirm that their mortgage company or other financial institution has made the payment on their behalf, as well as to verify their own payment. Payments made by mortgage companies are posted by July 31 and by December 31.

For more information, visit www.FrederickCountyMD.gov/treasury or contact the Treasurer’s Office at 301-600-1111.