How is the Tax Bill calculated?

Each year the Municipality, Board of Education, and County must introduce and pass their individual budgets, and once they are all completed, the year’s tax rate is verified by the County. Most municipalities are on a calendar year cycle. Since the 3 budgets are not completed until approximately May or June, bills are not mailed until July of the budget year, by the Tax Collector. Thus, you receive a bill labeled “200X FINAL/200Y PRELIMINARY TAX BILL”. The tax bill includes 4 stubs that are laid out in the order in which they are due, to make it easy to tear off the stub for inclusion with your payment. The quarters on the bill are the FINAL 2 quarters of the current year, and the PRELIMINARY 2 quarters for the next year. The current year’s tax rate is multiplied by your property value, and the result is the total tax due for the current year. The first two calendar quarters (billed the previous year) are then subtracted from that total, and the balance is divided between the final two calendar quarters—due August 1 and November 1. That is why that portion of the bill is considered “FINAL”. The total tax for the current year is then divided by half, and half of that amount is then due in each of the first two quarters of the following year. Thus, the wording “PRELIMINARY” is on your tax bill.