Can anyone (county collector, county court, or circuit court) waive the late penalty when a property tax payment arrives postmarked after October 15?
Subject
Whether anyone, the county tax collector, the county court, or the circuit court, has authority to waive the mandatory 10% late penalty when a property-tax payment arrives postmarked after October 15. AG Tim Griffin concluded no across the board.
Plain-English summary
Several constituents in Representative Richard McGrew's district mailed property tax payments on or before October 15, 2025. USPS routed the envelopes to a different city for postmarking, and the postmarks landed after October 15. The county collector treated the payments as late and assessed the 10% penalty.
Representative McGrew asked five questions, which boil down to the same theme: who, if anyone, has the power to forgive the penalty when the taxpayer arguably did everything right? The AG's answer to all five is no.
The county collector has no discretion. A.C.A. § 26-36-201(b) says the collector "shall extend [and collect] a penalty of ten percent (10%) against all delinquent taxpayers." The Arkansas Supreme Court has long held that "shall" is mandatory in this context (State of Wash. v. Thompson). A taxpayer who mailed but whose envelope was postmarked after October 15 has, technically, missed the deadline. The collector cannot wave it through.
Earlier guidance, Op. 2015-149, does allow waiver in narrow circumstances, but only when the taxpayer's payment was actually received on time and then later lost or misprocessed by county staff. That is a fundamentally different fact pattern from late mailing or late postmarking. In the 2015-149 scenario, the taxpayer complied; the error was post-receipt. Here, the payments were never received by the deadline. So 2015-149 does not bail anyone out.
There is no statutory appeal procedure for a taxpayer who wants to challenge the late penalty. A.C.A. § 26-36-201 provides none, and the AG could not find one elsewhere in Arkansas law.
The county court, despite having original jurisdiction over "all matters relating to county taxes" under Ark. Const. art. 7, § 28 and A.C.A. § 14-14-1105, cannot waive a penalty that the legislature made mandatory. Jurisdictional authority to hear a case is not the same as substantive authority to rewrite the statute. The same answer applies on appeal to the circuit court, even sitting in equity.
The opinion also flags a practical point: the AG suggests that constituents had options to ensure timely payment. They could have paid in person. They could have asked USPS for a manual postmark at the retail counter when they mailed the envelope. The AG's companion opinion (Op. 2025-117) covers the meter-postmark side of this same problem.
What this means for you
If you are an Arkansas property owner facing a late penalty
The penalty is final. There is no appeal at the county collector level, the county court, or the circuit court. Your only realistic options are to pay the assessed penalty and tax, or to lobby your state legislator to amend A.C.A. § 26-36-201 (the AG's reading is the only one the statute supports as written). Going forward, never trust a private postage meter date as proof of timely mailing (Op. 2025-117 explains why); pay in person, online, or by Certified Mail / Registered Mail / requested manual USPS postmark, and pay several days before October 15 to leave room for processing-facility delays.
If you are a county tax collector
You are bound to enforce. No waiver authority. The phrase "shall extend [and collect]" in A.C.A. § 26-36-201(b) is mandatory. Treat any waiver request as a referral to the legislature, not a discretionary call. The exception in Op. 2015-149 is narrow: it applies only when the payment was actually received on time and the county then misplaced or mishandled it after receipt. If receipt itself is late (because the postmark is late), 2015-149 does not apply.
If you are a county judge or circuit judge
You may have jurisdiction to hear a case challenging an assessment, but you do not have authority to waive a mandatory statutory penalty. The county court's constitutional jurisdiction over county tax matters (Art. 7, § 28; A.C.A. § 14-14-1105) is a procedural grant, not a license to override A.C.A. § 26-36-201. The same is true on appeal to the circuit court, even invoking equitable jurisdiction. The legislature made this penalty non-discretionary; courts cannot rewrite that.
If you are a state legislator
The current statute leaves taxpayers with no remedy when the USPS routes their mail through a distant processing facility and the postmark date slips past October 15 by a day or two through no fault of their own. If you want to allow narrow administrative relief, the statutory fix is in A.C.A. § 26-36-201 itself. Options include adding a short grace window for envelopes that taxpayers can prove were physically deposited at a USPS facility on or before October 15 (using Certificate of Mailing, Registered Mail, Certified Mail, or USPS-receipted manual postmark), or creating a formal appeals path. None of those options exists today.
Common questions
Q: Can the collector accept proof that I mailed on time even if the postmark is late?
A: No. The collector has no discretion. The only timeliness proof the statute recognizes is a USPS postmark on or before October 15. The collector cannot accept your meter date, your office mailroom log, your sworn statement, or anything else as a substitute.
Q: I sent the envelope on October 15 with proof of mailing (Certified Mail receipt). USPS postmarked it October 17. Can the county judge override?
A: No. The collector cannot waive, and the county and circuit courts cannot order the collector to waive. If you want to fight it, you can file in county court and appeal to circuit court, but expect to lose on the merits. The statute is non-discretionary.
Q: What was different in Opinion 2015-149?
A: In Op. 2015-149, the taxpayers paid in person (or got receipts indicating in-person payment), and the county lost or misprocessed the payments after receiving them on time. The taxpayers were not at fault, and the receipts proved that. The current situation is the opposite: the payments were not received or postmarked by October 15, so the timeliness element fails at the threshold.
Q: Is there any constitutional argument that a mandatory penalty without an appeal violates due process?
A: The opinion does not address constitutional challenges. As a matter of statutory interpretation, no. Due process challenges would be argued in court on a developed record, not in an AG opinion. If you think you have a constitutional argument, talk to a tax attorney.
Q: What about a partial waiver as a settlement?
A: The statute uses "shall" for both the assessment and the collection of the 10% penalty. A partial waiver is still a waiver, and "shall" leaves no room for it. The collector cannot accept a partial payment on the penalty as discharging the full amount.
Background and statutory framework
Arkansas property taxes are due between the first business day of March and October 15 of each year (A.C.A. § 26-36-201(a)(1)(A)). After October 15, the taxes are delinquent (id. (a)(2)), and the collector "shall extend [and collect] a penalty of ten percent (10%) against all delinquent taxpayers" (id. (b)). The Arkansas Supreme Court treats "shall" as mandatory (State of Wash. v. Thompson, 339 Ark. 417, 6 S.W.3d 82 (1999)).
A.C.A. § 26-35-501(c)(3)(A) provides that an installment payment is timely "if mailed through the United States Postal Service and postmarked by October 15." Many county collectors use this provision as the operative timeliness rule for mail-in payments. But "postmarked" means a USPS postmark, not a private postage-meter mark (see companion Op. 2025-117 and A.C.A. § 26-18-105(a)(2)).
The county court has original jurisdiction over "matters relating to county taxes" under Ark. Const. art. 7, § 28 and A.C.A. § 14-14-1105. Circuit courts hear appeals from county courts and exercise equity jurisdiction. Neither court can rewrite a mandatory statute.
Op. 2015-149 carved out a narrow waiver path for cases where the taxpayer paid on time and the county lost the payment afterward. It does not extend to cases where receipt itself was late.
Citations and references
Constitutional provisions and statutes:
- Ark. Const. art. 7, § 28 (county court jurisdiction over county taxes)
- A.C.A. § 14-14-1105 (jurisdiction of county courts)
- A.C.A. § 26-36-201 (delinquent property tax penalty)
- A.C.A. § 26-35-501(c)(3)(A) (installment payment by mail)
Cases:
- State of Washington v. Thompson, 339 Ark. 417, 424–25, 6 S.W.3d 82, 86 (1999) ("shall" is mandatory)
- Wickham v. State, 2009 Ark. 357, 324 S.W.3d 344 (statutory interpretation: read words plainly)
- Metzner v. State, 2015 Ark. 222, 462 S.W.3d 650 (read related statutes together)
Prior AG opinion:
- Ark. Att'y Gen. Op. 2015-149 (narrow waiver where county lost timely-received payment)
Source
Original opinion text
BOB R. BROOKS JR. JUSTICE BUILDING
101 WEST CAPITOL AVENUE
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS 72201
Opinion No. 2025-122
February 20, 2026
The Honorable Richard McGrew
State Representative
324 Ouachita Avenue
Hot Springs, Arkansas 72901-5209
Dear Representative McGrew:
You report that several of your constituents were assessed delinquent tax penalties on property tax payments that were mailed on or before October 15, 2025, the deadline for payment. Instead of postmarking the payments on the date they were mailed, the United States Postal Service sent the payments to another city for postmarking. As a result, the payments received postmarks dated after October 15, 2025. You have asked the following questions:
1. Does a county collector have authority to waive, cancel, nullify, or otherwise not collect a delinquent tax penalty?
No. The county collector does not have discretion in assessing a penalty when taxpayers do not pay their personal property or real estate taxes by October 15 of each year.
2. Does Opinion No. 2015-149 have application in this instance, as the taxpayers did what was required to timely pay their taxes and were not directly at fault for the delinquency?
No. Opinion No. 2015-149 does not apply here.
3. Is there a procedure available under existing state law for a taxpayer to appeal a delinquent tax penalty? If so, what is that procedure?
The statute at issue, A.C.A. § 26-36-201, does not provide a procedure for a taxpayer to appeal a delinquent tax penalty. And I have found no other appeal method in my research.
4. Does a county court, as the court of original jurisdiction over county tax issues pursuant to Article 7, § 28 of the Arkansas Constitution and A.C.A. § 14-14-1105, have authority to waive, cancel, nullify, or otherwise order a collector to not collect a delinquent tax penalty?
No. The penalty under A.C.A. § 26-36-201 is mandatory.
5. Does the circuit court, as the court of appellate jurisdiction from county court, and the court of equity, have authority to waive, cancel, nullify, or otherwise order a collector to not collect a delinquent tax penalty?
No. The penalty under A.C.A. § 26-36-201 is mandatory.
DISCUSSION
Question 1. "[A]ll taxes levied on real estate and personal property for the county courts of this state, are due and payable at the county collector's office between the first business day of March and October 15 inclusive." After the October 15 deadline, those taxes are delinquent. A strict reading of A.C.A. § 26-36-201(a)(1)(A) is that the tax payments must be physically present "at the county collector's office" by the deadline. In fact, that statute does not reference postmarks or mailing of payments in any way.
But a better interpretation, and the one I believe many county collectors follow, is that A.C.A. § 26-36-201 should be read in conjunction with other tax laws regarding payments. And under A.C.A. § 26-35-501(c)(3)(A), the final payment in an installment plan for real or personal property taxes can be mailed through the Postal Service. That payment must be mailed and postmarked by October 15 to be considered timely. Thus, many county collectors accept all tax payments as timely so long as they are postmarked by October 15.
But after the deadline has passed, "the county collector shall extend [and collect] a penalty of ten percent (10%) against all delinquent taxpayers that have not paid their taxes within the time limit specified." Because the statute uses "shall," the penalty is mandatory, and the tax collector has no discretion to waive or reduce the penalty.
Question 2. No, Opinion No. 2015-149 does not apply here. That opinion concerned tax payments by check that were timely received but later lost by county staff. In that context, the taxpayers complied with all statutory requirements, and the error occurred after their payments were received, not just mailed. Since the taxpayers at issue received receipts, they most likely made their payments in person.
Here, by contrast, your constituents' payments were not timely received or postmarked by October 15. While your constituents may not have anticipated that the payments would be postmarked after October 15, I cannot agree that they "did what was required to timely pay their taxes" and so "were not directly at fault for the delinquency." They had several options to ensure their taxes were timely paid. For instance, your constituents could have paid their taxes in person. Or they could have asked the Postal Service staff for postmarks when they mailed their payments.
Question 3. The statute at issue, A.C.A. § 26-36-201, does not provide a procedure for a taxpayer to appeal a delinquent tax penalty. And I have found no other appeal method in my research.
Question 4. No. As discussed above, the penalty under A.C.A. § 26-36-201 is mandatory.
Question 5. No. As discussed above, the penalty under A.C.A. § 26-36-201 is mandatory.
Assistant Attorney General Jodie Keener prepared this opinion, which I hereby approve.
Sincerely,
TIM GRIFFIN
Attorney General