Could a Louisiana sheriff waive interest and penalties on overdue property taxes, including adjudicated property?

Plain-English summary

The Caddo Parish sheriff asked whether, as ex officio tax collector, he could compromise or waive interest, penalties, and costs on delinquent property taxes. The Attorney General said he generally could not, whether the property was movable or immovable and whether it had been adjudicated for unpaid taxes.

The opinion identified limited exceptions to the normal interest timing. A taxpayer with a corrected erroneous assessment had a period to pay the adjusted amount without interest on that revision. The tax collector could also give a short payment period where the assessor supplied an incorrect address and the debtor did not receive timely notice. The AG separately repeated an earlier opinion's conclusion that a late-filed tax roll postponed when interest or penalties should begin. These were explanations of the law and earlier AG guidance as understood in 2001.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2001. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Could the sheriff forgive overdue property-tax interest or penalties?
Generally no. The AG said the tax collector could not waive the delinquent charges on movable or immovable property.

Did tax adjudication change the answer?
No. The AG cited an earlier opinion holding that accrued interest, penalties, and costs on property adjudicated for nonpayment could not be waived.

What if the assessment was corrected?
The opinion said the taxpayer had 15 days after notice of the revised assessment to pay the adjusted amount without interest on that revision. It cited an earlier opinion limiting the interest relief to the corrected portion.

What if the taxpayer did not receive notice because the roll had the wrong address?
The AG said the tax collector could extend a 15-day period to pay without interest penalty under the provision quoted in the opinion.

Did a late-filed tax roll affect charges?
The AG repeated an earlier conclusion that interest or penalties should not begin until 45 days after actual filing when the roll was late. That discussion arose from the specific reassessment delay described in the opinion.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion read R.S. 47:1993(D)'s roll-filing duty with R.S. 47:2101's then-current tax-payment and interest provisions. It also quoted R.S. 47:2109 and explained that its reference to an “auditor” meant the old State Comptroller's office, not the Legislative Auditor.

Citations and references

• R.S. 47:1993(D)
• R.S. 47:2101
• R.S. 47:2109

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/01-0123

Original opinion text

May 7, 2001
OPINION NUMBER 01-123

4 ASSESSORS
107 SHERIFFS
115 TAXATION-Collection And Enforcement Against Person And
Mr. Gary M. Parker
Property
General Counsel and
129
148
TAXATION – Levy and Assessment (Ad valorem taxes) TAXATION – Property Taxes – liability of persons & property Chief Administrative Officer
Art. VII, Secs. 18(F) and 23 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974; R.S. 47:1993, 2101(A)(3) and Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office 2109.
505 Travis Street, Room 700 Sheriff and Ex-Officio Tax Collector is generally prohibited from waiving penalties, interest and
Shreveport, LA 71101
costs on the delinquent payment of ad valorem taxes on movable and immovable property,
whether adjudicated or not.

Dear Mr. Parker:

You have requested an opinion of the Attorney General relative to the legal authority of the Caddo Parish Sheriff and Ex-Officio Tax Collector (“Tax Collector”) to compromise and/or waive the collection of penalties, interest and costs on delinquent ad valorem taxes on movable and/or immovable property. You further ask whether it matters that the movable or immovable property has been adjudicated.

As you are aware, R.S. 47:1993(D) requires the Caddo Parish Assessor to file the tax rolls of his parish on or before the 15th day of November in each calendar year. The time for the payment of ad valorem taxes on movable and immovable property is established in R.S. 47:2101. It provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

A. (1) All taxes shall be collected in the calendar year in which the assessment thereof is made, . . . and the taxes assessed in each year shall be due in that calendar year as soon as the tax roll is filed in the office of the recorder of mortgages, … .

(3) The interest on all ad valorem taxes, whether levied on movable or immovable property, which are delinquent shall begin on the thirty- first day of December of each and every year and shall bear interest from December thirty-first of such year until paid, at the rate of one percent per month or any part thereof. In the event of an erroneous assessment and adjustment by the tax commission, the taxpayer shall have fifteen days from receipt of notice of the revised assessment in which to pay the adjusted amount without interest penalty. If the address provided by the tax assessor on the tax roll proves to be incorrect and the tax debtor does not receive a timely notice, the tax collector may extend to the debtor a fifteen-day notice in which to pay without interest penalty.

Page 2

Mr. Gary M. Parker
OPINION NUMBER 01-123
Page -2-

C. The notice shall request the tax debtor to return the notice to the tax collector with remittance, and shall remind the tax debtor of the date that taxes become delinquent following issuance of such notice and that interest will accrue on the taxes from and after the date the taxes become delinquent. Interest shall accrue at the rate prescribed by law, which rate, or a brief description of the manner in which the rate is calculated, shall be stated in the notice. (Emphasis added.)

As can be seen from the above, interest on delinquent ad valorem taxes for movable and immovable property begins to accrue on the 31st day of December of each tax year. However, as provided in Paragraph (A)(3), in the event of an erroneous assessment and adjustment by the Tax Commission, the taxpayer must be given 15 days from the receipt of the notice of the revised assessment in which to pay the adjusted amount without interest penalty. Further, in the event the tax roll contains an incorrect address for the tax debtor, the Tax Collector may extend to the debtor a 15-day notice in which to pay said taxes without interest penalty.

In Attorney General Opinion No. 99-257, this office concluded that, in the event of an erroneous assessment and subsequent revision and adjustment by the Tax Commission, the waiver of the interest penalty does not apply to the payment of all taxes, but only that interest attributable to the revised assessment.

This office has consistently opined that political subdivisions of the State, including the Tax Collector, can not waive penalties, interest and costs due on delinquent ad valorem taxes on movables and/or immovables. Attorney General Opinion Nos. 00-471, 80-988 and 78-1624. We have noted two exceptions to this general rule. The first is provided by law in R.S. 47:2101(A)(3), discussed supra.

The second exception is discussed most recently in Opinion No. 00-471. The issue presented therein was whether interest and penalties for the late payment of ad valorem taxes must be calculated from December 31, 2000, where substantial delays in the filing of the tax rolls occurred as a result of the reassessment and adjustment of millages required by Art. VII, Secs. 18 (F) and 23. In some cases, the tax rolls were not filed until December 15, 2000. Therein, we concluded:

While we have been unable to find any statutory authorization for the recalculation of the payment of interest and penalties, we believe that a strict interpretation of these statutory provisions would be inconsistent with the spirit of the tax assessment-related constitutional provisions. The concept of reassessment and valuation to ensure the uniformity of property assessments is for the benefit of taxpayers and tax recipients. To condemn the taxpayer to pay penalties and interest commencing December 31, in the case of delinquently filed tax rolls would be inequitable.

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Mr. Gary M. Parker
OPINION NUMBER 01-123
Page -3-

Accordingly, it is the opinion of this office that no interest or penalties should be assessed to taxpayers on December 31, 2000, unless the respective tax rolls were timely filed on November 15, 2000. In the case of late filing, interest or penalties should not be assessed until 45 days from the actual date of filing of the tax rolls. In accord are Attorney General Opinion Nos. 79-1458, 79-704 and 78-1624.

As can be seen from the above, in the case of a late filing of the tax rolls, interest and/or penalties should not be assessed until forty-five days from the actual date of the filing.

In answer to your second question, Attorney General Opinion No. 80-988 specifically held that penalties, interest and/or costs accrued on movable or immovable property adjudicated for the non-payment of ad valorem taxes could not be waived.

Parenthetically, we note that you refer to R.S. 47:2109 as granting to the “Legislative Auditor” the authority to compromise or negotiate tax claims under certain circumstances. That section provides:

The auditor shall have full power and authority to compromise all claims of the state for taxes due on property adjudicated to the state by remission of all interest and costs, conditional upon payment by the owner of the property of all taxes due; provided that this paragraph shall apply only to properties of the value of one thousand dollars or less, and shall not apply to taxes with respect to which the tax privilege or mortgage has not prescribed.

Please note that the term “auditor” as used in the above statutory provision does not refer to the Legislative Auditor, but rather the old office of State Comptroller. It is our understanding that this office has either been abolished or made a function of the State’s Division of Administration.

Trusting this adequately responds to your inquiries, I am

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: _______
ROBERT E. HARROUN, III
Assistant Attorney General

RPI:REH,III:jv

Page 4

OPINION NUMBER 01-123

4 ASSESSORS
107 SHERIFFS
115 TAXATION-Collection And Enforcement Against Person And Property
129 TAXATION – Levy and Assessment (Ad valorem taxes)
148 TAXATION – Property Taxes – liability of persons & property

Art. VII, Secs. 18(F) and 23 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974; R.S. 47:1993, 2101(A)(3) and 2109.

Sheriff and Ex-Officio Tax Collector is generally prohibited from waiving penalties, interest and costs on the delinquent payment of ad valorem taxes on movable and immovable property, whether adjudicated or not.

Mr. Gary M. Parker
General Counsel and
Chief Administrative Officer
Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office
505 Travis Street, Room 700
Shreveport, LA 71101

DATE RECEIVED:
DATE RELEASED: May 7, 2001

ROBERT E. HARROUN, III,
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL