MS 2020-07-D-Miller-June-26-2020-Waiver-of-Penalties-and-Interest-on-Unpaid-Taxes 2020-06-26

Can a Mississippi county forgive penalties and interest on a property tax bill the taxpayer did not know existed?

Short answer: Yes. The AG concluded that when a Mississippi tax assessor's error caused a property owner to be delinquent (here, by assessing the wrong parcel and not assessing the right one), the Board of Supervisors had authority to determine that the owner did not owe penalties and interest under Miss. Code Ann. § 27-41-11. Penalties already paid could be refunded.

Disclaimer: This is an official Mississippi Attorney General opinion. AG opinions are persuasive authority but not binding precedent. This summary is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed Mississippi attorney for advice on your specific situation.

Plain-English summary

A Forrest County taxpayer got caught in an assessor mix-up. The county had been assessing him for a parcel he did not own (the parcel adjoining his), and his actual parcel went unassessed for years. He paid the bill the county sent. When the error was discovered, the county refunded the wrongly paid taxes. Then the county turned around and tried to charge him penalties and interest on his actual parcel, which had been delinquent because the county never sent him a bill for it. The taxpayer asked for a refund of those penalties and interest, arguing he never received notice and would have paid timely if he had.

The county's attorney asked the AG whether Miss. Code Ann. § 27-41-11, which generally requires payment of penalties and interest on delinquent taxes, has any exceptions for assessor error. The AG said yes. Drawing on a long line of prior opinions (Slover, Mangum, Martin, Yancey, Dulaney), the AG held that a Board of Supervisors has discretion to determine that a property owner does not owe penalties and interest when an assessor error was the cause of the owner's delinquency. Any penalties and interest already paid could be refunded.

The opinion is a useful pressure-relief valve: § 27-41-11 reads as if penalties and interest are automatic, but the AG's gloss permits boards to forgive them when the county's own error caused the problem.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2020. 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.

Background and statutory framework

Mississippi imposes a self-assessment-and-payment regime for ad valorem (property) taxes. Section 27-41-11 puts the duty on the property owner: every person assessed must pay state, county, school, road, levee and other ad valorem taxes by the due dates fixed in § 27-41-1. If the owner does not pay timely, the tax collector enforces collection, and the owner owes the unpaid tax plus all "fees, penalties and costs prescribed by law" plus interest under § 27-41-9.

The statute reads as if it is mandatory. There is no express provision allowing a board to forgive penalties or interest. The AG's opinion line, however, has long recognized an equitable exception: when the cause of the delinquency is the county's own error (the assessor mis-assessed, the bill never went out, the property was missed from the roll), the board has discretion to waive penalties and interest.

The cited prior opinions trace the same rule:

MS AG Op., Slover (May 15, 2015)
MS AG Op., Mangum (May 11, 2012)
MS AG Op., Martin (June 10, 2011)
MS AG Op., Yancey (August 7, 2009)
MS AG Op., Dulaney (December 12, 2008)

In each, the consistent thread is that the board's authority flows from the equitable principle that a taxpayer cannot be timely if the county did not provide the bill or a properly assessed roll. A taxpayer with a properly assessed parcel who simply did not pay is in a different position from one whose parcel was never assessed.

The opinion does not specify the procedural mechanics, but the standard practice is for the board to: (1) make a factual finding that the assessor erred, (2) make a finding that the error caused the delinquency, (3) determine that the owner does not owe the penalties and interest, (4) record those findings on the minutes, and (5) refund any penalties and interest already collected. Without findings on the minutes, a refund could later be challenged as an unauthorized expenditure.

Common questions

Q: Does this rule apply to ordinary missed payments, like a homeowner forgetting the deadline?
A: No. The rule applies when the assessor's error caused the delinquency. A taxpayer who got a correct bill and missed the deadline is in the standard § 27-41-11 position and owes penalties and interest. The AG's exception is narrow.

Q: How far back can a refund go?
A: The opinion does not address a time limit on refunds. Mississippi has separate statutes governing tax refunds, including statutory time limits. A board acting under this rule should consult those statutes for any limitations period, particularly if the error spans multiple years.

Q: What if the assessor's error was caught only after the property changed hands?
A: That is a harder question and not addressed in this opinion. The successor owner who paid penalties and interest may have a separate refund argument; the predecessor's right depends on whether the error caused the predecessor's delinquency or simply caused over-assessment.

Q: Can the board waive the underlying tax itself, not just penalties and interest?
A: This opinion does not authorize that, and Mississippi law strictly limits a board's ability to waive lawfully owed taxes. The waiver authority recognized by the AG runs only to the penalties and interest piece.

Q: What if the assessor disputes that there was an error?
A: The board has the factual-determination authority. If the board concludes there was an assessor error and records that finding on its minutes, the determination supports the waiver. An assessor-board disagreement would have to be sorted out in board proceedings.

Citations and references

Statutes:
- Miss. Code Ann. § 27-41-11 (Duty to pay ad valorem taxes; penalties and interest on delinquency)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 27-41-1 (Due dates for ad valorem taxes)
- Miss. Code Ann. § 27-41-9 (Interest on delinquent taxes)

Prior AG opinions:
- MS AG Op., Slover (May 15, 2015)
- MS AG Op., Mangum (May 11, 2012)
- MS AG Op., Martin (June 10, 2011)
- MS AG Op., Yancey (August 7, 2009)
- MS AG Op., Dulaney (December 12, 2008)

Source

Original opinion text

June 26, 2020

David B. Miller, Esq.
Attorney for the Forrest County Board of Supervisors
Post Office Box 1310
Hattiesburg, Mississippi 39403

Re: Waiver of Penalties and Interest on Unpaid Taxes

Dear Mr. Miller:

The Office of the Attorney General is in receipt of your request for the issuance of an official opinion.

Question Presented

Are there exceptions to the rule provided by Miss. Code Ann. Section 27-41-11 requiring the payment of penalties and interest on delinquent taxes?

Background Facts

A county taxpayer received and paid a notice of taxes due on a parcel of property which adjoined his property due to a county error in maintaining the land roll. Since the taxpayer did not own the parcel, the county refunded the taxpayer the tax payment made in error.

The taxpayer has requested a refund of the penalties and interest paid by the taxpayer on the delinquent taxes which accrued upon his own property, for which he claims he received no notice of taxes due or of delinquency and which he would have timely paid but for the county's error in assessing the wrong parcel.

Brief Response

Yes. If the Board of Supervisors determines that an error was made by the tax assessor in not having properly assessed the taxpayer for the correct parcel of real property, then the Board would have the authority to determine that the property owner does not owe penalties and interest for the unpaid taxes.

Applicable Law and Discussion

The assessment of penalties and interest for nonpayment of taxes is authorized by Miss. Code Ann. Section 27-41-11, which provides as follows:

It shall be the duty of every person assessed with state, county, school, road, levee and other taxing district and municipal ad valorem taxes to pay all such taxes to the tax collector on or before the due dates fixed and prescribed in Section 27-41-1 hereof, and if not paid, it shall be the duty of the tax collector to enforce payment thereof as hereinafter provided. If any person fails or neglects to pay the taxes levied and assessed against him as provided in this chapter on or before the due date fixed in Section 27-41-1 of this chapter, he shall be required to pay, in addition to the amount of taxes then due, all other fees, penalties and costs prescribed by law for failure to pay taxes when due, and in addition to the interest prescribed in Section 27-41-9 of this chapter.

We have consistently opined that a board of supervisors has the authority to determine that a property owner does not owe penalties and interest for unpaid taxes under Section 27-41-11, when an error by the tax assessor resulted in the owner not having been assessed. MS AG Op., Slover (May 15, 2015); MS AG Op., Mangum (May 11, 2012); MS AG Op., Martin (June 10, 2011); MS AG Op., Yancey (August 07, 2009); MS AG Op., Dulaney (December 12, 2008).

In your factual scenario, the taxpayer was erroneously assessed for the parcel of property adjoining his. It is the opinion of this office, that the Board of Supervisors would be authorized to determine that the property owner does not owe penalties and interest for unpaid taxes under Section 27-41-11, when an error by the tax assessor resulted in the owner's delinquency of the tax payment. Any such penalties and interest having been paid may be refunded to the taxpayer.

If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: /s/ Avery Mounger Lee
Avery Mounger Lee
Special Assistant Attorney General