Frequently Asked Questions
Below you will find information that might help you understand how to find things or learn about information you might need to know about your city or town.
Treasurer
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Treasurer
Summer property taxes are due to the City by July 31st. Winter property taxes are due to the City by February 14th. Please verify the due date on your current tax statement, as the City of Royal Oak does not accept postmarks as proof of payment date.
There is a 24-hour drop box located near the front entrance of Royal Oak City Hall, located at 203 S Troy Street and another drop box n front of the employee ramp next to the Farmers' Market. Drop box payments received before 8 a.m. are processed with the previous days' work (example: payments pulled from the drop box on Monday morning are processed as received the prior Friday). All unpaid taxes on March 1st are payable to Oakland County.
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Treasurer
Property tax information is now available online for free. First time users will need to register by choosing “Register” option from the drop down list under “Currently not signed in” tab in the upper right hand corner of the web page. You will be able to search tax, utility billing, special assessment, miscellaneous receivable and building permit information on this website.
Visit the bsaonline.com website.
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Treasurer
The Treasurer’s Office can provide you with a copy of your paid tax bill. There is a $1 fee per page. If you’d like to avoid this fee, simply visit the website, linked below. First time users will need to register by choosing “Register” option from the drop down list under “Currently not signed in” tab in the upper right hand corner of the web page. You will be able to search tax, utility billing, special assessment, miscellaneous receivable and building permit information on this website.
Visit the bsaonline.com website.
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The summer tax bill is distributed to several entities: State of Michigan (education), Oakland Community College, Oakland Intermediate Schools (allocated and voted), local schools (allocated and voted), county operating, city operating, and all voted millages (currently refuse, fire, library and publicity).Treasurer
The winter tax bill is distributed to Oakland County Parks and Recreation, Huron Clinton Metro Authority and the Oakland County Public Transit Authority.
For more information, view our printable -
The Assessor’s Office handles all the address changes. You can reach the Assessor’s Office by dialing 248-246-3110.Treasurer
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A basic knowledge of these terms will help you better understand Michigan property tax law.Treasurer
Assessed Value - The assessed value helps determine market value. Set by the assessor, the Assessed Value when multiplied by two will give an approximate market value of the property. The assessor is constitutionally required to set the assessed value at 50% of the usual selling price or True Cash Value of the property.
State Equalized Value (SEV) – SEV is the Assessed Value that has been adjusted following county and state equalization. The County Board of Commissioners and the Michigan State Tax Commission must review local assessments and adjust (equalize) them if they are above or below the constitutional 50% level of assessment.
Taxable Value – Taxable value divided by 1,000 times the local millage rate will determine your tax liability. Taxable value increases from year to year by the rate of inflation or 5%, whichever is lower. Transfers of ownership and improvements to the property will increase the Taxable Value more than the rate of inflation. -
To insure properties are assessed uniformly and at 50% of market value, the assessor uses a two year sales study that is provided by the Oakland County Equalization Department. A sales study is an analysis of the sales price of the property compared to its SEV.Treasurer
The sales are then organized by economic neighborhoods by the assessor. An economic neighborhood can be a single subdivision or a grouping of subdivisions with similar characteristics. If the sales in a certain economic neighborhood indicate an increase or decrease then all of the properties in that economic neighborhood will be changed by what the sales have indicated. This insures all properties are assessed at 50% of market value. -
On March 15, 1994, Michigan voters approved the constitutional amendment known as Proposal A. The Taxable Value was created as a part of this legislation. Taxable Value, or the figure which millage would be multiplied against, can only increase each year by the rate of inflation or 5%, whichever is lower. The Taxable Value on the property is said to be "Capped" if the property owner has not had any additions or losses on the property or did not purchase it in the preceding year.Treasurer
The legislators who wrote and put Proposal A on the ballot intended to put a cap on the value of the property so that taxpayers wouldn’t be as affected by a robust housing market and a significant increase in valuation. The intention was to tie the increase in valuation to the inflation rate so that it would be more affordable for and would benefit those residents who intended to remain at their properties for longer periods of time. -
The Taxable Value is required by the Michigan Constitution to increase each year by the rate of inflation or 5%, whichever is lower. However, taxes can increase above this amount if the citizens of Royal Oak have voted for any special revenues, such as a school improvement bond or the city library millage.Treasurer
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Unfortunately, there isn’t a yes or no answer to that question. If you’ve owned your property for a significant amount of time, more than likely your State Equalized Value (SEV) far exceeds your Taxable Value. If this is the case, a decrease in valuation, caused by a cooling real estate market, will be reflected in the SEV. In the case of a longtime property owner, the SEV could decrease, while the Taxable Value will increase.Treasurer
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In the previous scenario, yes you would. The Taxable Value will change by the inflationary rate, - 0.03% for 2010. This figure multiplied by the local unit’s millage rate will determine your new property tax liability.Treasurer
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Proposal A allowed many residents to pay property taxes on less than half of their market value by "capping" the Taxable Value, while still allowing the assessor to determine the market value by adjusting the SEV. This has caused, for many property owners, a great disparity between the SEV figure and the Taxable Value figure. The assessor can reduce the SEV to reflect the change in property value, but if the Taxable Value is still well below the SEV, it will change by the inflation rate until the two figures meet. Taxes are based on Taxable Value; therefore, you may end up with a tax increase if there is a positive inflation rate.Treasurer
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If a property’s value decreases each year, the SEV will eventually meet the Taxable Value. The Taxable Value cannot exceed the SEV. When this happens, decreases in SEV will cause decreases in Taxable Value, which will then lower your property tax liability. Due to the gap between the SEV and Taxable Value figures, it would take several years of depressed market conditions to make the SEV and Taxable Value equal.Treasurer
If you happen to be a property owner who purchased a property in the last few years and you have decreasing property value, the SEV and Taxable Value figures could meet sooner than someone who has owned the property for a long period of time. -
Unfortunately, there have been a few downfalls. Two big downfalls that we hear regularly are:Treasurer
1. Neighbors with like properties paying completely different tax amounts.
2. Uneasiness about moving to new properties because of the fear of a very high tax increase. -
If you own and occupy a home on your property before May 1 last year, you are entitled to a Principal Residence Exemption. This will result in a credit on your summer tax statement. On the Assessment Notice, the exemption will be illustrated by a 100.00% (homestead) if you are eligible or a 0.00% (non-homestead) if you are not. You are only entitled to one Principal Residence Exemption in or out of the State of Michigan. A property owner will pay a lower millage rate on their primary residence (approximately 15 mills less than a non-homestead property).Treasurer
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Every property owner has the right to appeal their assessments. However, the opportunity only comes once a year and if the opportunity is missed, there isn’t another opportunity for that year. Your yearly Assessment Change Notice will provide you with the dates and times for the March Board of Review.Treasurer
If you wish to contest your assessment, you must make an appointment to appeal to the March Board of Review. A nonresident may protest to the Board of Review by a letter that is accompanied by a completed Board of Review petition. Protest at the March Board of Review is necessary to protect your right to further appeals to the Michigan Tax Tribunal for valuation and exemption appeals. In other words, the Michigan Tax Tribunal will not hear cases that have not first been before the local March Board of Review. -
One mill is equal to $1 per each $1,000 in Taxable Value. If you recently purchased a home use one half of the purchase price as your Taxable Value. For example, if your Taxable Value is 90,440 and the millage rate it 35.5836, your tax would be approximately $3,218.18 (90,440 x 35.5836 / 1000).Treasurer
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The City of Royal Oak offers a variety of ways to pay your bill online, in person, or by mail. For more information, visit ourTreasurer
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Treasurer
The United Way for Southeastern Michigan is the program administrator for Water Residential Assistance Program (WRAP) in Oakland County. All residents seeking WRAP services in an Oakland County community should apply through United Way.
Below is a quick snapshot of WRAP:
- Bill Credits - The recently launched WRAP Income Based Plan (IBP) provides bill credits that are unique to each household and are based on annual household income and annual water and sewer bill amount. Households are expected to pay the remaining portion of their bill.
- Arrearage Assistance - Eligible households that have a past due balance are eligible to receive up to $1,200 in arrearage assistance upon enrollment. Additionally, households may be eligible to receive an additional amount up to $1,200 in year two of WRAP.
- Conservation Measures - Enrolled households are eligible to receive up to $2,000 in conservations measures, such as a home water audit, minor plumbing repairs, and educational information regarding water usage. With an emphasis on creating a healthy home, households can receive repairs on leaking or nonfunctioning plumbing and other water fixtures to create a safe and livable home.
- Other Benefits - Case management empowers WRAP service delivery partners (United Way) to work directly with households in reviewing their progress in making payments. Service delivery partners can also provide the household with access to additional wraparound services.
United Way for Southeastern Michigan – WRAP Services in Oakland County:
Online Application: https://uwsem.smapply.org/prog/utilities/
Phone: 248-983-5656