The property tax is an ad valorem tax, which is a tax based upon value. It involves two separate processes, the assessment process and the budget process. After these processes are completed, the County Auditor calculates the appropriate mill rate. That rate is applied to each taxable property to determine the property tax.

The assessor is responsible for discovering, listing and valuing all taxable property. All real property is subject to taxation, unless expressly exempted by law. All property is assessed according to its value February 1st of each year. All real property is valued at its True and Full Value. For residential and commercial property, this equals market value. For agricultural land, it equals its productivity as defined by North Dakota statute.

The assessor must notify property owners when the valuation increases more than 10% and more than $3,000.00 in True and Full Value. In April of each year, the assessor’s assessments are reviewed by the City and Township Boards of Equalization. Within the first ten (10) days in June, the County Board of Equalization reviews the assessments of cities and townships. During August of each year, the State Board of Equalization reviews the assessments as finalized by the various counties.

The assessor, by the fair and accurate valuation of property taxation, ensures that everyone shares equitably the total burden of property taxation.