Harrison County, WV Tax: Assessment, Deadlines, and Appeals

Harrison County WV property tax is collected by the Sheriff’s Tax Office in Clarksburg, based on an assessed value equal to 60 percent of your property’s fair market value as of July 1 each year.¹ Bills go out in July, split into two halves due September 1 and March 1, with a 2.5 percent discount for paying each half on time and 9 percent annual interest once a payment goes delinquent.²

How Your Bill Is Calculated

The Assessor values your real estate and personal property annually, then applies the 60 percent ratio. A home appraised at $200,000 carries an assessed value of $120,000. Your tax is calculated per $100 of that assessed value, using rates that depend on which of four constitutional classes your property falls into.

Class I: intangible personal property and agricultural personal property such as livestock and farm products. Constitutional maximum of 50 cents per $100.
Class II: owner-occupied homes and farms cultivated by their owners or tenants. Maximum of $1 per $100. Most Harrison County homeowners are in this class.
Class III: all other real and personal property located outside a municipality. Maximum of $1.50 per $100.
Class IV: all other real and personal property located inside a municipality such as Clarksburg or Bridgeport. Maximum of $2 per $100.

The West Virginia Tax Division sets county-level maximum regular levy rates of 14.30 cents per $100 for Class I, 28.60 cents for Class II, and 57.20 cents for both Class III and Class IV.³ Your actual bill stacks the county levy with separate levies from the Board of Education, any municipality you live in, and other taxing authorities, so the total rate is higher than the county share alone.

Payment Deadlines, Discount, and Interest

Tax bills are typically mailed in July. The first half is payable September 1 and becomes delinquent October 1. The second half is payable the following March 1 and becomes delinquent April 1.²

Pay a half by its payable date and you receive a 2.5 percent discount on that installment. The discount applies to each half independently, so paying both on time saves you 2.5 percent across the year’s bill. The month between payable and delinquent is a penalty-free grace period. Once the delinquency date hits, interest accrues at 9 percent per year from that date until you pay.²

How to Pay

Payments go to the Harrison County Sheriff’s Tax Office at 229 South 3rd Street, Clarksburg, WV 26301. Before you pay, look up your ticket number and current balance through the Sheriff’s online tax record search so the payment posts to the right account.⁴

Online through the Sheriff’s electronic payment portal, using a credit or debit card. A convenience fee applies to card transactions.
By mail with a check or money order payable to the Sheriff’s Tax Office, with your tax ticket number on the memo line.
In person at the Sheriff’s office during business hours, which is your best option for cash or an immediate receipt.

Reporting Personal Property

Real estate is valued from property records, but personal property is on you to report. If you own vehicles, boats, trailers, or other taxable personal items as of July 1, you must file an assessment form with the Harrison County Assessor. Preprinted and online forms are available, and if nothing has changed from the prior year you can sign the preprinted form and return it by mail.⁵

Individuals must file by October 1. Businesses must file by September 1. If you miss the deadline, state law requires the Assessor to estimate your assessment, and an estimated value often runs higher than what you would have reported yourself. Filing late also forfeits your right to appeal that year’s assessment.

Homestead Exemption for Seniors and Disabled Owners

Homeowners who are 65 or older, or permanently and totally disabled, may qualify for the West Virginia Homestead Exemption, which removes the first $20,000 of assessed value from the tax base.⁶ On a home assessed at $60,000, that eliminates a third of the taxable value.

To qualify, you must own and occupy the home as your primary residence and have been a West Virginia resident for the two consecutive calendar years before the tax year. Military retirees who kept West Virginia residency during active duty and return to the state can meet the residency test without the two-year wait.⁶ Only one exemption is allowed per homestead no matter how many qualifying owners live there, and you cannot claim a similar exemption in another state at the same time.

New applicants file with the County Assessor between July 1 and December 1. The application includes a sworn affidavit that you are not receiving a homestead exemption elsewhere. Once approved, the exemption generally renews automatically as long as your situation is unchanged.

Appealing Your Assessment

If you think your property has been overvalued, start with the Assessor’s Office at 229 South 3rd Street in Clarksburg, or call 304-624-8510. The office has stated an open-door policy on valuations, and an informal discussion sometimes resolves the issue without a formal appeal.⁵

If that doesn’t work, the formal step is the county Board of Equalization and Review. The board convenes no later than February 1 each year and must finish by the end of February, though it can adjourn as early as February 15. Miss that window and you waive your right to challenge that year’s assessment until the following year’s board meets.⁷ Gather comparable sales, a recent appraisal, or other market evidence well before February.

What Happens If You Don’t Pay

Interest starts running at 9 percent per year the day your installment becomes delinquent, and the consequences escalate on a fixed schedule from there.

By September 10, the Sheriff prepares a second delinquent list of real estate still unpaid as of September 1 and publishes it as a legal advertisement in a county newspaper. A $25 fee is added to your lien for the publishing cost. Pay before the advertisement actually runs and that fee drops to $3. Delinquent properties are then certified to the State Auditor on October 31.⁸

Within 90 days after the Auditor’s certification, the tax liens on delinquent properties are sold at public auction. You can redeem the property at any point before a tax deed is issued to the purchaser, but you’ll have to pay the full delinquent taxes, all charges paid at the sale, any subsequent taxes the purchaser paid, reasonable expenses up to $500, and interest at 1 percent per month. If you don’t redeem, the purchaser can eventually obtain a deed to your property after completing the required notice steps. The Sheriff sends certified mail notices to owners and lienholders before the sale, so a delinquent owner does get warning, but by then the added costs are already significant.

1
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 11-3-1 – Time and Basis of Assessments
2
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 11A-1-3 – When Taxes Become Due and Delinquent
3
West Virginia Tax Division. Property Tax Rates
4
Sheriff of Harrison County. Online Tax Record Search
5
Harrison County WV Assessor. General Information
6
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 11-6B-3 – Homestead Exemption
7
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 11-3-24 – Board of Equalization and Review
8
West Virginia Legislature. West Virginia Code 11A-3-2 – Second Publication of Delinquent List and Sale