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§11A-1-1. Definition of terms.
The words tax, taxes, taxable and taxation as used in this chapter shall, unless otherwise specified, be applicable to all levies on real or personal property made by any of the taxing units named in section four, article eight, chapter eleven of this code.

The words land or lands or tract or tracts of lands, or lot or lots, or real estate, or real property, or part or parcel of a tract or lot, or estate or estates in land, as used in this chapter, shall be deemed to include an undivided interest in any freehold estate in land.

§11A-1-2. Lien for real property taxes.
There shall be a lien on all real property for the taxes assessed thereon, and for the interest and other charges upon such taxes, at the rate and for the period provided by law, which lien shall attach on the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred sixty-one, and each July first thereafter for the taxes payable for the ensuing fiscal year.

§11A-1-3. Accrual; time for payment; interest on delinquent taxes.
(a) All current taxes assessed on real and personal property may be paid in two installments. The first installment shall be payable on September first of the year for which the assessment is made, and shall become delinquent on October first; the second installment shall be payable on the first day of the following March and shall become delinquent on April first. Taxes paid on or before the date when they are payable, including both first and second installments, shall be subject to a discount of two and one- half percent. If taxes are not paid on or before the date on which they become delinquent, including both first and second installments, interest at the rate of nine percent per annum shall be added from the date they become delinquent until paid.

(b) With regard to real and personal property taxes, when any return, claim, statement or other document is required to be filed, or any payment is required to be made within a prescribed period or before a prescribed date, and the applicable law requires delivery to the office of the sheriff of a county of this state, the methods prescribed in section five-f, article ten, chapter eleven of this code for timely filing and payment to the tax commissioner or department of tax and revenue shall be the same methods utilized for timely filing and payment with such sheriff. Nothing contained in this subsection (b) shall prohibit the sheriff from establishing additional methods of payment in accordance with the provisions of section eight-a of this article.

§11A-1-4. Collection by sheriff.
The sheriff, as ex officio county treasurer, shall collect all taxes levied in his county. For this purpose he shall have an office at the county seat, which shall be kept open daily during business hours.

§11A-1-5. Appointment of collector; bond.
The county court may appoint a collector in any county when necessary to collect such taxes. The collector shall have a reasonable time for making collections and accounting therefor. Before acting, he shall execute an official bond, in the penalty of not less than five thousand dollars, to be approved by the county court, and filed with the clerk thereof. All provisions of this chapter in respect to the rights, duties and liabilities of the sheriff shall be applicable to the collector, should one be appointed.

§11A-1-6. When collection to commence.
The sheriff shall commence collection of current taxes on the fifteenth day of July, or as soon thereafter as he receives copies of the land and personal property books.

§11A-1-7. No collection of current taxes until delinquent taxes are paid.
The sheriff, in preparing his or her tax receipts for any current year shall examine and compare them with the delinquent list for the preceding year in his or her hands, and if any tract or personal property is found to be delinquent for the preceding year, he or she shall note the fact on his or her current receipts and shall decline to receive current taxes on any land or personal property where it appears to his or her office that a prior year's taxes are unpaid. Acceptance of current taxes through oversight shall not relieve the owner of any land or personal property, of the liability to pay prior taxes and penalties imposed for nonpayment.

§11A-1-8. Notice of time and place for payment; mailing of tax

tickets.
(a) The sheriff may give notice by posting at not less than six public places in each magisterial district, for at least ten days before the time appointed, that between the fifteenth day of July and the thirty-first day of August he will attend at one or more of the most public and convenient places in each district, such places to be specified in the notice, for the purpose of receiving taxes due by the people residing or paying taxes in such district. The notice shall also state that those who pay the first installment of their taxes on or before the first day of September will be entitled to a discount of two and one-half percent. Like notice may be given that between the fifteenth day of January and the twenty-eighth day of February he will again appear in each district for the collection of taxes, and that those who pay their second installment on or before the first day of March will be entitled to the same discount. Failure of the sheriff to post such lists shall not impair the right to collect such taxes, the right to collect any interest or penalty imposed as a result of the failure to pay such taxes or the methods of enforcing the payment of such taxes, interest or penalty.

The county commission of any county may order that the above notice shall also be given by advertisement. Such an order, once entered, shall continue in effect until rescinded by the county commission. Upon entry of such order, the sheriff shall, besides posting as required above, publish the proper notice as a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such publication shall be the county. Such notice shall be so published within fourteen consecutive days next preceding the fifteenth day of July or the fifteenth day of January as the case may be. For every failure so to advertise, the sheriff shall forfeit one hundred dollars.

Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, the sheriff shall send to every person owing real or personal property taxes a copy of such taxpayers annual tax ticket or tickets showing what tax is due and how such tax may be paid. Such copy shall be sent to the last known address of such taxpayer by first class United States mail.

Failure of the sheriff to send or failure of the taxpayer to receive such copy shall not impair the right to collect such taxes, the right to collect any interest or penalty imposed as a result of the failure to pay such taxes or the method of enforcing the payment of such taxes, interest or penalty.

At such time as the sheriff prepares the delinquent list for real property, he shall compare such list with a copy of the landbooks most recently delivered by the assessor to the board of review and equalization pursuant to section nineteen, article three, chapter eleven of this code. The assessor shall make a copy of said landbooks available to the sheriff. If property on the delinquent list should appear as a transfer on said landbooks with the delinquent owner as the transferor, the sheriff shall send to the transferee at his last known address by first class United States mail a copy of the annual tax ticket or tickets showing what taxes are due upon the real property of such transferee and how they may be paid as prescribed in this section.

Failure of the sheriff to send or failure of the taxpayer to receive such copy shall not impair the right to collect such taxes, the right to collect any interest or penalty imposed as a result of the failure to pay such taxes or the method of enforcing the payment of such taxes, interest or penalty.

(b) In addition to the notice of real or property taxes owed, provided in this section, the county commission of any county may order that the sheriff include in the mailing notice of any taxes or other fees owed to the county or a municipality in the county.

(c) (1) The sheriff may accept credit cards in payment of any of the taxes, interest or penalty described in this section. The type of credit card accepted shall be at the discretion of the sheriff.

(2) The sheriff may set a fee to be added to each credit card transaction equal to the charge paid by the state, county, sheriff or taxpayer for the use of the credit card by the taxpayer. Except for fees imposed pursuant to this subdivision, no other fees for the use of a credit card may be imposed upon the taxpayer.

(3) Except as provided in subsection (a) of this section, in no event shall the sheriff discount or otherwise reduce the tax liability of a taxpayer who has elected to use a credit card for the payment of the tax liability.

(d) The tax commissioner may promulgate legislative rules to provide for the payment of tax liability by installment payments other than those prescribed in subsection (a) of this section.

§11A-1-8a. Providing for payment at banking institutions.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this code the sheriff, with the consent of the county commission, may enter into a contract with one or more banking institutions, as defined in section two, article one, chapter thirty-one-a of this code, doing business in the county for the purpose of receiving payment of property taxes.

Any such contract shall specify the manner in which all taxes received shall be paid to the sheriff and a method for verification by the sheriff and the county commission of all amounts received pursuant to the contract. The contract may provide for the payment of a reasonable fee for the provision of such services by the banking institution.

Nothing herein may be construed to affect the amount of the commission due the sheriff provided for in section seventeen of this article.

§11A-1-9. Payment of taxes by co-owner or other interested party; lien.
Any owner of real estate whose interest is not subject to separate assessment, or any person having a lien on the land, or on an undivided interest therein, or any other person having an interest in the land, or in an undivided interest therein, which he desires to protect, shall be allowed to pay the whole, but not a part, of the taxes assessed thereon. Any co-owner of real estate whose interest is subject to separate assessment shall be allowed at his election to pay the taxes either on his own interest alone or in addition thereto upon the interest of any or all of his co-owners. If his own or any other interest less than the whole, on which he desires to pay the taxes, was included in a group assessment, he must before payment have the group assessment split and must secure from the assessor and present to the sheriff a certificate setting forth the changes made in the assessment. The sheriff shall make the necessary changes in his records, prepare new tax bills to conform thereto, and then deliver the certificate to the clerk of the county court, who shall note the changes on his records.

One who pays taxes on the interest of any other person shall be subrogated to the lien of the state upon such interest. He shall lose his right to the lien, however, unless within thirty days after payment he shall file with the clerk of the county court his claim in writing against the owner of such interest, together with the tax receipt or a duplicate thereof. The clerk shall docket the claim on the judgment lien docket in his office and properly index the same. Such lien may be enforced as other judgment liens are enforced.

§11A-1-10. Payment by owner of part of tract or lot assessed to another.
Any person owning a part of a tract or lot, the whole of which was assessed in the name of another, shall be allowed to pay the taxes on such part upon complying with the provisions of this section. He must before payment obtain from the clerk of the county court a certificate of the transfer of title to him, which certificate shall contain such information concerning the transfer as is required for each transfer included in the certified list provided for in section eight, article four, chapter eleven of this code. On the basis of the information in this certificate, he must then have the assessment split and must secure from the assessor and present to the sheriff a certificate setting forth the changes made in the assessment. The sheriff shall make the necessary changes in his records, prepare new tax bills to conform thereto, and then deliver the certificate to the clerk of the county court who shall note the changes on his records.

§11A-1-11. Payment by fiduciary.
When a tax is paid by a fiduciary on any property under his control, or on the income of such property, the tax shall be refunded out of the property or its income.

§11A-1-12. Receipt for taxes.
The sheriff or his deputy shall deliver to the person paying any taxes a written or printed receipt therefor, and shall retain for his records the stub or duplicate of such receipt. The receipt and the stub or duplicate shall specify the total value of personal property; the number of acres of land, and the number of town lots, with the valuation of each tract or lot separately charged; and shall show the total amount of the aggregate tax paid for state, school, county, municipal, district, and any other purpose for which levied. The officer receiving payment shall sign each receipt in his own handwriting. The sheriff shall furnish to each taxpayer a statement showing the levies laid for each class of taxable property in each taxing district of the county when requested so to do by the taxpayer. The sheriff shall cause a statement of the levies, as aforesaid, to be posted at the front door of the courthouse and at two conspicuous places in his office, but failure to post such statement shall in no wise affect the rights of the state, or any of its agencies, to collect such taxes. The tax commissioner may prescribe uniform tax statements and receipts, not inconsistent herewith, for use in all counties of the state.

§11A-1-13. Accounts to be kept by sheriff.

The sheriff shall keep separate accounts in a permanent book or in a permanent record on an electronic data processing system, in form prescribed by the tax commissioner, of all the taxes received and disbursed by him or her, for the different purposes for which the taxes were levied. Each of the accounts shall be kept so as to show the total receipts and disbursements up to the close of business on each day; and in a separate column opposite the totals the sheriff shall ascertain and note in figures, at the close of each day's transactions, the balance due from or to him or her, as the case may be, on account of the funds. The account book or a printout of the permanent record on the electronic data processing system is subject to inspection at any time by the tax commissioner, members of the county commission, the clerk of the county commission, the prosecuting attorney, the mayor or treasurer of any municipality or the treasurer of the county board of education. The tax commissioner shall promulgate rules in

accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code requiring that printouts of the permanent record on the electronic data processing system be made on a periodic basis and that those printouts be stored in a safe and secure manner, so that they are protected from fire damage.

§11A-1-14. Payment by sheriff into state treasury.
All taxes collected for the state shall be paid into the state treasury by the sheriff as follows: On or before November fifteenth, all such taxes collected before November first; on or before April fifteenth, all collected before April first. Every sheriff who fails to make any payment when due shall be charged with interest at the rate of twelve per cent per annum.

§11A-1-15. Payment by sheriff to municipal and county board of education treasuries.
Each month the sheriff shall pay all moneys collected for any municipal corporation and the county board of education into the respective treasuries of such municipal corporation and county board of education, payment to be made on or before the tenth day of each month of all moneys collected during the preceding month for such municipal corporation and the county board of education: Provided, That the sheriff shall not be required to make such monthly payments to the county board of education, if the county board has designated the sheriff as its treasurer pursuant to section six, article nine, chapter eighteen of this code. For the faithful performance of this duty, he shall execute a bond, to be approved by the municipal council or board of education, in the penalty to be fixed by the council or board, not to exceed the amount of municipal or school taxes which it is estimated he will collect within any period of two months. The premium on such bond shall be paid by the municipality or board of education. Every sheriff who fails to make any payment when due shall be charged with interest at the rate of twelve percent a year.

§11A-1-16. Sheriff charged with all levies; final settlement.
The sheriff shall be charged each year with all taxes levied in his county. On or before August first of the following year, he shall make a final settlement with each taxing unit and account for all taxes assessed for the preceding year. In the settlement, he shall be credited with all such taxes collected and paid over by him to or on account of the taxing unit. He shall also be credited with all such taxes listed as delinquent as provided in the following article. The remainder of the taxes assessed for the preceding year shall be accounted for by him as if they had been collected before the delinquent lists were prepared.

§11A-1-17. Sheriff's commission for collection.

After the sheriff has collected eighty-five percent of the combined total of all taxes assessed on real and personal property, he shall, in addition to the salary and compensation now authorized by law, be allowed a commission as follows: Two and one-half percent on the remainder of the taxes actually collected up to ninety percent of the combined total of all taxes assessed on real and personal property, three and one-half percent of the remainder collected above ninety percent and up to ninety-five percent of the combined total of all taxes assessed on real and personal property, and five percent on the remainder of taxes collected above ninety-five percent of the combined total of all taxes assessed on real and personal property. In all cases the taxes collected on which any commission shall be paid will be exclusive of interest and charges thereon, if the collection be made before the delinquent list has been approved by the county commission: Provided, That the total amount of commissions paid to any sheriff shall not exceed the sum of fifteen thousand dollars in any one year. The commission so allowed shall be determined by the county commission and charged against the various funds for which the taxes are collected.

§11A-1-18. Exception.
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections two, three, six, eight and fourteen of this article, the provisions of this article as of January first, one thousand nine hundred sixty-one, shall govern the accrual and collection of taxes levied upon assessed values as of January first, one thousand nine hundred sixty-one, or prior years.

Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2012 1st Special Session