"When Are Wyoming Property Taxes Due? The November Half, the May Half and the December 31 Date That Waives Interest"

You can close on a home in Cheyenne in July, get the keys, and still be weeks away from that year's property tax bill being printed. Laramie County's treasurer mails its notices on the last business day of August. When yours goes out, it will most likely carry the seller's name, because Wyoming assesses each property to whoever owned it on January 1.

Wyoming splits each year's property tax into two halves. The first half is paid by November 10 and the second half by May 10 of the following year, and if you pay the whole year on or before December 31, the county charges no interest or penalty. If your loan has an escrow account, it has to hold enough to pay both halves on time.

I'm Jeff Moran, a mortgage broker in Bluffton, South Carolina, originating since 1996, licensed in fifteen states, including Wyoming, NMLS #483943, through C2 Financial Corporation. A Wyoming closing in the summer or fall lands in the middle of the county's tax year, so it helps to see the whole calendar before you sign.

When are property taxes due in Wyoming?

The schedule comes from the state's own statute. Under Wyo. Stat. § 39-13-107(b)(i)(D), fifty percent of the taxes "are due on and after September 1 and payable on and after November 10," and the remaining fifty percent are "due on and after March 1 and payable on and after May 10 of the succeeding calendar year." The same paragraph says: "If the entire tax is paid on or before December 31, no interest or penalty is chargeable."

The county treasurers put the same dates in everyday words on their own pages. Natrona County's billing page lists the first installment on November 10 and the second on May 10, with the option to pay the full year by December 31. Teton County's tax payment page says the first installment is delinquent after November 10 and the second after May 10.

For one Wyoming tax year, the calendar runs like this:

1. January 1. The property is valued and assessed to the owner of record on that date, under Wyo. Stat. § 39-13-103.
2. Late August to early October. The county treasurer mails the tax notice. Laramie County mails on the last business day of August, Teton County by the first week of October, and Natrona County on or by October 10.
3. November 10. The first half has to be paid to avoid interest.
4. December 31. If you pay the whole year by this date, no interest or penalty is charged, even on the first half.
5. May 10 of the next year. The second half has to be paid to avoid interest.

A Wyoming tax year is the calendar year, and its second half is paid in May of the year after. So the bill you pay in May 2027 is the second half of 2026.

The December 31 date and the first half

December 31 gives you a second way to pay the first half without interest. Laramie County's assessment calendar describes the first installment as delinquent after November 10 unless all of the year's taxes are paid by December 31. Teton County says the same thing in its own words: no interest is assessed on the first installment if the full year is paid in one payment on or before December 31.

If you pay the tax yourself, you have two ways to do it. You can pay half in November and half in May, which spreads the cost across two seasons. Or you can pay the whole year at once at any point through December 31, and the county treats the first half as if it had been paid on time.

Interest starts after those dates. Carbon County's tax payment page says taxes not paid by the payable date, meaning November 10 for the first half and May 10 for the second, become delinquent the next day and accrue interest at 18 percent per year. Teton County's page names the same 18 percent figure for payments received after the delinquent date.

Whose name is on the Wyoming tax notice after you close?

The notice goes to the owner of record on January 1 of the tax year. Natrona County says that if your home was purchased and the deed was recorded after January 1, the bill will appear in the previous owner's name, and you may not receive one. The county asks you to contact the treasurer's office for a copy.

Not getting the paper does not move the dates. Natrona County states that taxpayers are responsible for payment of taxes regardless of billing, and that late payments are charged interest. So on any closing after January 1, I would plan on the first notice you see for that year being one you looked up or asked for.

The deed and the other closing papers are what put your name on the county's records for next year. Wyoming's Statement of Consideration is one of those papers, and the county clerk will not record your deed without it.

A summer or fall closing on the Wyoming tax calendar

Your closing month decides which half is still open when you get the keys.

A closing from about June through August. This year's notice has not been mailed, and both halves are still ahead. Your settlement statement shows how the year's tax was split between you and the seller. Your title company is the office that can read that line back to you and tell you who is expected to pay in November and in May.

A closing in September, October or early November. The notice may already be out in the seller's name, and November 10 is close. Before closing, I would ask your title officer whether the first half is being paid at closing, credited to you, or left for you or your servicer, the company that collects your monthly payment, to pay.

A closing from mid-November through early May. The first half should already be paid, and the May half is the one in front of you. The settlement statement again shows how it was handled.

Wyoming closings are commonly handled by title companies, and the Wyoming mortgage page covers the recording fees and the title side of a closing here.

Your escrow account and the two Wyoming payments

An escrow account is the account your servicer uses to pay your property tax and homeowners insurance for you. Each monthly payment includes roughly one twelfth of the yearly tax. The servicer then pays the county when each half comes due. How an escrow account collects for taxes and insurance walks through the whole mechanism.

In Wyoming, servicers usually pay twice a year. Uinta County's mortgage company payments page says mortgage companies send the tax payments in November and May. The same page explains that Wyoming law requires the treasurer to send a statement to every owner, even when a mortgage company is paying. If your tax is escrowed, the copy you receive is for your information.

If your tax is escrowed, you can keep that copy for your records, because your servicer pays the bill. Carbon County says that if both the mortgage company and the owner pay, it applies the first payment received and sends back the duplicate. Paying it yourself would tie up your money until that refund arrives.

The escrow deposit at closing

After a summer closing, only a few monthly payments reach the account before November 10, and on that date the county wants half of the year's tax. The monthly deposits alone cannot get there in time.

The deposit you make into escrow at closing fills that gap. Federal rules let the servicer add a cushion on top, and 12 CFR § 1024.17 caps that cushion at one sixth of the estimated total yearly payments out of the account. The servicer runs the actual figure for your file, and it appears on your closing disclosure as the initial escrow payment at closing.

If your first full year's tax comes in different from the figure the account was built on, the yearly escrow analysis adjusts your payment. Wyoming's homeowner exemption is one of the things that can move that figure, and claiming the Wyoming homeowner exemption after you buy explains which tax year a mid-year closing can reach.

Paying the Wyoming tax yourself

Some conventional loans allow you to pay your own taxes and insurance, and whether you can skip the escrow account covers when a lender will consider it and what it usually costs. If you pay the tax directly, the December 31 rule is yours to use.

1. When the notice is mailed, you can look up your parcel with the county treasurer. If the bill is in the seller's name, a call to the treasurer will get you a copy.
2. By November 10, you pay the first half, or you decide to pay the whole year later.
3. By December 31, you pay the whole year if you chose that route, with no interest on the first half.
4. By May 10, you pay the second half if you paid only the first half in November.

If you would rather have nothing due in May, paying the whole year by December 31 gives you one date to remember instead of two.

Mistakes that are easy to avoid

Waiting for a notice in your own name. On a closing after January 1, the bill for that year is in the seller's name. Natrona County asks you to contact the treasurer for a copy, and the dates run whether the paper reaches you or not.

Reading December 31 as the first-half due date. December 31 waives interest on the first half only when the whole year is paid by then. If you pay only the first half and pay it after November 10, it is late, and interest runs from November 11.

Paying an escrowed bill a second time. If your servicer is paying, the notice that comes to you is informational. In Carbon County a duplicate payment is returned, which only delays getting your own money back.

Assuming the servicer already has your parcel. On a brand-new loan, the servicer's records are new too. I would call your servicer in late October and ask whether it has your Wyoming parcel and plans to pay the first half by November 10.

A made-up example of a summer closing in Wyoming

Numbers below are made up to show the mechanism. The tax amount is invented, the insurance side of the account is left out, and nothing here is a Wyoming average or a quote.

A client closes on a home outside Casper on July 15. The yearly property tax on the home is $3,600, so the escrow portion of each monthly payment for tax is $300. Her first payment is due September 1.

Yearly property tax (invented)              $3,600
First half, paid by November 10             $1,800
Second half, paid by May 10                 $1,800
                                            ------
Monthly tax deposits, Sept through Nov        $900
Shortfall at November 10                      $900

The deposit she makes into escrow at closing covers that $900, plus whatever cushion the servicer sets, up to the one-sixth limit. From December through May she makes six more payments, $1,800 for tax, which matches the May half. After that, the yearly analysis checks the account against what the county actually billed.

If she had waived escrow, she could pay $1,800 in November and $1,800 in May, or pay $3,600 at once by December 31. The county would charge no interest either way.

Planning a Wyoming purchase around the tax calendar

A Wyoming pre-approval is where I review your income, debts and credit with your documents in hand, and the property tax line in your payment is built from the county's figure for the address. If you are looking around Cheyenne, the Cheyenne page covers what is particular to Laramie County.

You can run your numbers and see rates for your scenario, your debt ratio and your closing costs. Choose the option that works best for you. If you would rather talk it through first, you are welcome to call me, and we can go over how the November and May halves fit your escrow account and your first year in the home.

Nothing here is a loan approval, a denial, a commitment to lend, or tax or legal advice. The county treasurer bills and collects the tax, and your title company and closing papers show how it was handled on your purchase.

Common questions

When are property taxes due in Wyoming?

Wyoming property tax is paid in two halves. Under Wyo. Stat. § 39-13-107, the first half is payable on and after November 10 and the second half on and after May 10 of the following year. County treasurers such as Natrona and Teton treat those as the dates to pay by. If the whole year is paid on or before December 31, no interest or penalty is charged.

Can I pay my whole Wyoming property tax bill at once?

Yes. You can pay the full year at any point through December 31, and the statute says no interest or penalty is chargeable when the entire tax is paid by then. Laramie and Teton counties both say that this also waives interest on the first half. If you pay only half, the second half is due by May 10.

I just bought a Wyoming home. Will the tax bill come to me or the seller?

The bill goes to the owner of record on January 1 of the tax year. Natrona County says that when a deed is recorded after January 1, the bill appears in the previous owner's name, and the new owner may not receive one. You can ask the county treasurer for a copy, and the tax is still due on the same dates.

What is the interest rate on late Wyoming property taxes?

Carbon County says unpaid taxes become delinquent the day after the payable date and accrue interest at 18 percent per year. Teton County's page states the same 18 percent figure for payments received after the delinquent date. Your county treasurer can give you the exact amount owed on your parcel.

Does my mortgage company pay my Wyoming property taxes?

If your loan has an escrow account, your servicer pays the tax from it. Uinta County says mortgage companies pay in November and May, and that Wyoming law still requires the treasurer to send each owner a statement, which is informational when the tax is escrowed. After a new closing, it helps to confirm with your servicer that it has your parcel before November 10.