How property taxes are handled when you sell a Tulsa house

Tulsa County does not prorate property taxes when a house sells. The statement covers the whole year and goes out in November, so the split happens at closing: the title company either collects part from you and part from the buyer and pays the bill, or credits the buyer for your share. If the contract says nothing about it, Oklahoma law puts that year's taxes on the seller when the sale closes after October 1.

Updated October 21, 2026

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Part 1 of 5

When the Tulsa County statement comes and when it is due

The County Assessor certifies the tax rolls to the Treasurer in October, and the Treasurer mails statements in November. The tax is due whether or not a statement reaches you.

You can pay in one payment or in two halves. Two dates matter, and a deadline that lands on a day the county building is closed moves to the next business day.

By December 31: the full amount, or at least the first half
By March 31: the second half, if you paid in halves
Miss the first half and the entire year's tax becomes delinquent on January 1

Part 2 of 5

How the split works at closing

Because the county bills the full year to one owner, the split is handled privately. When taxes are already due, the title company can collect part from the seller and part from the buyer and pay the Treasurer for both. When the year's taxes have not been certified yet and nothing is outstanding, the buyer usually gets a credit at closing for the seller's portion and then pays the whole year.

Your contract decides who pays. Only when it says nothing does the default in 68 O.S. 2912 apply: the taxes become a lien on October 1, and if the house is conveyed after that date the seller pays that year's taxes. A closing between November and March falls after October 1.

Ownership changes made after mid-September do not show on the statement until the following year, so a 2026 statement can still be mailed in your name after a fall sale. Call the Treasurer's office at 918-596-5071 so the new owner receives it, and check your settlement statement to see who agreed to pay.

Part 3 of 5

If taxes from earlier years are unpaid

Delinquent taxes in Oklahoma add 1.5 percent interest a month until paid, and the interest stops growing once it equals the unpaid tax. Once taxes have gone unpaid for three years or more, the house goes to the county resale on the second Monday of June; the next one in Tulsa County is June 14, 2027.

Since November 1, 2025, an owner can pay off the delinquency only until the resale auction starts, not afterward, and the Treasurer issues the buyer a deed within 30 days of the sale. If you are behind, ask the title company to get the exact payoff from the Treasurer before closing so the figure on your settlement statement is current.

Part 4 of 5

Exemptions that end when you sell

The homestead exemption takes $1,000 off the assessed value of the home you live in on January 1. You do not reapply every year, but a deed change or a move means a new application, so apply at your next home by March 15 if it qualifies.

A senior valuation limitation, the freeze on a 65-or-older owner's taxable value, expires when title transfers. It never froze the tax itself, only the valuation.

State Question 847, on the November 3, 2026 ballot, would change Oklahoma's limits on how fast assessed values can rise starting with the 2027 tax year. It does not change the 2026 statement either way.

Part 5 of 5

Before you sign the contract

The contract and the settlement statement are where property taxes get decided, so check both.

Read the property tax clause in the purchase contract and say who pays the current year
Ask the title company whether the year's taxes are certified yet and how they will be handled
Get the payoff for any delinquent years from the Treasurer before closing day
Check the property tax line on the settlement statement before you sign
File for the homestead exemption at your new home before March 15

Questions

Questions about this

I sold my Tulsa house in October. Why is the tax statement in my name?

Ownership changes made after mid-September do not appear on the statement until the following year. Your settlement statement shows who agreed to pay the year's taxes. Call the Treasurer at 918-596-5071 so the new owner receives the statement.

What happens if the first half is not paid by December 31?

The entire year's tax becomes delinquent on January 1 and adds 1.5 percent interest a month. After three or more years unpaid, the property goes to the June resale.

Is this any different for a cash sale?

No. A cash closing still goes through a title company, and the year's taxes are handled the way your contract says, the same as with a financed buyer.

Sources

Where the facts on this page come from, with the date each source was read.

Tulsa County Treasurer: FAQ (proration, ownership changes), read October 21, 2026
Tulsa County Treasurer: tax information and payments, read October 21, 2026
Tulsa County Treasurer: calendar of events, read October 21, 2026
Tulsa County Treasurer: June real estate auction, read October 21, 2026
Oklahoma Statutes, Title 68 (2912, 2913, 3105, 3113, 3131), compiled by the Oklahoma Legislature, read October 21, 2026
Tulsa County Assessor: homestead exemption, read October 21, 2026
Tulsa County Assessor: senior valuation limitation, read October 21, 2026
KGOU: State Question 847, what voters need to know (October 8, 2026), read October 21, 2026

Keep reading

Guides for specific situations

Guide 08Delinquent property taxesTulsa County property taxes go delinquent on January 1 if at least half of the bill has not been paid, and delinquent taxes add 1.5 percent interest a month until the interest equals the tax. Once taxes have gone unpaid for three years, the County Treasurer offers the house at the June resale auction, and since November 2025 the owner can redeem only until that auction starts. Selling before then lets the title company pay every delinquent year out of the sale proceeds at closing, and what is left after the mortgage and other liens goes to you.
Guide 01Inherited a houseHow you sell an inherited Tulsa house depends on how it was left to you. If the owner recorded a transfer-on-death deed, the beneficiary files an affidavit with the Tulsa County Clerk and can sell without probate. Otherwise a personal representative appointed by Tulsa County District Court handles the sale, and Oklahoma normally requires the court to confirm it before title passes. A cash buyer can sign a contract that waits for that confirmation, which suits estates that need time.
Guide 02Behind on paymentsFalling behind on a Tulsa mortgage does not mean the house is already gone. Oklahoma lenders usually foreclose through court, and even after a judgment the house goes to a sheriff's sale that the judge still has to confirm. Until that confirmation you can pay off the loan, and a cash sale is one way to do it: the buyer's money pays the lender at closing, and what is left after costs goes to you.