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This website has been created to assist
you in understanding the origin of the non-residential System Benefit Charge (SBC)
and how it impacts you. Should you
have any additional questions, or if you would like to estimate your SBC, please
contact our customer service center at the following number 301-952-7635.
If you know your Building Type and Enclosed Area you can estimate your SBC.
To file for reconsideration please click
here and download the form.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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What is the SBC?
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What is the background of the SBC?
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What costs are covered by the
SBC?
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What are some benefits of the
SBC?
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Who pays the SBC? How
is it determined?
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How can I estimate my SBC?
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My property is residential.
Why is it being assessed a SBC?
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When does the SBC take effect?
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When do I pay my SBC?
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Why did I receive a new or revised
Tax Bill with an SBC during the fiscal year?
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What can I do if I disagree with
my Building Type or Enclosed Area?
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If I receive a Tax Bill
at the beginning of the fiscal year, how long do I have to request reconsideration? |
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If I received a new Tax Bill
during the fiscal year with an SBC, how long do I have to request reconsideration? |
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When will my reconsideration
request be reviewed? |
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If I have requested
reconsideration, am I still required to pay the solid waste charge (SBC) shown on
my County Tax Bill? |
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How much is the interest rate? |
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How long would it take
to receive a refund? |
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How can I find out
about the status of my reconsideration? |
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My property doesn't generate
that much waste. Why am I being charged at the High (or Medium) rate? |
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What if my property cannot be
occupied because it has been declared unfit or unsafe to occupy? |
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What if I have questions
about other parts of the County Tax Bill? |
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If I pay my SBC will the County
collect my garbage? |
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Do I have to pay my SBC if
I contract for garbage service that disposes of my waste outside of the County? |
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Find Your Building's Enclosed
Area |
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Forms/Documents |
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What
is the SBC?
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The SBC is a fee paid by all non-residential property
owners in Prince George's County that will help provide funding for building and
maintaining waste disposal systems. The SBC is a service charge and not a
tax, and therefore also applies to establishments located on tax-exempt land.
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What
is the background of the SBC?
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In November 2000, the voters of Prince George's County
approved County Council Bill 61-2000 authorizing the SBC, which
requires non-residential properties and those properties with non-residential uses
to assume an equitable share of responsibility for revenues to support the County's
solid waste management infrastructure. This Bill was subsequently amended
with County Council Bill 12-2002 and providing
further clarifications of applicability.
The County is obligated to provide safe, environmentally
sound disposal of all wastes generated here. The County achieves this by developing
landfills, recycling facilities, transfer stations and assuring the environmentally
sound closure and monitoring of closed facilities.
Up to now, the County has developed an effective solid waste management infrastructure
using, in part, bond issues and residential solid waste charges to meet its financial
obligations.
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What
costs are covered by the SBC?
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The SBC funds the costs that are not covered by tipping
fees, such as costs involved in acquiring and building solid waste disposal sites.
Tipping fees, which are paid at disposal facilities, pay the cost of operations.
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What are some benefits of the SBC?
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The Special Assessment tax rate for residential properties
will be reduced.
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It ensures revenue stability to maintain the County's
high quality credit ratings that will result in long-term savings for the County.
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Who pays the SBC? How is it determined? |
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The SBC is levied on all properties that have a non-residential
use. The SBC assessment is based on the size of the Enclosed Area on your property
and the estimated amount of waste generated by your land use (Building Type).
Building Types are assigned to one of three generator
categories — Low, Medium or High — based on the amount of waste generated per year.
The waste generator categories with
the corresponding land use (Building Type) are listed in the table below. Each category
has its own SBC Rate:
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Generator Category
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Building Type
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Low |
Armory, Bank (main office), Bank (mini office), Bowling
Alley, Branch Post Office, Center Unit, Church, City Club, Classroom, Cold Storage,
Computer Center, Condo Garage, Condo Townhouse, Condominium, Convalescent Hospital,
Country Club, Discount Warehouse, End Unit, Finish (neighborhood shopping center),
Finish (regional shopping center), Fire Station (staffed), Fire Station (volunteer),
Fraternal Building, Fraternity, Garage (storage), Government Building, Group Home
Care, Gymnasium, Handball/Racquetball Club, Hangar, Health Club, High School, Home
for Elderly, Hospital (general), Hotel, Indoor Tennis Club, Industrial (research/engineering),
Interior Industrial Office Space, Jail, Laboratory Building, Library, Manual Arts
Building, Mega Warehouse, Mini-Warehouse, Mobile Home, Mortuary, Motel, Multiple
Residence, Multipurpose School Building, Other (Low), Office Building, Passenger
Terminal, Post Office Main, Rectory, Restroom Building, School, Shower Building,
Skating Rink, Split Foyer, Split Level, Standard Unit, Storage Hangar, T-Hangar,
Veterinary Hospital, Warehouse (distribution), Warehouse (storage), Warehouse (transit) |
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Medium |
Auditorium, Bank (branch), Beauty/Barber Shop, Club House,
Dairy Sales, Day Care Center, Dental Clinic, Department Store, Discount Store, Dispensary,
Dormitory, Garage (service), Industrial (heavy manufacturing), Industrial (manufacturing),
Industrial Flex, Laundromat, Loft, Medical Office Building, Mini-Lube, Other (Medium),
Shell (community shopping center), Shell (light industrial), Shell (neighborhood
shopping center), Shell (regional shopping center), Shopping Center (community),
Shopping Center (neighborhood), Shopping Center (regional), Surgical Center, Theater |
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High |
Auto Dealership, Automobile Show Room, Automotive Center,
Convenience Store, Food Booth, House, Mall (covered), Mall (enclosed), Mall (open),
Market, Mixed Retail/Residential, Other (High), Restaurant, Restaurant (fast
food), Retail Store, Service Station, Special Use, Tavern |
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My property is residential. Why is it being assessed a SBC? |
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There are exceptions but residences should be charged
the residential solid waste charges rather than the SBC. Please either submit
a Reconsideration Form
or contact the Customer Service Center to initiate an investigation.
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When
does the SBC take effect?
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The SBC became effective July 1, 2001. So non-residential
property owners, including those that are tax-exempt, can expect to see this charge
on their annual County Tax Bill.
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When
do I pay my SBC?
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The SBC charge should be paid at the same time as your
County Tax Bill.
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Why did
I receive a new or revised Tax Bill with an SBC during the fiscal year? |
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You may have received a new or revised Tax Bill during
the fiscal year for one of two reasons:
- You requested reconsideration and it was approved,
or
- The State Department of Assessments and Taxation certified
new or updated property account information to the DER that affected your SBC.
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What
can I do if I disagree with my Building Type or Enclosed Area?
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If you are an owner of a non-residential property and
you believe that the Enclosed Area assigned by the State Department of Assessments and Taxation or the Building
Type is incorrect, reconsideration can be requested. Use the
Reconsideration Form provided by the Department of Environmental Resources.
You may also request a copy of the Reconsideration Form by calling the Customer
Service Center at 301-952-7635. Alternatively, you can pick one up at the
Department of Environmental Resources Office, 9400 Peppercorn Place, Suite 500,
Largo, MD 20774. Please note that once reconsideration is requested, it cannot
be withdrawn.
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If I receive a Tax Bill at the beginning of the fiscal year, how long do I have
to request reconsideration?
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Your request must be received on or before August 31.
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If I receive a Tax Bill during the fiscal year with an SBC, how long do I have to
request reconsideration?
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The reconsideration period for new Tax Bills closes on
August 31st. Use the Reconsideration
Form provided by the Department of Environmental Resources. You may
also request a copy of the Reconsideration Form by calling the Customer Service
Center at 301-952-7635. Alternatively, you can pick one up at the Department of
Environmental Resources Office, 9400 Peppercorn Place, Suite 500, Largo, MD 20774.
Please note that once reconsideration is requested, it cannot be withdrawn.
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When will my reconsideration request be reviewed?
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DER Staff members have been specifically assigned to the
task of evaluating and responding to requests for reconsideration. They will
be processed in the order in which they are received. Unfortunately, at this
time, the total volume of reconsideration requests varies and therefore, an estimate
of the processing time cannot be determined.
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If I have requested reconsideration, am I still required to pay the solid waste
charge shown on my County Tax Bill?
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Yes. Your reconsideration request will be processed,
and should it be successful, you will receive a refund of any overpayment.
Please be aware that should you not pay the SBC, interest will accrue beginning
October 1.
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How
much is the interest rate?
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Interest is charged at the rate of about 20% per annum.
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How long would it take to receive a refund?
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You should receive a refund after a six to eight week
period following the reconsideration determination.
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How can I find out about the status of my reconsideration?
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Any property owner or authorized agent filing for reconsideration
will receive a written confirmation of its receipt with a reconsideration number.
Your 7-digit account number can be used to track the status of the reconsideration
by calling the Customer Service Center at 301-952-7635.
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My property
doesn't generate that much waste. Why am I being charged at the High (or Medium)
rate? |
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The SBC has been established to fund the costs of providing
a solid waste disposal system, which is required by Maryland law. The SBC
does not cover the cost of actual disposal of waste. SBC revenues are used
to make disposal facilities available. The County has conducted studies of
actual waste generation from non-residential properties, and has classified them
according to their potential for waste generation. Although your business
or activity may not currently generate as much waste as other may, it has the potential
to do so. It is the most equitable method of distributing the costs of providing
the solid waste system.
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What if my property cannot be occupied because it has been declared unfit or unsafe
to occupy.
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The SBC can be suspended for properties that cannot be
occupied because of a governmental order. Please submit a
Reconsideration Form and attach a copy of the order.
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What if I have questions about other parts of the County Tax Bill?
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Questions about other parts of the County Tax Bill should
be directed to the list of telephone numbers on the back of the County
Tax Bill.
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If I pay my SBC will the County collect my garbage?
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No. You are still responsible for contracting for
private waste service if your account is non-residential.
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Do I have to pay my SBC if I contract for
garbage service that disposes of my waste outside of the County?
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Yes. The SBC is applied to buildings that can "generate waste" in the County. Therefore, you must pay your SBC even if your
waste is disposed of outside of the County.
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Find Your Building's Enclosed Area |
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Proceed to the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, Real Property System
to determine your Enclosed Area.
Instructions for navigating through the Real Property System to find your enclosed
area are below in PDF format.
You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the document below. If you do not
have Acrobat Reader, you may download it free from the Adobe Website. Scroll down the main Adobe web page
until you see the "Get Acrobat Reader" icon as pictured here.
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Forms/Documents |
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You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader
to view the documents below. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you may download
it free from the Adobe Website.
Scroll down the main Adobe web page until you see the "Get Acrobat Reader" icon
as pictured here.
View the County Council Bill 50-2002
View the County
Council Bill 12-2002
View the
County Council Bill 61-2000
View a sample County Tax Bill
View a sample Certificate
of Occupancy
Reconsideration Form
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