When is a tax assessment deemed made?

• A. When mailed or sent by the Collector
• B. When the taxpayer pays the tax
• C. When the notice is released, mailed, or sent to the taxpayer
• D. When the prescriptive period expires

Answer: (C)

The key idea is that a tax assessment becomes official when the tax authority issues and serves the notice of assessment to the taxpayer. This means the liability is fixed and the taxpayer’s right to appeal begins as soon as the notice is released, mailed, or sent to them. Service of the notice establishes due process and makes the amount due enforceable.

Why this choice fits best: without the notice being issued and delivered, there’s no formal determination that creates the liability or starts the clock for appeals and enforcement. Merely mailing a bill or having the taxpayer eventually pay does not itself fix the assessment, and the expiration of the prescriptive period does not create the assessment either—it affects timing for actions, not the act of assessment itself.