Two homes inside Haleyville's city limits can pay the same 10-mill city levy and still get different property tax bills from different courthouses. Most of the city sits in Winston County, and its west side lies in Marion County, according to the Encyclopedia of Alabama. The latest millage table from the Alabama Department of Revenue, labeled October 2025, adds up to 38 mills for the Winston County side and 34 mills for the Marion County side.
The four-mill gap is only part of it. The two sides also pay for different things. Winston's stack includes two mills earmarked for a hospital, and that hospital changed its federal designation in November 2025, then took a county loan, a regional partnership and a state grant in 2026. Marion's stack includes three mills for county fire departments. If you're comparing two Haleyville listings, the county line tells you the size of the tax bill and which local institution it supports.
The paperwork splits before the tax bill does
For a buyer, the county line shows up before the first tax bill does, because each county keeps its own records and tax offices in its own courthouse town.
On the Winston side, the Probate Judge's office is at the courthouse at 11 Blake Drive in Double Springs, according to the Winston County court directory. The Winston County Revenue Commissioner works out of the courthouse annex, also in Double Springs, according to the state's county office listing.
On the Marion side, everything runs through Hamilton. The Marion County Courthouse is at 132 Military St. S., and in-person property tax payments are made there. The county's Property Tax Office also takes payments online and lists its main phone as 205-921-3561. The Probate Judge keeps Marion County's records, and the county offers online access to recorded documents.
The homestead exemption follows the same split. The Alabama Department of Revenue's homestead page says to apply at your local county office. It defines a homestead as an owner-occupied primary residence lived in on the first day of the tax year. A Haleyville buyer on the west side who heads to Double Springs to file is at the wrong courthouse.
Where the four mills come from
A mill is one dollar of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value, so four mills works out to $4 per $1,000 of assessed value before any exemptions. Here are the two stacks side by side, taken from the October 2025 state table:
| Levy | Winston County side | Marion County side |
|---|---|---|
| State | 6.5 | 6.5 |
| County general fund | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| County road and bridge | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| County hospital | 2.0 | none |
| County fire protection | none | 3.0 |
| School | 12.0 | 7.0 |
| Haleyville municipal | 10.0 | 10.0 |
| Total | 38.0 | 34.0 |
The state rows match, and so do the city rows. Most of the gap is school millage. Winston's 12 school mills combine a 9-mill countywide levy with a 3-mill Haleyville district levy, and Marion lists 7 mills for its Haleyville district. The Marion table also notes that 3 of Haleyville's 10 municipal mills go to education.
The county rows are where the two sides go different ways. Winston charges two mills for a hospital and Marion charges three for fire protection. Each of those lines has its own history.
Two mills with a hospital behind them
The Winston hospital levy goes back more than 50 years. According to the Northwest Alabamian, Winston County voters approved a four-mill property tax in 1965 to support Burdick West Memorial Hospital, which opened in Haleyville in 1969.
The current two mills came out of a scramble to keep that hospital, now Lakeland Community Hospital, open. The same paper reported that Curae announced the hospital would close as of December 31, 2017. Health care authority chair Judy Bittinger said at the time that a closed hospital could not have reopened because of certification and licensing requirements. In early 2018 the Winston County Commission approved two mills of property tax after getting an Alabama Attorney General's opinion. A lawsuit then held up the money until a summary judgment came down in the commission's favor. On April 29, 2019, the commission amended its resolution so that both mills go to the Health Care Authority of Haleyville and Winston County Alabama. Another Northwest Alabamian report said the authority wholly owns Lakeland.
The city pays its own share as well. While the county money was stuck in court, the Haleyville City Council passed a one percent sales tax that helped keep the hospital running, according to the 2019 report. Haleyville residents on the Winston side support Lakeland through the county property tax and through city money. Residents on the Marion side support it through the city.
What 2026 asked of that hospital
That levy has been carrying more weight this year. In November 2025, Lakeland switched from Acute Care to Critical Access designation. Under Critical Access, a hospital is paid based on cost rather than by contract, CEO Cherie Sibley explained to the Northwest Alabamian. "In rural America, it costs more to do business," Sibley told the paper. Payments slow down while billing systems catch up after a switch like that. On February 9, 2026, the Winston County Commission unanimously approved a $1 million transition loan from its emergency reserves. The paper reported that the authority will repay it with interest over four years.
In the same report, Mayor Ray Boshell said the city had voted under a previous administration to give Lakeland $1.2 million a year. "It is very rough to stay sustainable, so we need to find a model that works," he told the paper.
In July, WBRC reported that Lakeland's authority and the Health Care Authority of the city of Huntsville had agreed to an affiliation. Under the agreement, Huntsville Hospital Health System provides financial support and strategic guidance. Lakeland stays a locally run, 25-bed critical access hospital and the only hospital in Winston County. The station also reported that the agreement does not replace existing local support, and that local funding is still key to the hospital's obligations. On August 24, the Governor's office announced that Lakeland Community Hospital Inc. would receive $490,800 through the Alabama Rural Health Transformation Program for telehealth technology and a non-emergency transportation program.
For a homeowner, the two mills on a Winston County bill are local money in a hospital that the county, the city, a regional health system and the state all backed this year.
Three mills for Marion County fire departments
The Marion side's extra county levy goes somewhere else entirely. According to the summary of Alabama Act 2016-275, proceeds from Marion County's three-mill fire protection tax go to the Marion County Firefighters Association, which splits them equally among the county's paid and volunteer fire departments. A homeowner on Haleyville's west side pays fewer total mills than a neighbor across the line, and some of that money goes to fire departments across Marion County.
Comparing two Haleyville listings
The county line changes how you should compare listings in a few concrete ways:
- Confirm the county before trusting a tax estimate. The address will say Haleyville either way. The parcel's county decides which 38-mill or 34-mill stack applies.
- Pull tax history from the right office. Winston County records are kept in Double Springs and Marion County records in Hamilton. Last year's bill for a Marion-side home won't be in Winston County's system.
- File the homestead exemption with the parcel's county. The state says to apply at your local county office.
- Check recent annexations. In 2022 the city annexed two Marion County parcels, at 127 8th Street and 805 1st Avenue, according to the Northwest Alabamian's published ordinance. Annexation brings a property into the city but doesn't move it to another county.
- Treat the millage as a snapshot. The October 2025 table is the newest one the state links to. Rates are set locally and can change.
This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Please confirm your own property's assessment and exemptions with the county revenue commissioner or a qualified tax professional.
Quick answers
Is Haleyville's city tax the same on both sides? Yes. Both county tables list 10 mills for Haleyville.
Where do I pay a Marion-side Haleyville tax bill? At the Marion County Courthouse in Hamilton, or online through the county's Property Tax Office.
Does the hospital levy appear on Marion County bills? No. The hospital levy appears only in Winston County's table. Marion County's table lists fire protection instead.
When we price or market a Haleyville home, one of the first things we check is which side of the county line the parcel sits on, so the tax figures, records and comps all come from the right courthouse. If you're weighing a home on either side of that line, Sherry Pruitt Real Estate can walk you through what the records show for that property. Schedule a consultation today.
