Property tax bills are due by Friday
By Andrew Bell
Published in News on January 4, 2007 2:02 PM
Wayne County residents have through Friday to pay their property taxes before they become delinquent.
Two percent interest will be added to all county tax bills that have not been paid by that date. The amount will increase 0.75 percent at the first of each additional month property taxes have not been paid.
Residents can pay their tax bills at the tax office, which is located on the first floor of the county courthouse, from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Taxpayers hoping to avoid lines at the tax office can mail in their payments to the Wayne County Tax Department, P.O. Box 1495, Goldsboro, N.C., 27533. As long as the mailing is postmarked by the United States Postal Service by Jan. 5, the tax office won't consider the taxes delinquent.
Property tax collections generate about $39 million a year for county coffers. The county's total amount of taxable property is valued at about $5.3 billion.
This year, about 75,000 tax bills were mailed to residents in August. Those tax bills included about 62,000 parcels of real estate and other personal property, county Tax Administrator David Ward said.
Personal property includes watercraft, aircraft and motors. Other items include all unlicensed vehicles, trailers, campers and recreation vehicles. Business personal property can include computers, furniture and machinery, Ward added.
The tax office can use enforced collection procedures on delinquent taxpayers, which include garnishing wages, attaching bank deposits or other accounts and even seizing personal property or foreclose on real property.
If residents haven't paid by mid-February, their names are included in a listing of delinquent taxpayers advertised in the News-Argus. State law permits counties to advertise tax liens beginning March 1, and the tax office usually begins the process as soon as possible after that date.