Property taxes deadline is Jan. 6
By Steve Herring
Published in News on December 30, 2013 1:46 PM
Monday, Jan. 6, is the deadline for Wayne County taxpayers to pay their annual property tax bills before interest begins the next day.
Two percent in interest will be added to tax bills paid after that date in January. An additional three-fourths of a percent will be added on the first of each following month until any unpaid balance is paid.
However, the long lines in the tax office are pretty much a thing of the past, thanks to the number of ways that the taxes can be paid, county tax officials said.
The bills can be paid in person, mailed in, paid online or by phone, or left in a dropbox.
"Now, the last few days leading up to the deadline, we will probably have some lines," Wayne County Tax Administrator David Ward said. "But the max we usually get now, if they get outside the door, it is just a short way past the door. It is nothing like it used to be. I don't remember the last time that we had a line like that."
If people have their tax stub and check, they can pick up an envelope from the tax office and drop the payment in the dropbox that will be placed just outside the tax office, Assistant Tax Administrator Alan Lumpkin said.
Lumpkin said he periodically checks, and if the line starts getting long, he announces that option to those in line.
Also, additional clerks are brought to the counter if necessary, Ward said.
"Most of the ones who wait in line want to wait and get that receipt," he said.
There also is a dropbox on Ormond Avenue at the county courthouse annex that is cleaned out several times a day, Lumpkin said.
"The bill you got, you can mail it back in," Ward said. "There is a coupon at the bottom of the bill. You can separate that out and mail it in. You can write a check and mail it in.
"If their payment is mailed in it has to be postmarked by the U.S. Postal Service Monday, Jan. 6. If it is postmarked by an office metering machine, then we don't use those. We just consider it (dated) whenever we receive it in the office -- whether it is timely or late."
People can pay by credit card online or by phone.
"There is a fee associated with that called a convenience fee," Ward said. "But that fee goes to the company that provides that service. The county does not get any of that."
The phone number is 866-580-9998
"When they call, and put in the correct information, it comes back and tells them what the fee is going to be prior to any transaction being completed," Lumpkin said. "So they can stop at any time if they don't want to pay it. Either by phone or online, it gives you a chance to review it first, and if you don't want to do it, you can quit it and go out."
The tax office was open Monday, Dec. 23, but closed the rest of the week. It will be closed on New Year's Day. The tax office is on the first floor of the courthouse annex. Office hours are 8-5 Monday through Friday.