Property tax bills due soon
By Steve Herring
Published in News on December 28, 2015 1:46 PM
Wayne County taxpayers have just over a week remaining to pay their 2015 property taxes without incurring a penalty.
Any payments not received prior to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 5, are delinquent and subject to a 2-percent penalty.
An additional three-quarters of a percent is added at the first of each following month to any outstanding balance until the bill is paid in full.
Also, filing for four tax relief programs begins Friday, Jan. 1. However, since the tax office will be closed for the New Year's Day holiday, the first day the forms can be filed is Monday, Jan. 4.
Tax Administrator Alan Lumpkin said traffic at the tax office had been "steady" last week and that this week into next week would be the busiest.
The office received a number of calls this morning, mainly to see if it was open, he said.
The long lines once associated with last-minute taxpayers is pretty much a thing of the past, Lumpkin said.
One reason is that vehicle taxes are now paid at the DMV office. Another is that taxpayers have several options other than coming into the tax office, even though that is still an option, he said.
The tax office is located on the first floor of the Wayne County Courthouse Annex. There is also a drop box located on the Ormond Avenue side of the courthouse.
Bills also can be paid online or by phone, but both those options carry a fee collected by the company that provides the service.
The county does not receive any revenue from the fee.
People can also remove the bottom portion of the bill, write a check and mail it in.
Bills that are mailed must be postmarked by the U.S. Post Office by no later than Jan. 5. Office postal marks are not valid to show that the mailing met the deadline, Lumpkin said.
Two of the four tax programs, the Senior Citizen/Disability Homestead Exclusion and the Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exclusion, provide actual tax exemptions on property.
Two others, the Homestead Circuit Breaker Tax Deferment program and the Present Use Value Assessment for Agricultural, Horticultural and Forestlands program, defer taxes.
Filing continues through June 1 for the four programs with the exception of Present Use Value. The filing period for that program is through January only.
Late applications for any of the programs have to go before the Wayne County commissioners for approval.
There are no age or income restrictions for the Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exclusion program. A one-time application is required.
If a person qualifies, a flat $45,000 is deducted from the value of the home, with the person paying tax on the difference of the balance. The house must be the person's permanent residence that they own and occupy.
To apply, the person must be a North Carolina resident and an honorably discharged, disabled veteran, who, as of Jan. 1, has a total and permanent service-connected disability or who receives benefits for specially adapted housing under a certain federal code.
Also eligible are the unmarried surviving spouses of honorably discharged disabled veterans.
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A person must be a North Carolina resident, 65 years of age, or totally and permanently disabled to qualify for the Homestead Circuit Breaker Tax Deferment Program.
They must have owned and occupied the home as their permanent legal residence for five years.
Their income cannot exceed 150 percent of the income eligibility limit for the Elderly/Disabled Exclusion.
If the income is $29,500 or less, taxes are limited to 4 percent of their income. If their income is greater than $29,500, but not more than $44,250 taxes are limited to 5 percent of their income.
Calculated taxes that exceed the 4 percent or 5 percent limits are deferred taxes and are a lien on the property.
Also, interest accrues on deferred taxes as if they had been payable on the original due dates.
Payment of the deferred taxes can be triggered by the death of the owner unless ownership passes to a co-owner or spouse; transfer of the property unless the title passes to a co-owner, or to a spouse as a result of a divorce proceeding; or the owner ceases to use the property as a permanent residence.
If payment is triggered, the last three years of deferred taxes preceding the current tax year become due and payable.
The only exception is when the owner dies in which the deferred taxes become delinquent on the first day of the ninth month following the date of the owner's death.
Annual applications are required to verify annual income. The tax collector notifies each owner by Sept. 1 of each year of the accumulated sum of deferred taxes and interest.
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The Senior Citizen/Disability Homestead Exclusion program is open to North Carolina residents age 65 or older, or who are totally and permanently disabled, and who own and occupy their own home.
Also, all the money an applicant receives during the year must total $29,500 or less including all money received such as Social Security, VA benefits and interest income.
For married applicants residing with their spouse, the income of both must be included, even if only one owns the property.
If approved, the owner receives a minimum tax break of $25,000 or 50 percent of the value of the home, whichever is more.
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People who own property that is being farmed or that is under a forestry management program may apply for the present use program.
If approved, the property is taxed at what is called present use value, which is a lower taxing schedule than the market value schedule used by the county.
The taxes remain deferred until the use of the property is changed or a portion or all of the property is deeded to someone else -- even if that someone is a relative.
If that happens, the prior three years of deferred taxes preceding the current tax year become due and payable, as does the current year's taxes. The new property owner must reapply and be approved for the program in order for the taxes to remain deferred.
Application forms for these programs and more information are available by calling the Wayne County Tax Department at 919-731-1461 or by downloading the forms from the county website, www.waynegov.com.