Property tax deadline Jan. 5
By Steve Herring
Published in News on December 24, 2016 9:10 AM
By STEVE HERRING
sherring@newsargus.com
Wayne County taxpayers have until 5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 5, to pay their 2016 property taxes without incurring a penalty.
Any payments received after that time are delinquent and subject to a 2-percent penalty, Tax Administrator Alan Lumpkin said.
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, he said.
The penalty is effective Jan. 6., he said.
Also, filing for tax relief programs begins Sunday, 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 Tuesday, Jan. 3.
Taxpayers have several options as to how to pay their taxes. Bills can be paid at the tax office located on the first floor of the Wayne County Courthouse Annex. Drop boxes are located in the tax office and outside on the Ormond Avenue side of the courthouse.
Bills also can be paid online or by phone. However, both of those options carry a fee collected by the company that provides the service. The county does not receive any revenue from the fee.
Or the bottom portion of the bill can be mailed in with a check made payable to the Wayne County Tax Collector.
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.
The county collects taxes for all municipalities in the county.
For the most part the long lines that used to pack the tax office in the waning days of the year are gone, Lumpkin said.
There will be some people who will wait until the last minute and then come to the office so that they can use the tax payment on their income tax forms, he said.
Two of the three tax relief programs, the Senior Citizen/Disability Homestead Exclusion and the Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exclusion, provide actual tax exemptions on property.
The third, the Homestead Circuit Breaker Tax Deferment program, defers taxes.
Filing continues through June 1 for the programs.
Late applications for any of the programs have to go before the Wayne County commissioners for approval.
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Disabled Veteran Property Tax Exclusion.
To eligible for this program the property must be a permanent residence owned and occupied by a honorably discharged disabled veteran who as of Jan. 1 has a permanent and total service-connected disability or received benefits for specially adapted housing or the unmarried surviving spouse of an honorably discharged disabled veteran.
There are no age or income restrictions.
The veteran should be able to provide a VA award letter or VA response to his or her request for certification.
The assessment reduction equals the first $45,000 of value of the residence.
The program requires a one-time application by June 1.
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Property Tax Relief for Elderly and Permanently Disabled Persons.
North Carolina excludes from property taxes the greater of $25,000 or 50 percent of the appraised value of a permanent residence (including mobile homes) owned and occupied by a qualifying owner.
A qualifying owner must be a North Carolina residents who meets all of the following requirements as of Jan. 1 of preceding the taxable year for which the benefit is claimed:
• Must be at least 65 years of age or permanently disabled (must have certification from licensed physician).
• Have a total gross income for the preceding calendar year of not more than $29,000. This includes all monies received such as Social Security, VA benefits, interest income etc. other than gifts or inheritances from a spouse, ancestor or descendant.
For married applicants residing with their spouse, the income of both spouses must be included even if only one is an owner of the property.
The deadline to submit application is June 1.
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Homestead Circuit Breaker Tax Deferment Program.
The owner must be 65 years of age or totally and permanently disabled and must have owned and occupied home as your permanent legal residence for five years.
The owner must be a North Carolina resident ad whose income cannot exceed 150 percent of the income eligibility limit for the elderly/disabled exclusion.
If the income is $29,000 or less, taxes are limited to 4 percent of income. If income is greater than $29,000, but not more than $43,500, taxes are limited to 5 percent of income.
Calculated taxes that exceed the 4 percent or 5 percent limit are deferred taxes which are a lien on the property. Interest accrues on deferred taxes as if they had been payable on the original due dates.
Upon a disqualifying event, the last three years of deferred taxes preceding the current tax year become due and payable. The only exception is when deferred taxes become due and payable as a result of the death of the owner, in which they become delinquent on the first day of the ninth month following the date of death.
Disqualifying events which trigger payment include the death of the owner; transfer of the property; or the owner ceases to use the property as a permanent residence.
Death is not a disqualifying event if ownership passes to a co-owner or spouse
Also, transfer is not a disqualifying event if title passes to a co-owner, or to a spouse as a result of a divorce proceeding
The deadline to submit application is June 1.
Annual applications are required for the program to verify annual income.
The tax collector will notify each owner by Sept. 1 of each year of the accumulated sum of deferred taxes and interest.