“Deadline Today To Deduct Property Tax From Income Tax” plus 1 more |
| Deadline Today To Deduct Property Tax From Income Tax Posted: 03 Jan 2011 12:00 PM PST By ADAM RUSSELL Staff Writer Today is the final day property owners can pay their tax bills, if they want to deduct the payment from their 2010 federal income taxes. Smith County Tax Assessor/Collector Gary Barber said that for residents to get credit for the 2010 federal tax, payments must either be paid or postmarked today. Property owners must pay their property tax bills by Jan. 31 to avoid penalties and interest. Tax bills are due upon receipt. The deadline for payment of property taxes is 4:30 p.m. Jan. 31. Payments by mail must be postmarked by midnight Jan. 31. Penalties and interest for late payment will begin Feb. 1 at 7 percent. Penalties increase 2 percent per month until July, when attorneys' fees, 15 percent of the balance, are added. Another 1 percent is added each month until payment is made. The Smith County tax office does accept partial payments on current or delinquent property tax bills. Barber said property owners unable to pay the full tax bill should pay "as much as possible because penalties and interest are assessed to the balance." Residents 65 or older may qualify for quarterly payments with no penalties and interest if payments are made on time. Payments can be made in person or mailed to the Smith County tax office at the Cotton Belt Building, 1517 W. Front St. in Tyler. The tax office accepts cash, check, money orders or credit card payments. The tax office also has a drop box. Property owners also can avoid lines and post payments online by credit card or electronic check. A convenience fee of 2.5 percent of the balance will be added to credit card payments. A $2 fee will be added to electronic checks and can cover multiple payments on one account. The website at https://publictax.smith-county.com/smithtax/, enables taxpayers to print receipts, and payments typically are posted to their account within three days, Barber said. The tax office is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Payments also can be made at a remote tax office in Lindale, 2616 S. Main St., during the same business hours. The Tyler and Lindale offices will be open today but will be closed Monday. Offices will open at normal hours Tuesday. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Posted: 03 Jan 2011 09:41 AM PST If someone told you Glen Carbon and Edwardsville have two of the lowest property tax rates in the area, would you believe them? You should, because it's true. A recent survey by Glen Carbon Finance and Administrative Director Patty Thiede revealed something local elected officials have known for some time – area residents are getting more bang for their buck. Thiede based her figures on a home with a market value of $150,000, less the owner occupied deduction of $5,500. Now, it's true there's a pretty big difference between a $150,000 home in Glen Carbon or Edwardsville than one costing the same amount of money in Alton or Granite City. And all of those houses in Glen Carbon and Edwardsville add up, providing those municipalities with a considerable slice of equalized assessed valuation pie. Of course it's also true the property taxes Glen Carbon and Edwardsville residents pay to support some of the entities – District 7 schools, award-winning libraries, numerous parks and first-rate police and fire protection services – make homes in the area more valuable. The total tax rate in Glen Carbon for property taxes paid in 2010 was 6.7280. In Edwardsville, it was 6.7366. Those two figures include the Edwardsville District 7 tax rate of 3.9908. Based on that $150,000 home, Glen Carbon residents are paying $2,993.96 in property taxes while Edwardsville residents are paying $3,016.52. Across the county, residents' tax bills are impacted the most by school districts. Townships and community colleges also take their share. In Glen Carbon, the tax for fire protection is not part of the village tax rate – it's separate – while in Edwardsville, it is. Still, when Thiede added everything up, the numbers reflected on Glen Carbon and Edwardsville well. Other tax rates across the county include: Highland, 8.1215; Maryville, 7.5898; Troy, 7.1023; Collinsville, 7.2610; Alton, 7.6644 and Granite City, 8.1916. O'Fallon, which might be the most comparable community to Glen Carbon and Edwardsville, was also included in the survey. Its tax rate was 7.4846. School district tax rates fell like this: Highland, 4.8080; Collinsville (which includes Maryville), 4.2472; Troy, 4.2642; Alton, 4.0664; Granite City, 4.2565 and O'Fallon, 4.9705. Based on that $150,000 home, here's what residents paid in total property taxes: Highland, $3,614.07; Maryville, $3,377.46; Troy, $3,160.52; Collinsville, $3,231.15; Alton, $3,410.66; Granite City, $3,645.26 and O'Fallon, $3,330.66. Again, a $150,000 home in Glen Carbon or Edwardsville means one thing while in Alton or Granite City, it means another. But the numbers are interesting. Glen Carbon Mayor Rob Jackstadt said the village's elected and appointed officials work hard to be good stewards of taxpayer money. "Glen Carbon's competitive municipal tax rates are the result of the hard work of the Board of Trustees, our municipal department heads, employees and volunteers," Jackstadt said. "Since 2005, the Board of Trustees has tried to make better business decisions regarding the expenditures of taxpayers' money. We have negotiated in good faith and reached labor agreements that are fair and equitable." Edwardsville Mayor Gary Niebur was in agreement, saying the city looks to achieve a balance between taxes collected and services offered. "City officials take the review, analysis and actions regarding the city's property tax levy, as we should, very seriously. It is a high priority to hold the line on city property taxes. At the same time, we want to continue to provide high quality public services from police, fire, ambulance, parks, library, streets, utilities, to all public service operations that help make Edwardsville a great community," Niebur said. "We have also made budget reductions and curtailed expenses in order to achieve a fiscally responsible balance." Jackstadt said watching the bottom line is a full-time job that village officials do to the best of their ability. "In the fall, we go through a preliminary budgeting process to ensure we emphasize core needs, especially during these difficult financial times. We have requested our departments to do more with the same or less funding," Jackstadt said. "Finally, our municipal employees and committee volunteers have worked harder to maintain the high level of services Glen Carbon offers." And, as Niebur explained, municipalities – like school districts – have been handcuffed by the state, which issues mandates, but hasn't been real timely in making disbursements. "Even though we have been successful in holding the tax rate steady, and even reducing it over the years, our greatest challenge is providing funding for state-mandated expenses. That, coupled with untimely payments from the state of Illinois and uncertainty about future state funding to municipalities, makes this a difficult financial time for cities," Niebur said. "Of an Edwardsville property owners' tax bill, just 20 percent actually goes to the city. "That percentage has been decreasing annually from approximately 24.5 percent in 1995. The city has held the line on property taxes associated with the city portion of the overall property tax bill. At the same time, we have provided, and want to continue to provide, high quality services to the people of Edwardsville." 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