From the Elkhart Truth:
Last-minute taxpayers swarmed the Elkhart County Treasurer’s Office late last week and on Tuesday, Nov. 12, the final day to make payments on the fall installment of 2013 property taxes.
Treasurer Jackie Meyers and her office clerks noticed that the most recent tax collection “has been a little strange.”
“Usually, we’re pretty busy the entire last week before payments are due, but it wasn’t like that,” Meyers said. “We were steady last week, but we weren’t really busy until Friday when we got hit hard.”
Taxpayers had options to pay their property taxes online, at a bank, by phone, by mail or in person at the treasurer’s office. Meyers, however, said she will not know which method most people chose for another couple of days. Payments will trickle in throughout the rest of this week, she added.
With just seven minutes left until the deadline, Meyers said there were between 20 and 25 people waiting in line to pay their taxes before 4 p.m. Tuesday.
“I think everybody’s hanging onto their money until the last minute,” she said. “I’m not sure if that’s a sign of the times or what.”
Meyers said she does not believe the Veterans Day holiday on Monday, Nov. 11, had an impact on tax collections. Taxes are typically due Nov. 10, but because the date fell on a Sunday, the deadline was pushed back to Tuesday, Nov. 12.
Meyers said property owners who are late paying their fall installment will face a 5 percent penalty until Dec. 12. After that, the penalty will jump to 10 percent. If the property owner has previous delinquencies, she said an extra 10 percent will be automatically tacked onto their tax bill beginning Wednesday, Nov. 13.
http://www.elkharttruth.com/article/20131112/NEWS01/711129944
