Whether you support the Knox Elementary School Palmer Wing project or not, no one enjoys paying higher taxes. One way to reduce the impact of the possible increase in the property tax rate for those in the Knox school district is to take advantage of all the property tax deductions for which you are eligible, effectively lowering your assessed property value and reducing the amount of taxes you’re responsible for paying.
With just under a month to go before the first installment of property taxes is due, Pulaski and Marshall counties are working feverishly to get property tax statements mailed out in time for taxpayers to get their payments in the mail. Pulaski County Treasurer Lynn Wilder said her office is about halfway through mailing out their statements and will finish the mailings by the end of today, while Marshall County Treasurer Deb VanDeMark said her office will have the mailings completed by Friday.
Starke County property owners should keep an eye on their mailboxes. Treasurer Kasey Clark says more than 20,000 tax bills have been sent out. The first installment of payments is due May 10, and the second is due Nov. 12. Payments may be made in person at the treasurer’s office at the county annex building or at several local banks, including the Bank of Indiana branches in Hamlet and North Judson, the First National Bank of Monterey branches in Monterey and North Judson, the 1st Source Bank in Knox, the First Farmers Bank in Knox, and the Demotte State Bank in Knox. Clark says the banks are all listed on the back of the statements.
She adds that taxpayers who have moved and not filed a change of address form with the post office will not receive their bills. Clark says her office will make every effort to track taxpayers down and make sure they get their bills to keep them from incurring late fees. However, the best way to ensure you get your tax bill is to make sure the auditor’s office has your correct mailing address on file. The auditor’s office telephone number is (574) 772-9101.
LaPorte County property owners have a new layer of protections and payment options thanks to a bill authored by Rep. Tom Dermody and signed into law by Gov. Mike Pence. The measure offers flexible repayment options and plans along with incentives to make early or on-time payments. It authorizes the Department of Local Government Finance to delay the payment of tax bills imposed for the March 1, 2012 or Jan. 15, 2013 assessment dates. The bill also creates a 2 percent discount for those who pay their property taxes on time. If payments are delinquent, the bill creates an additional 12 month period before a property is put up for auction. Continue reading
The House of Representatives this week passed legislation that seeks to lessen the tax payment burden on Hoosier homeowners, allowing them the option to pay their property taxes in installments as opposed to a lump sum. The legislation passed the House by a 93-0 vote, bringing it one step closer to becoming law, but several counties in Indiana have already offered this option to residents.
The bill now goes to the desk of Gov. Mike Pence for approval. In the meantime, every county in Indiana is gearing up to send out property tax bills, and it’s keeping the treasurers in Starke and Pulaski counties pretty busy.
A property tax reassessment for Marshall County may lead to an unpleasant surprise for some taxpayers as the property tax rate for the city of Plymouth will soon increase from 2.5448 cents to 2.8582 cents per $100 assessed property value. Plymouth Clerk-Treasurer Toni Hutchings presented the city council with information regarding the 2012 reassessment – the first reassessment conducted in ten years – and said the numbers indicate a rough upcoming tax season.
Governor Mitch Daniels recently signed into law a bill amended by Republican State Representative Tom Dermody, of LaPorte, that addresses the ongoing property tax problems in LaPorte County. The bill establishes taxpayer protections, gives incentives to local officials to participate in responsible leadership and gives the LaPorte County Commissioners more control to remedy the situation.
Taxpayers were recently notified they had a limited amount of time to pay property tax bills from 2007. This bill gives the county council the authority to allow taxpayers six months or more to send in their payments or to set up a payment plan. The county will also be prohibited from placing a property on tax sale for at least one year after the payment deadline. For those who can afford to pay immediately, the council will have the option of granting a tax credit of up to two percent of delayed property taxes if the taxes are paid within 30 days.
Starke County Deputy Treasurer, Casey Clark, is reminding residents that the next installment of property taxes is due November 10th. You have several ways to make your payment.
You can pay in the office, or by mail but it must be postmarked by November 10th. There is a drop box on the side of the building, or you can pay online at by clicking here. You will be charged with a 3% fee.
Clark announced that there will be no tax sale this year.
Today is the property tax deadline in Starke County. All payments are due to the Treasurer’s office today by the end of the day. A drop off box is located outside the Treasurer’s Office if you can not make it to the office by the time the doors close to the office today. If you are mailing your taxes, they must be postmarked today in order to be counted on time.
Property taxes are also due into the Pulaski County Treasurer’s Office today.
Starke County Treasurer Linda Belork says she is struggling with handling a flood of tax payments and inquiries without a second deputy to assist her in the office.
“It makes it impossible for us to answer every phone call. In a day’s time, we get a hundred messages left on the phone and we try to contact the caller the next morning and things just get backed up,” said Belork. “We have a lot of farmers that come in with many parcels and they’re having to wait. It kind of puts everybody behind. I don’t know if it’s to do with our second Deputy that we’ve been asking for that’s the biggest topic, or if it’s the carpet in here that’s got the wrinkle that several people have tripped on. They don’t feel that’s an emergency item, but it’s an emergency to me in case one of my taxpayers does fall here.”
The deadline date for paying the first installment of personal property taxes is just two weeks away, May 10th. Starke County Treasurer, Linda Belork, says the service in her office could be more efficient in the final rush days before the deadline, but currently, most taxpayers have not been too inconvenienced by long waits.
“Right now, taxes are coming in really well for us and most taxpayers, surprisingly, are paying for the whole year,” said Belork. “We do have some lines, but again we’re still trying to work with the County Council and the Commissioners to have our second Deputy in. They verbally gave me the approval and then at the public meeting, they backed off of it. I guess that’s an issue we’ll have to take up at budget time.”
Property tax statements in Starke County will be sent by mail this week from the Treasurer’s office. Treasurer Linda Belork said that the deadline dates will be May 10th for the spring installment and November 10th for the fall installment.
Pulaski County Treasurer, Cheryl DeGroot, told WKVI that the property tax statements there will be sent out this week or next week. She said the deadline dates will be May 10th and November 10th as well. Some property owners will see a big increase in taxes and others will see a decrease.
