Collector reminds residents of tax deadline
Article published on Wednesday, March 29, 2006 |
CLEARWATER – Pinellas County Tax Collector Diane Nelson reminds property owners that all unpaid 2005 Pinellas Real Property Taxes and Personal Property Taxes will be considered delinquent if still unpaid starting on Saturday, April 1, 2006.
Taxpayers who have not yet paid are encouraged to take note of the deadlines to walk-in or use tax collector drop-boxes by the close of business Friday, March 31, or have a mail-in payment postmark date no later than March 31, or if making an Internet payment, the deadline is midnight, April 1, in order to avoid delinquency penalty fees.
A 3 percent interest will be added in April to the March (gross) amount for delinquent real estate taxes and 1.5 percent interest along with other costs added to the delinquent tangible personal property taxes, with more costs accruing in May. If still unpaid through May, the annual Tax Certificate Sale for those delinquent 2005 real estate taxes will be on Thursday, June 1, 2006. This year, the Tax Certificate Sale will be conducted online for the first time in Pinellas.
“We’ve mailed out nearly 65,000 reminder notices to taxpayers from the original half-million we mailed out last Fall, along with an equivalent amount of vehicle registration renewals,” Nelson said, “and the normal result is a jump in the number of phone calls we receive, so we ask everyone’s patience when they contact us by phone.”
The Pinellas Tax Collector’s award-winning e-Service Center answers an average of 1,800 calls a day, and incoming calls can spike to double that pace during the peak periods.
“We still have our normal business to conduct, too, which means another 100,000 registration renewals will go into the April mail, adding to the calls for information about what to do with delinquencies. I strongly encourage customers to use our Internet renewal service and ‘Just Click, It’s Quick’ for routine vehicle registrations as a way to avoid standing in line or being put on hold on the phone during these seasonal peak periods,” Nelson said.
For more information about property taxes or Internet renewals, visit www.taxcollect.com or call our e-Service Center at 562-3262.
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Article published on Wednesday, March 29, 2006
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