DeFuniak Springs, FL (March 9, 2016) – Walton County Tax Collector Rhonda Skipper is reminding citizens March 31 is the deadline to pay property taxes without penalty. To ensure your payment is received on time, please remember in person payments must be received in the office by 4:30 p.m., mailed in payments must be postmarked by the deadline date, and online payments made before midnight will be credited the March amount.  

 

Accounts delinquent as of April 1, will require payment in certified U.S. funds in the form of a money order, cashier’s check or cash. Personal checks cannot be accepted for delinquent accounts and will be returned.

 

“I encourage taxpayers to take the time before the March 31st deadline to make sure your taxes have been paid. Each year I have citizens who come after the deadline asking for penalties to be removed,” said Skipper. “Unfortunately, the office is unable to do that. To verify your taxes have been paid, please visit our website where you can view your account and payment history, or give us a call.”

 

All accounts unpaid as of April 1 are assessed an advertising fee and penalty. Unpaid real estate accounts are assessed a 3 percent penalty, plus advertising fee and tangible accounts are assessed a 1.5 percent penalty, plus advertising fee. These properties are then advertised in the paper as required by law. If still unpaid by May 31, these properties are included in an online Tax Certificate Sale on June 1.

 

During the Tax Certificate Sale, investors bid to purchase the tax certificates issued on certain delinquent properties. The winning bidder on each property immediately pays the owed taxes and receives his or her money back, with interest, once the property owner pays his or her taxes.

 

If you are unsure of the payment status of your tax accounts, please visit WaltonTaxCollector.com and click on the “Search the Tax Roll” tab. The search feature is easy to use and you can quickly pull up your account(s) to see if they are paid.

 

For more information, please contact the Tax Collector’s Office at (850) 892-8121 or visit www.waltontaxcollector.com.