Property taxes due soon

By Melinda L. Lucas

With just a little over a week left before the official deadline, a large percentage of the county-wide tax levies will be collected in the next few days.

Taxes assessed during 2022 are officially due next week, on Tuesday, Jan. 31.

Taxpayers have the option of mailing in their payment as well as coming inside or using the drop box to the left of the front door. Payments can also be made using credit or debit cards on the SCAD website (shackelfordcad.com) by searching for a specific account(s) using the property search section. Online payments will be assessed a convenience fee by the processing company.

Since Jan. 31 falls on a Monday this year, payments that are not in the drop box at the open of business on Feb. 1 or postmarked Jan. 31 will be considered delinquent, according to chief appraiser Clayton Snyder at the Shackelford County Central Appraisal District (CAD) office.

Collection Rate

Payments have been coming in at a steady pace since the statements went out last fall, and according to December totals, they are back on pre-COVID levels, Snyder said.

And although he expects collections to eventually be in the usual range of 90 to 95 percent range, that is unlikely to be the case by Feb. 1.

“We are expecting to come in lower than the prior year at about 88 to 90 percent by Feb. 1, due to a lawsuit filed by one of the wind farms,” Snyder said.

He explained that the lawsuit appeals a valuation decision made by the local Appraisal Review Board in the summer of 2022 to uphold the value assessed by the SCAD.

“While litigation is pending, the corporation is only responsible to pay the undisputed amount of taxes to the taxing units to avoid penalty and interest,” he said. “Our pending litigation amounts to about $250,000 in taxes that will be withheld until conclusion, and then, depending on the outcome, struck off or altered to a new outstanding balance.”

About a quarter of the total levy is typically collected by the end of the year, with payments coming in steadily throughout the month of January and momentum picking up in the last week before the deadline.

Snyder explained that there are a small number of “individually significant” taxpayers, mostly corporations, who tend to wait until right before the deadline to pay their taxes.

“That’s the reason the collection rate is typically so volatile between December and January,” said the chief appraiser.

Official Deadline

Payments postmarked Jan. 31 or earlier are not considered delinquent even though they may not arrive at the tax office for several more days.

A self-addressed stamped envelope needs to be enclosed with mailed or dropped payments in order for taxpayers to receive a receipt by return mail.

Online payments at www.shackelfordcad.com can be made any time before midnight on Jan. 31.

Local taxpayers can bring in their payments in person by the end of the working day on Monday, Jan. 31.

Anything in the night deposit at the open of business on Wednesday, Feb. 1 will not be considered late, said Snyder.

Penalties

Taxes will become delinquent after the payment deadline, and property owners who do not pay their 2022 taxes in time will be charged penalty and interest on an accumulating scale.

Local taxpayers can contact the tax office at 325-762-2207 for more information.