Tax payments due this Friday
By Melinda L. Lucas
As is typical, property tax payments at the Shackelford County Appraisal District (SCAD) office accelerated just before the end of the year, according to chief appraiser Clayton Snyder.
“December was steady to higher than the previous year at plus 4.41 percent when compared,” he said Tuesday. “And January so far has picked up the pace traffic wise.”
Snyder expects the largest taxpayers’ payments to be postmarked as of Jan. 31, including wind farms and other large industrial companies that make up the largest percentage of the tax base per capita.
“That’s the reason the collection rate is typically so volatile between December and January,” he said.
Snyder also commented that delinquent taxes were still being collected.
“As of December 2019, prior year delinquencies came in higher than expected at plus .45 percent of the prior year levy, when compared to December 2018,” said the chief appraiser. “Collections of the 2018 levy after 12 months is in line and slightly lower than the prior year comparison for the same period in December 2018, at minus .45 percent, which is equal to the slight uptick in delinquencies.”
Snyder does not foresee any major deviations from the overall trend of collections, as figures are similar to those of the prior two years.
“We will keep an eye on delinquencies, and make adjustments to collection strategy as needed,” he said.
Taxes Due Friday
Taxes assessed during 2019 are officially due this week, on Friday, Jan. 31. With the due date falling during the regular work week, there are no special concessions for late payments, according to Snyder.
Statements for the 2019 taxes were mailed last October, and payments have been coming in at a steady pace since then.
Almost 29 percent of the total levy had been collected by the end of the year, which was five percent ahead of the previous year, but a number of payments have been received since then, and Snyder expects to be very busy for the next week with mailed payments.
At the close of December 2019, overall collections of the current tax year came out to 28.48 percent or $2,689,193 of the total levy of $9,443,651, compared to 24.07 percent for the same period in 2018.
Until the books are closed out for January, the collection rate will not be known for sure, but Snyder expects the end result to be about the same as the usual.
Collections Totals
As of year-end, the tax office had collected 51.41 percent compared to 43.06 percent last year for the City of Albany, 28.81 percent compared to 22.65 percent for Albany ISD, 24.54 percent compared to 21.57 percent for the hospital district, 20.14 percent compared to 26.08 percent for the City of Moran, 39.40 percent compared to 35.88 percent for Moran ISD, and 24.19 percent compared to 21.21 percent for Shackelford County.
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.
Snyder said that payments placed in the drop box outside the office at 132 Hill St. will be counted as current as long as they are there when the office is opened on Monday morning.
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 Friday, Jan. 31.
Hours at the SCAD office are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Staff members stagger their lunch hours in order to keep the office open during that time for the public’s convenience.
Penalties
Taxes will become delinquent after the payment deadline, and property owners who do not pay their 2019 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.
