Property tax grace period ends in 5 days

The City of Decatur’s second installment real property tax bills and business personal property tax bills for 2012 were due on Dec. 20.  No penalties or interest have been charged to past due accounts yet, but this grace period will end this Monday, Jan. 7.  After that, a 10 percent penalty and monthly interest charge of 1 percent will apply to unpaid amounts.

For the first time, we enclosed a return envelope with your tax bill that you can use to send your payment.  Previously, you had to provide your own envelope.  As long as you get your payment postmarked by Jan. 7, no penalties or interest will apply.

If you’re not sure about your payment status, you can check our website at www.decaturgatax.com.  Please be aware that payments may not display on the website until 48 hours after your check has cleared the bank.

On average, we will have collected 92 percent of taxes due to the City by the conclusion of the grace period.  The remaining 7.9 percent will be collected in subsequent weeks and months through our delinquent collections, tax lien, and tax sale processes.

On behalf of the Revenue Division, I’d like to thank all the taxpayers of Decatur for funding the high-quality services the City provides, and for giving us the opportunity to serve you!