Business personal tax bills online for 2014

The 2014 bills for Decatur’s business personal taxes are now online. Your business can search, view and print your bill at www.decaturgatax.com. Credit card payments are accepted online with a 2.2 percent plus 30-cent third-party processing fee. You can pay by check or cash if you prefer. You will receive your paper bill next week.

These bills are generally based on the value of your business inventory such as merchandise, office or work equipment, and furniture. Over 400 local businesses are subject to this tax for 2014.  This is not a tax on buildings or land. Assessments are based on the value you reported to DeKalb County. If you didn’t report a value, DeKalb County determined the value for you. The deadline to file a return with DeKalb County stating your value was April 1, 2014. You can check with DeKalb for assessment policies going forward.

Taxes are owed to DeKalb County and to the City of Decatur separately. The taxes must be paid for the full year regardless of any change in the residency of the taxpayer or disposition of the property that occurred after Jan. 1, 2014. The taxes cannot be pro-rated or waived even if your business has closed. Decatur's payment deadline is normally December 20, but since that falls on a Saturday this year we will accept payments until December 22, 2014.