Deadline is today for property taxes
Options listed for payment-makers
The deadline to pay property taxes in Arkansas is today, ending a strange year for the Pulaski County treasurer’s office.
For Chief Deputy Bentley Hovis, the county’s building closures because of the covid-19 pandemic have created a unique challenge for the treasurer’s office because residents are not able to pay their taxes at county offices.
“This year’s been different. I don’t know if it’s been any busier,” Hovis said. “Because of covid-19, we don’t have any locations actually open to the public. … Our building downtown here has been closed since March.”
County Judge Barry Hyde closed all county buildings to the public, with some exceptions, in March. That executive order has been extended multiple times, with the latest extension in early October to keep the buildings closed through the end of the year.
To solve the problem of where taxpayers can go to pay what they owe, three Centennial Bank branches have been made available to accept the payments:
■ 4514 Camp Robinson Road in North Little Rock.
■ 2922 S. University Ave. in Little Rock.
■ 13910 Cantrell Road in Little Rock.
According to Hovis, cash-paying residents can pay their taxes inside their local grocery stores.
“If you’re cash payers, you can go to Walmarts, Krogers and Edwards Food Giants, and go to the customer service desk and ask for bill pay,” Hovis said. “And if you’re paying in cash, you can actually pay your taxes there also. A lot of folks still want to pay with cash, so we had to provide an opportunity for them to do that because you literally cannot come in the building here anymore.”
Residents can also pay with Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and e-checks online at public. pulaskicountytreasurer.net without leaving their homes.
During a normal year, the vast majority of Pulaski County taxpayers, according to Hovis, pay their taxes by the deadline.
“It’s going to be anywhere from 94% to 95%, maybe a little higher,” Hovis said. “But most people will pay by deadline.”
When close to the deadline, however, there are usually long lines of folks paying taxes at the last minute, according to Hovis, who expects this year’s deadline will be no different.
“Every year at deadline, there’s huge lines,” he said. “Between October the 1st and October the 15th, there’s probably 30% of the taxes get collected on those two weeks.”