Floyd County sends out 56,000 tax bills

Property tax is due Nov. 16, but payments are being accepted now.

The 2015 property tax bills should start arriving today for all Floyd County, City of Rome, and Cave Spring taxpayers, according to Floyd County Tax Commissioner Kevin Payne.

Nov. 16 is the deadline to pay without an added late fee this year, since the normal due-date of Nov. 15 falls on a Sunday. But Payne said payments are accepted at any time.

“If anyone is concerned about having the lump sum payment in November, I would strongly recommend making partial payments each month, starting now,” he said.

Most residents will see their tax bills rise from the 2014 levels, due to a hike by the Floyd County Commission. The increase, of approximately 3 percent, is the first overall county millage rate increase since 2008.

The millage rate for county tax bills increased from 29.779 mills to 30.563 mills. In the city of Rome, the rate went from 35.017 mills to 35.786 mills. A mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of assessed property value.

A Floyd County resident with a $100,000 house would pay approximately $1,222 without exemptions. The bill for the same house inside the Rome city limits would be $1,431.

Sixty-one percent of taxes from county residents go to the Floyd County Board of Education and 67 percent of the city taxes go to the Rome City Board of Education. The remaining portion goes to the Rome and Floyd County governments, except for a small amount that goes to the state.

Payne said the tax office was mailing approximately 56,000 tax bills, with 7,000 being for personal property and the other 49,000 being real properties. Of the real estate parcels, 42,000 are considered residential, with rest either commercial property or vacant land.

Homeowners who pay their taxes in their monthly loan payments will still receive a bill in the mail. Payne said any questions should be directed to the lienholder, who is obligated to ensure the taxes are paid on time.

By law, once a bill becomes delinquent on Nov. 17 an interest charge of 1 percent is levied for the first three months and at 10 percent after that.

“Paying your property taxes late is a very expensive proposition in Georgia, and I have no authority to waive interest or penalties,” Payne said.

The tax office accepts payments online at floydcountytax.com; by mail to Floyd County Tax Commissioner, P.O. Box 26, Rome, GA 30162; or in person at the Historic County Courthouse on Fifth Avenue downtown. Payments may be made with cash, checks or credit/debit cards. All credit/debit card payments will have an added convenience fee of 2.2 percent plus 30 cents a transaction.

For questions, call the office at 706-2915148 or email paynek@floydcountyga.org.