2018 property taxes due Tuesday

The Garland County tax collector and assessor’s offices will be open until 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to accommodate residents waiting until the last minute to pay their 2018 real and personal property taxes.

A 10 % late penalty will be assessed on payments made after Tuesday’s deadline. In addition to paying in person at the tax collector’s office, residents can pay online through a link on the county website, http://www.garlandcounty.org. A 2.7% convenience fee is added to online payments.

Payments mailed to the tax collector’s office at 200 Woodbine St., Suite 108, postmarked later than Tuesday will be considered late. Checks can also be deposited into the tax collector’s 24-hour drop box behind the Garland County Government Office Building. Credit card payments can be made by calling the In

formation Network of Arkansas at 866-257-2055.

The tax collector’s office said it will not accept credit card payments for delinquent property taxes from Wednesday through Nov. 1. Checks will be accepted for delinquent real property taxes but not for delinquent personal property taxes. Only cash, money orders or cashier’s checks will be accepted for delinquent personal property taxes, the tax collector’s office said.

Tax Collector Rebecca Dodd Talbert said about half the tax bills mailed in February are collected three or four weeks prior to the payment deadline. Her office billed almost $89 million in 2018 taxes on behalf of more than a dozen taxing entities, according to information provided by the tax collector’s office.

More than $80 million was billed on behalf of 11 school districts. More than $3.1 million was billed on behalf of the Garland County Library, more than $2.3 million on behalf of the county general fund and more than $1.5 million on behalf of National Park College. Tax bills totaling $984 and $11,756 were sent to Lonsdale and Mountain Pine residents, respectively.

Talbert said more than $66 million had been collected as of Friday morning. She expects her office to have collected more than 90% of the 2018 taxes by the end of the year.

Property taxes are applied to 20 percent of the appraised value of property, with that value multiplied by the millage rate the various taxing entities levy in their respective districts. Delinquent property can be certified to the state land commissioner’s office if payments are not received within a year of the deadline. The state will eventually auction off delinquent property if it’s unable to collect back taxes and penalties.

Per statute, county tax collectors have to send delinquent taxpayer lists to newspapers by Dec. 1.