Property taxes due Thursday
The Garland County tax collector and assessor’s offices will be open until 6:30 p.m. Thursday for those waiting until the last minute to pay their 2019 real and personal property taxes.
Per the state tax code, payments made after Thursday’s deadline will be assessed a 10% late penalty. In addition to in-person payments at the tax collector’s office, payments can be made online through a link on the county website, http://www.garlandcounty.org. A 3.8% convenience fee is added to online payments. The county doesn’t receive any portion of the fee.
Payments can be made over the phone by calling the Information Network of Arkansas at 866-2572055. The county code is 26, and
parcel ID numbers are located on the left hand side of tax bills. Check payments can be left in the 24-hour drop box behind the Government Office Building at
200 Woodbine St. or mailed to Rebecca Dodd Talbert, tax collector, 200 Woodbine St., Suite
108, Hot Springs, AR 71901. Payments postmarked after Thursday will be delinquent and assessed the 10% late fee. Checks should be made payable to Rebecca Dodd Talbert, tax collector. Taxpayers requiring a receipt must include a self-addressed stamped envelope with their payment.
Those paying in person are required to wear a mask when entering the Government Office Building.
Talbert said no extensions will be granted, noting that only an executive order from the governor could extend Thursday’s deadline. Per statute, county collectors have to submit delinquent taxpayer lists for newspaper publication by Dec. 1. Talbert said she gives delinquent payers until mid-to-late November to pay before she submits the county’s delinquent list.
“People appreciate the opportunity not to have their name published because of an honest mistake,” she said. “We give them a chance to correct it.”
Information she provided earlier this week showed her office had collected more than
$52 million of the $92.2 million billed for 2019. More than $80 million had been billed on behalf of the 11 public school districts with boundaries inside Garland County.
The Hot Springs School District receives the largest amount of tax proceeds, with $27.2 million billed on its behalf. The collector’s office billed $20.8 million on Lakeside’s behalf, $18.5 million for Lake Hamilton, $5.4 million for Fountain Lake, $4.9 million for Jessieville, $2.3 million for Mountain Pine and $2.2 million for Cutter Morning Star.
The 47.78 mills Magnet Cove levies are the most in the county, resulting in a more than $39,000 tax bill for county residents within its taxing authority.
The collector’s office billed $ 3.2 million on behalf of the Garland County Library, which levies 1.6 mills, and $1.6 million for National Park College, which levies 0.8 mills. The 1.2 mills the county levies for its general fund resulted in a $2.4 million tax bill for county residents.
Lonsdale and Mountain Pine are the county’s only incorporated areas that levy property taxes, resulting in $ 1,035 and $13,034 tax bills, respectively, for their residents.
The growth of the tax base coupled with voter- approved millage increases have raised tax bills by more than 20% since the 2014 tax year. The collector’s office billed $ 76.2 million on behalf of taxing entities during the 2014 tax year compared to the $92.2 million that was billed in February.
Expenses the collector and assessor’s offices incur are reimbursed by the taxing entities.