When the days get shorter and leaves start falling it can mean only one thing in Tennessee – property tax notices are in the mail.
Cleveland tax personnel mailed them Wednesday, and Bradley County did so Thursday.
“I thought I would just go ahead and get rid of this,” said Jim Vanwormer as he waited Thursday at the city municipal building, ready to pay his tax bill.
A lot of people feel that way, Bradley County Trustee Mike Smith said.
“As soon as some people get their bill, they pay it. For others, it depends on what their personal payment schedule is,” Smith said.
His office usually sees a flurry of early payers, he said, then the payments become steady but slower until the end of December, when many people show up then to beat the deadline for federal income tax deductions. Then it’s steady again until the February deadline to pay without penalty approaches.
“That’s when we will have people in lines out to the hall,” Smith said.
Friday also was the day eligible property taxpayers could begin signing up for tax-payment programs through the county trustee’s office.
Smith was the very first, receiving form No. 001, to sign up for monthly tax payments in 2011 rather than deal with a big end-of-the-year check. He predicted he will be one of many in Bradley County to use the monthly option.
Bradley County received approval from the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury Office to set up monthly payment schedules.
Property tax payers statewide can sign up at their county trustee’s office for Tennessee’s tax-relief program, which allows elderly and disabled residents with a combined income of less than $26,830 to receive discounts ranging from $112 to $137 on their tax bills.
Veterans classified as permanently and totally disabled can apply, too. Income is not counted for those applicants.
Bradley County also has a tax freeze program for its residents, approved by the County Commission in 2007. It freezes property taxes for people 65 and older at the amount when the applicant is approved.
The tax freeze must be applied for each year and to qualify, the 2009 income of property owners and their spouses cannot exceed $29,540.
Applications will be accepted for both the state tax relief and county tax freeze through April 5, 2011.
Applicants should bring proof of 2009 income for all owners listed on the deed and some form of identification. If the applicant filed a 2009 tax return, a copy of that is required, too.
A copy of the title or bill of sale is needed from people who live in a mobile home.
If the property is in a trust, the state requires a copy of that document, too, Smith said.
Despite national economic uncertainty, property tax collections have remained steady the past few years. Lynn Burns, county finance director, said the budget anticipates a 94 percent collection rate.
“It comes in pretty close to that,” she said.
Contact Randall Higgins at rhiggins@timesfreepress.com