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Today’s not just the last day in June, it’s the last day Harris County property owners who still owe taxes from last year can pay without a heavy penalty. How heavy?
Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Paul Bettencourt says there are nearly 200,000 property tax accounts still delinquent from 2004, and those people need to pay up in full today or make arrangements to pay in installments.
This is on top of penalties and interests that have been accumulating since the taxes went delinquent earlier this year. At midnight tonight, penalties and interest will total more than 40 percent, and tomorrow, those still delinquent will be turned over to a collection agency, which will add more penalties.
Bettencourt says people can pay in person before the end of business today, or by mail with a June 30th postmark, by credit card on the County Tax Office website, or, they can go to any county Tax Office branch and work out a payment plan. That also has to be done today.
Bettencourt says failing to pay taxes, for whatever reason, is definitely something people should work at avoiding, because ultimately, the county will foreclose their property and sell it at public auction to pay the taxes.