Fall Property Taxes Can Be Paid Online
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Fall property tax payments just got a little easier. Instead of mailing payments or dropping them off at a local bank or at the county treasurer's office, payments can be made on the Internet over a secure connection or by calling a toll-free number.
Fall tax payments are due Nov. 13.
The Internet address is www.kosciuskotax.net and it is available Monday.
The toll-free number is 800-809-5849. It will be operational Monday, too.
"You will need your credit card, a billing address for that card and an e-mail address for a receipt," said Bill Maegerlein of CertifiedIT, a Bloomington-based company.
Once at the site taxpayers can search by name, parcel number, duplicate numbers or by address for taxes due. When the next page appears the user clicks on his or her property, reviews taxes due and makes a payment with visa, masterCard, American Express, Discover credit cards or with a debit card.
Multiple properties may be chosen with a total given at the end of the search(es).
A 2.75 percent fee is assessed on each payment, made on the Internet or with the toll-free number.
"The credit card companies get 2.1 percent of that fee," Maegerlein said. "The remainder, .65 percent is split 60-40 between the county and CertifiedIT. We're making enough to cover costs.
"Some people may not like the fee, but others will. It helps everybody and makes it more convenient for the taxpayer."
Maegerlein said an Amish man has a tax bill of $1001 and didn't want to pay an extra $27.
"Then he got to thinking it would take him 2-1/2 hours to get to town in his buggy and another 2-1/2 hours to get home. He thought the toll-free number was the way to go."
Maegerlein and CertifiedIT's marketing director Christy Mehrlich approached the county council about the FreedomPay program in August, where it was introduced by county treasurer Kent Adams at a commissioner's meeting.
Operational questions regarding FreedomPay can be directed to Adams.
When taxpayers call the toll-free number they won't be expected to push a bunch of numbers, "they'll get a person," Maegerlein said.
Allen County was the first county in Indiana to introduce FreedomPay to its residents more than a year ago. Whitley and Elkhart Counties also implemented FreedomPay and reported success with the product. Six other counties adopted the program in October including Adams, Noble, Marshall and Huntington.
Internet transactions will be secured through Authorize.net, an Internet payment gateway. Access to the Internet system is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
They will not have to wait for normal business hours to visit or call the Treasurer's office to obtain their property tax information.
Of course, payments will still be taken at the county treasurer's office and at most area banks. [[In-content Ad]]
Fall property tax payments just got a little easier. Instead of mailing payments or dropping them off at a local bank or at the county treasurer's office, payments can be made on the Internet over a secure connection or by calling a toll-free number.
Fall tax payments are due Nov. 13.
The Internet address is www.kosciuskotax.net and it is available Monday.
The toll-free number is 800-809-5849. It will be operational Monday, too.
"You will need your credit card, a billing address for that card and an e-mail address for a receipt," said Bill Maegerlein of CertifiedIT, a Bloomington-based company.
Once at the site taxpayers can search by name, parcel number, duplicate numbers or by address for taxes due. When the next page appears the user clicks on his or her property, reviews taxes due and makes a payment with visa, masterCard, American Express, Discover credit cards or with a debit card.
Multiple properties may be chosen with a total given at the end of the search(es).
A 2.75 percent fee is assessed on each payment, made on the Internet or with the toll-free number.
"The credit card companies get 2.1 percent of that fee," Maegerlein said. "The remainder, .65 percent is split 60-40 between the county and CertifiedIT. We're making enough to cover costs.
"Some people may not like the fee, but others will. It helps everybody and makes it more convenient for the taxpayer."
Maegerlein said an Amish man has a tax bill of $1001 and didn't want to pay an extra $27.
"Then he got to thinking it would take him 2-1/2 hours to get to town in his buggy and another 2-1/2 hours to get home. He thought the toll-free number was the way to go."
Maegerlein and CertifiedIT's marketing director Christy Mehrlich approached the county council about the FreedomPay program in August, where it was introduced by county treasurer Kent Adams at a commissioner's meeting.
Operational questions regarding FreedomPay can be directed to Adams.
When taxpayers call the toll-free number they won't be expected to push a bunch of numbers, "they'll get a person," Maegerlein said.
Allen County was the first county in Indiana to introduce FreedomPay to its residents more than a year ago. Whitley and Elkhart Counties also implemented FreedomPay and reported success with the product. Six other counties adopted the program in October including Adams, Noble, Marshall and Huntington.
Internet transactions will be secured through Authorize.net, an Internet payment gateway. Access to the Internet system is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
They will not have to wait for normal business hours to visit or call the Treasurer's office to obtain their property tax information.
Of course, payments will still be taken at the county treasurer's office and at most area banks. [[In-content Ad]]