Provisional tax bills should be distributed to most property owners after June 13, with a due date of June 30.

According to a news release provided by county auditor Sue Ann Mitchell, Kosciusko County property owners should receive the provisional tax bills from the treasurer's office for the payment of property taxes for 2002, payable in 2003, after June 13. County officials received approval from Indiana State Board of Accounts and the Department of Local Government Finance to mail the bills, according to Mitchell and county treasurer Stephanie Esenwein. The county council previously approved a resolution authorizing the provisional tax billing.

The spring installment of property taxes is due by June 30. Payments not made by the due date will have a 10 percent penalty added. Voluntary payments of property taxes that were made earlier this year will be reflected on the spring bill.

Usually, the spring property tax payments would be due May 10. The delay is a result of major changes in the assessment process mandated by the state. The changes have not allowed the assessor, auditor and treasurer to complete the process on time. County officials believe the assessment will be certified by Indiana and the property tax rate established for the county by September.

Once the reassessment in Kosciusko County is finished and the state sets the property tax rate for this year, the fall installment will reflect the new values, new tax rates and new exemptions filed with the auditor's office before May 10. Exemptions filed after that date will apply to next year's tax bill.

Any new construction that was not billed in 2002 will not be billed in the spring 2003. The entire tax bill will come due in November this year. Taxpayers who sold ground between March 1, 2002, and March 1 this year will receive no tax bill this spring. All taxes for property splits will come due in the fall.

There is no way to tell if a property owner's taxes will go up until the reassessment is completed because all assessed values must be compiled and exemptions must be applied before the final tax rates can be established. Property values will more closely represent the market value of the property. Older homes historically received greater depreciation. Because older homes seem to retain their value in the market, those values may increase.

Land values also will affect the assessed values of properties. Lake property and farm lands have increased based on verified sales. Because increases in assessed value must be considered as a whole, some property taxes will go up and some will go down.

Taxes may be paid at the treasurer's office on the second floor of the Kosciusko County courthouse weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or mailed to Kosciusko County Treasurer, 100 W. Center St., Room 215, Warsaw, IN 46580.

Tax bills with no delinquencies can be paid at the following financial institutions in the county: Campbell & Fetter, Farmers State Bank, Lake City Bank, Mutual Federal Savings Bank or National City Bank.

For more information, call Mitchell at 372-2323 or Esenwein at 372-2370. [[In-content Ad]]