After celebrating the New Year, reality returns this month as property owners start paying their local taxes.
Oneida County Treasurer Kris Ostermann says the you need to pay at least the first half of your bill you received in December by the end of January...
"....state law requires that even if you don't receive a tax bill, you are required to pay your taxes. It is up to you to find out what they are if you don't get a bill. Those payments need to be made to the town or the city..."
Ostermann says often taxpayers try to make the first payments at the county treasurer's office. The law requires the first payment, or the full payment, to be made at your local town or city offices. If you choose to pay in halves, the first payment is at the town or city while the final payment is make at the county Treasurer's office.
Ostermann says a problem crops up when people try to pay their taxes online at the county treasurer's office with credit cards for the first installment. Since the first payment is made elsewhere, the Treasurer's office doesn't open its online process until after January 31. If you don't make at least half of the payment by the end of the month, you will start growing a penalty and interest charge of 1.5 percent per month on the unpaid portion. Contact your local treasurer if you need more information.
