Total SJC 2009 Property Tax Bill: $41 Million

By Stan Matthews
County Communications Program Manager

Graphic above shows how much of each tax dollar is levied by each of the various types of taxing entities (fire, schools, the state, the county, etc.)

County Treasurer Jan Sears reported on Jan. 28 that her department began running the final calculations for taxes on each of the 17,127 taxable properties in San Juan County. The calculations are complex, as the bills include levies for 43 different taxing entities within the county; many with complex systems of rates and exemptions. Sears reports that the bottom line, including all taxes, assessment and accrued penalties and interest is: $41,050,167.05 – an increase of $2.16 million over last year.
By law the tax bills have to be in the mail no later than February 15, “And we’ve never been late,” Sears said. When the calculations are complete, they must be printed and then they are stuffed into envelopes by County staff. “We are one of the few counties in the state still doing that in-house,” she said. “It gives us the opportunity to check for errors and special situations where we need to pull the statements for adjustments. We are also able to insert informational flyers from our taxing districts.”
Taxpayers may choose to pay half of their taxes by April 30 with the second half payable by October 31. Penalties for missing the April 30 deadline start with a 3% penalty plus an additional 1% interest for every month the payment is late. An additional 8% penalty is tacked on if the total payment isn’t received by December.
Last year the Treasurer’s office collected 97.3% of the taxes due by the end of the year. It also collected $327,325 in interest and penalties.