According to  Kathy Sayles, county tax collector, the mail-out process has proceeded well for her office, which is responsible for sending out more than 36,000 statements this year.

“Everything is going smoothly. We haven't run into any snags with the statements this year,” said Sayles. “We print close to 36,000 statements each year. This year we’ll print about 36,000, which is up some mainly because of the mineral values. We have about 2,000 to 3,000 statements that belong to loan companies which we don’t have to mail out separately, but that still leaves about 33,000 tax statements that have to be mailed out.”

Sayles said although taxes are actually due Oct. 1, local residents have until Jan. 31 to pay their bills and avoid penalties and interest. After that date, things can get expensive in a hurry.

“In February, the penalties will start at 7 percent (6 percent penalty, 1 percent interest), and increases each month,” she explained.

The tax penalty and interest schedule is as follows: After Jan. 31, 6 percent penalty and 1 percent interest; after Feb. 28, 7 percent penalty and 2 percent interest; after March 31, 8 percent penalty and 3 percent interest; after April 30, 9 percent penalty and 4 percent interest; after May 31, 10 percent penalty and 5 percent interest; and after June 30, 12 percent penalty and 6 percent interest, including an additional 20 percent attorney fee.

Select taxpayers can take advantage of a payout plan if they wish.

“There is a provision that allows taxpayers over the age of 65 to pay their taxes in four installments without any penalties or interest,” said Sayles. “You make your first payment in January, then you just make the remaining three payments in March, May and the last payment by July 31. This is for people 65 and older or those  receiving disability.

“Once people receive their tax statement, if they have a question we hope they’ll call us,” said Sayles. “We want to make this process as easy for everyone as we possibly can.”

The Howard County Tax Collector’s Office can be reached at 264-2232.

Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it