Avoid Late Fees! Pay Your Personal Property Tax Online.

As usual, I’ve managed to put off paying my personal property taxes for 2006 until the very end. Lucky for me my county now allows procrastinators like me to pay their personal property taxes online up until 12/30!

Keep Your Money
Putting off payment has not been all about procrastination, I’d like to keep my money earning interest as long as possible before giving it to the government. I received my tax bill in November. Waiting until the end of December to pay it probaby earned me an extra $4-5, not a lot but little things can add up!

Making the Payment
The county website has two options, pay with eCheck or with credit card. I ruled out credit card right away because they charge a 13% conveinence fee. In order to pay by eCheck you need your bank account number and bank routing number.

I setup a separate bank account a few years back that I use only for making electronic payments to the government. Any tax bills I pay electronically come out of that account so Uncle Sam won’t ever be able to “accidentally” withdraw money from my main checking account.

Don’t Be Late!
The county charges a late fee of 3.5% if the payment is a day late, then 1.5% late fee per month after that. My total taxes due are about the amount I’ll contribute to my IRA in January. So even if my IRA holdings increase by 8% in January, overlooking my bill and making a late payment would effectively cut that return down to 4.5%! I definitely don’t want to miss the payment, make sure you don’t either!

Ben Edwards, the founder of Money Smart Life, saved up enough to buy a Nintendo back when he was 12 years old. When he used the money to buy shares of Wal-Mart stock instead, he knew he wasn't like the other kids... His addiction to personal finance has paid off for his family and now he's helping you to afford the life that you want. Check him out on the web at Google Plus, Twitter and Facebook.

All posts by Ben Edwards