When will I receive my real estate tax bills?
Your county/township real estate tax bill is issued the first week of March and covers the period January 1 – December 31 of the current year. The school real estate tax bill is issued the first week of July and covers the period July 1 of the current year through June 30 of the following year.
By PA Tax Code your real estate tax bill must be sent to the property owner. Our records come from the county board of assessment each billing cycle and do not include mortgage information. The only time a bill is sent directly to a mortgage company is when the mortgage company requests and pays for a duplicate bill.
The duplicate bill fee is $10, payable to “Julie Mullin”.
The fee for a tax certification is $50, payable to “Julie Mullin”. The certification covers 3 years of real estate taxes and includes, county, township and school taxes.
By PA Tax Code I am not permitted to accept a partial or estimated payment. The school district does allow for installment payments. Per district policy the first installment must be made by 8/31 or the installment option is forfeited.
If you do not return both the tax collector copy and tax payer coupon from your bill, as noted on the bill, there is nothing to stamp and return to you. The tax collector copy must be retained for the auditors. The tax payer copy gets stamped and returned to you.
The only tax exemption in PA is for 100% disabled Vetereans.
There is the Homestead Reduction, which is not based on age, the property just needs to be your primary residence. This reduction only applies to your school real estate tax bill. You will see this calculation on the back of your school bill, top portion. You can apply for the Homestead Reduction through the county at https://www.montcopa.org/DocumentCenter/View/1162/Homestead-Application
The PA Department of Revenue also has a Property Tax Rebate Program. This program is for seniors age 65 and older, widows/widowers age 50 and older and people with disabilities 18 and older. You must make $45,000 a year or less to qualify. The forms are available at my office and at https://www.revenue.pa.gov/IncentivesCreditsPrograms/PropertyTaxRentRebateProgram/Pages/default.aspx.
If you qualify for the PA Rebate Program you are also eligible for the Spring-Ford Rebate Program. You must apply and be approved for the PA Rebate before you can submit to Spring-Ford. These forms are also available at my office or online. Additional information on this program can be found at https://www.spring-ford.net/about-spring-ford/departments/business-office