Deadline approaches for 2005 personal property tax payments

The deadline is quickly approaching for Cape Girardeau County residents to pay personal property taxes for the year.

Saturday is the last day for residents to pay property taxes without incurring penalties and interest charges.

Diane Diebold, Cape Girardeau County Collector, said this will be the busiest week of the year for the collector's office, but it's important for people to get their taxes paid on time.

"It's a pretty high penalty if taxes are even a day late," she said.

A 2-percent interest charge is applied at the beginning of each month taxes are late, on top of an initial 7-percent penalty fee. On Jan. 1, 2006, a full 9-percent penalty fee is added to late property taxes.

Diebold said last week the collector's office received 300 to 400 pieces of mail a day. At noon on Tuesday, the office had already received 500 pieces of mail.

"The volume of mail is really heavy this last week," Diebold said. "A lot of people will wait and this year it seems people are waiting a little longer to pay their taxes."

By the end of the year, the collector's office will have received almost 95 percent of tax payments. By March, about 2 percent of Cape Girardeau County residents still won't have paid their taxes, Diebold said.

Residents can pay personal property taxes several ways -- in person at the collector's office, through the mail or online.

Greg Lingafelter of Jackson paid his property taxes on Tuesday at the Cape Girardeau County collector's office.

"I prefer to get the receipt after I pay them," he said. "I normally pay them sooner, but I've been sick."

Five residents were waiting in line to pay their taxes at 3 p.m. on Tuesday in Cape Girardeau.

Lingafelter said he doesn't mind the wait.

"This is nothing. Wait till Friday," he said.

A majority of residents prefer to pay their taxes in person, Diebold said. "I don't know the exact percentage, but there are several hundred people a day that have come in over the past week."

For the second year, residents can pay their taxes online at www.missouricollectors.org.

"The volume of online payments has picked up," Diebold said. "There are three to four people a day who pay online."

However, there are fees applied for those who pay online. For property taxes less than $10,000, a $2.75 fee is added, and residents who pay taxes over $10,000 must pay a $15 fee.

Diebold said the easiest way for residents to pay their taxes is by using the collector's drop boxes, which are located at the county offices in Cape Girardeau and Jackson, or by using postal services.

"Just as long as it's postmarked Dec. 31 -- anything after that is late," Diebold said.

jfreeze@semissourian.com

335-6611, extensionÖ ²µ. 245