Scott County taxes cost less to pay online

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Paying county taxes online should cost just a bit less this year for tech-savvy area residents.

"A few of us [county collectors] went with a new company called Federal Payments," Scott County Collector Mark Hensley said. "The rates for the taxpayer are more affordable."

Federal Payments Corporation charges a 2.5 percent service fee for credit cards, with a minimum charge of $2, and $1.50 for electronic check transactions, Hensley said. There is a flat fee of $3.95 for Visa debit cards.

The company used last year by Scott County and New Madrid County for online payments, Official Payments, charged 2.75 percent, he said, and $2.75 for electronic checks.

In addition to having slightly higher rates, Official Payments is also "phasing out their services on the website portal -- they are getting out of that business and focusing on processing," Hensley said. "So we designed our own site."

"We've done a little bit of changing around," said Dewayne Nowlin, collector of revenue for New Madrid County. "The new site is going to flow a little better for the taxpayer: we took a few things out that kept some people confused."

About 40,000 tax statements are sent out by Scott County, according to Hensley.

Scott County property taxpayers will see something new on their statements this year that the smartphone generation will appreciate, Hensley said: a QR code.

"They can just take their tax statement and scan it," he said. "It's the next phase of technology where you just take your smartphone, zap your tax statement, key in your data and it's paid."

The Scott County Collector's office can be reached online directly at www.scottcocollector.com, by following a link from either the county website, www.scottcountymo.com, or the Missouri County Collectors Association website at https://mylocalgov.com/mcca/.

Hensley said Scott County residents can also pay in person from 3 to 5 p.m. at satellite offices. Those offices are open Tuesdays and Thursdays at 516 S. Main St. in Sikeston; Wednesdays at city hall in Chaffee, Mo.; and Mondays at city hall in Scott City.