Taxpayers will see changes on bills

Sanders County residents will notice some changes on their property tax bills this fall. Nichol Scribner, Clerk and Recorder and Treasurer for Sanders County, said that the tax bills will show up in mailboxes later this week and next week. First half property taxes are due November 30, 2021, and payments for the second half are due May 31, 2022.

On bills, taxpayers will see new information about school levies. Senate Bill 212 directs county treasurers to split out school levy information and designate whether or not the levy was voted on by taxpayers. Sanders County taxpayers will see levies broken down by fund on their bill. If a school has a voted levy, it will have an asterisk to the left of it. County levies that are partially or fully voted will also have an asterisk noting that.

Scribner said that 2021 was an assessment year. The assessments were sent in June of this year to property owners, who had until August 9 to protest any increase with the Department of Revenue. Scribner noted that once tax bills are mailed, protests must be handled in the judicial system. “If taxpayers feel there is an error,” Scribner stated, “in most cases the correction will not apply until the 2022 taxes are sent out.

Scribner also noted that the county implemented a new credit card processing system that uses chip readers. Taxpayers can also pay by phone with a credit card 24 hours a day by calling 1-866-549-1010. She added that taxpayers will need the Sanders County bureau code, 8984597, as well as their taxpayer ID, which can be found on tax bills. The county also accepts payments by mail, in person at the courthouse in Thompson Falls, and online.

For more information about tax bills or payments, call (406) 827-6924.