anne-gannon.gifWest Palm Beach – Property taxpayers can start making payments this month to qualify for discounts. The official 2013 Property Tax Season started Nov.1. Anne M. Gannon, Constitutional Tax Collector’s office mailed 686,556 property tax bills, representing total tax revenue of $3.025 billion, which is up $60 million over last year.

The ad valorem tax, calculated by the Property Appraiser, represents  $2.7 billion in property values.  The non-ad valorem tax makes up the balance of $320 million. 

The five cities in Palm Beach County that pay the most in property taxes are West Palm Beach ($69.7 million), Boca Raton ($59.1 million), Delray Beach ($47.3 million), Palm Beach Gardens ($47 million) and Town of Palm Beach ($41 million). 

Florida Statutes provide discounts for early payments as follows:

 
• 4% in November 
• 3% in December
• 2% in January
• 1%  in February
• March payments receive no discount.

 

Payments received after close of business Monday, March 31, 2014 are delinquent.  Penalties and fees apply to delinquent taxes.  About eighty percent of all payments are received in November, according to Gannon’s office.

Gannon encourages online payments.  “It’s easy and our online payment center is open 24/7,” said Gannon.  “The best benefit of paying online is zero wait time.” 

Property owners can ePay taxes at pbctax.com. For those new to the agency’s ePay website, they can check out the “Property Tax Help” features.

There is even a list of the Top 10 Mistakes to avoid when paying taxes online.