If you own property you are required to pay property taxes to the government.  There are specific rules regarding how much and when these monies are due.  The government is very clear with the requirements and takes unpaid property tax very seriously! Every state has its own penalties for unpaid property tax and most are very aggressive!

The struggling economy and housing crisis is being given as the reason that increasingly large number of property owners have unpaid property tax bills.  People are facing challenges just meeting their monthly mortgages and to put food on their tables, taxes seem like an expense that just can’t be met.  Unfortunately that money is used by local governments to pay for everything from education/schools to societal protections such as the police.

Counties all over America are suffering as a direct result of unpaid property tax.  Generally speaking counties can’t afford to carry this heavy debt load and are trying to resolve their immediate needs by selling off the tax debt in the form of tax lien certificates to investors. This way the county receives the immediate funding it requires while the investors take up the cause of collecting the tax debt from property owners.

Local government can use very aggressive collection methods to get you to pay your property taxes.  They can put a lien on your property, levy your assets and/or seize your property and sell it to meet your debt.  Due to the increasingly high number of property owners that have unpaid property tax, more and more local governments are enforcing their authority to freeze your assets in order to collect.  This means more and more property owners are finding themselves in severe financial crisis.

If you know you will not be able to meet your property tax burden by the due date, you need to contact your local government immediately!  Make contact before your property taxes are due!  They may be willing to work out an installment agreement so that you can pay the tax on a monthly basis with smaller payments.  This will cause all collection activities by the government to cease and allow you the time you need to pay the debt.

Many county governments are hopeful that as the economy picks up more and more people will pay their property taxes on time, and pay off the previously unpaid property tax.  Until this happens they have no choice but to become more aggressive in their collection activities.

This is bad news for property owners!  States are already enacting new collection methods that make penalties much more severe for unpaid property tax.  Whether it’s a home or a business you can be sure if you have unpaid property tax, your state not only knows about it, but if they haven’t come knocking just yet, they certainly will sooner than you think!

Some states are even looking at filing criminal charges for those with excessive unpaid property tax, citing tax evasion as a possible penalty.  If you can’t pay your property tax, contact your local government today and work out a payment plan!  This is the only way to avoid costly and potentially criminal penalties!