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Kingsport property tax notices in the mail

Published October 18th, 2009 | 0 Comments

KINGSPORT — If you haven’t received your property tax bill by now, you probably will soon.

The city of Kingsport mailed out more than 25,000 property tax notices on Oct. 13 for all residential, commercial and industrial property owners in the city.

The deadline to pay is Nov. 1. Property taxes become delinquent on Dec. 1, where a 2 percent penalty will be accrued. On Jan. 2, an additional 2 percent penalty will be applied and for every month thereafter, a 1 percent penalty will be applied to the property tax bill.

Kingsport’s property tax notices were delayed this year until a final tax rate was set in the Hawkins County portion of Kingsport. Therefore, the city’s customer service counters at City Hall will be open extended hours from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. beginning Oct. 26 through Nov 20.

Hours will be expanded further for the last week before 2 percent late penalties begin to accrue on Dec. 1, with customer service hours running from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. from Nov. 23 to Nov. 30.

The Sullivan County Trustee’s Office in City Hall will extend its hours Oct. 26 through Nov. 30 from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Trustee Frances Harrell said. However, it will not extend hours to 6:30 p.m. at the end of the period.

The county property taxes are due without penalty until the end of February, but Harrell said her office was extending its hours as a courtesy to those who come to pay city and county taxes on the same trip.

Total property taxes billed by the city will be $30.42 million compared to about $29.46 million last year, with the increase attributed to previous strong years of residential and commercial construction.

“We are beginning to see the benefits of strong private investment in the community over the past few years,” said City Manager John Campbell. “Even after the state equalized rates to account for the recent reappraisal, we still have strong growth in property tax billings.”

Kingsport hopes to collect around 98 percent of the billable amount.

A tax relief program is available to elderly or disabled homeowners who meet certain income limitations. For more information on this program, call 229-9418. Property tax payments may be mailed, dropped in the night deposit box, or paid in person at the Customer Service Center located in City Hall at 225 W. Center St. Payment cannot be made through the city’s Web site.

Kingsport’s property tax rate is $1.94 per $100 of assessed value — the third-lowest property tax rate in Kingsport’s history.

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