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If you recently paid your property tax bill, you were likely holding your breath (and holding your nose) as you wrote your biggest check ever. Property values in most area neighborhoods have reached an all-time high.
If you dropped your payment envelope in the mail and went on about your day, take heed of this writer’s cautionary tale. I don’t want my near-disaster to happen to you and your family.
Because property taxes are our family’s business — I provide office support at Toler Company to my husband, two sons and daughter-in-law, who all have property tax consulting licenses — we know the importance of paying the tax bill on time and saving that documentation. We always wait in line at the post office to send via Certified Mail, and we carefully save that receipt to prove it.
This year, eight days after paying our (hefty) tax bill, our unopened payment envelope came back in the mail. No sticker was attached for insufficient postage or other problem, so we were baffled. And we were worried. The return meant we were delinquent.
After careful study (and without opening the envelope), we noticed that the coding, added at the bottom by the United States Postal Service, directed the envelope to the sender’s zip code, not the destination. After tracking the package online, it was clear that the USPS took more than one week…to mail our check back to us.
In a bit of a panic and imagining substantial penalties and interest, my husband, Toby, immediately drove to the office of Dallas County Tax Assessor John Ames to explain the situation. Helpful folks there whisked him back to “Desk X,” where problems are routinely handled.
“A lady named Yamile began opening the envelope,” Toby said, “and I stopped her to first show the postmark date and correct address. She assured me she could see that I mailed it correctly. There was no dispute that I did what I was supposed to do.”
Yamile began printing receipts to indicate no penalty and interest were owed, so Toby finally sighed in relief. “That was my ‘get out of jail free card,’” he laughed.
Toby asked how often this kind of postal mix-up happens, and Yamile’s answer was concerning. It used to be rare, she said, but it now happens “all the time.” Most times, the taxpayer has no idea their envelope never made it to its destination until they receive a delinquency notice in the mail. (Yeah, that envelope arrives as intended.) Yamile observed that our family was lucky the originals came back to us. Usually they don’t, she said, and checks get fraudulently deposited by whoever gets hold of the payment envelope.
Toby had high praise for all the employees at Desk X and throughout the Dallas County Tax Office. They were knowledgeable and patient, and they wanted to put his mind at ease. He then went to the Richardson ISD tax office, and they, too, accepted his payment with no protestations or penalties.
“I’ve been dealing with ad valorem taxes for 43 years and I’ve never seen anything like this,” Toby said. “When I was a little boy, I broke my finger during baseball practice. A family friend said, ‘Oh that doesn’t look like it hurts,’ but I said, ‘Well, it hurts when it happens to you.’ That’s how I feel about this tax thing. Having the postal service lose, misdirect or delay your payment doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it is a big deal. It causes lots of stress and worry when it happens to you.”
To ensure that you get credit for timely payment, here are Toby’s pro tips: (1) Send via Certified Mail for proof and tracking, and save all receipts, or (2) Use the Tax Office portal to pay online here, and print that dated receipt. A fee of 2.05% will be charged. (3) If you suspect a glitch, contact the tax office immediately.
If you wish to check and see if your account reflects your payment, you may log on here. You may visit the Dallas County Tax Office in person at 500 Elm Street, Suite 3300.