The St. Johns County 2017 property tax rolls are now open for collection.
Notices were sent to customers via email and mail Oct. 31. Payment can be made effective immediately.
Questions regarding homestead exemptions and property assessment should be addressed to the St. Johns County Property Appraiser, who is responsible for providing the St. Johns County Tax Collector with the tax roll. Any questions regarding the individual taxing authorities' millage rates, CDD rates, assessments and exemptions listed on your notice should be addressed to those individual authorities provided on the insert in your tax notice.
Total taxes to be collected by the St. Johns County Tax Collector are $436,068,135. This is an increase of $24,303,992, compared to the 2016 tax roll of $411,764,143, and includes notices for real estate, tangible personal property, railroad and non-ad-valorem assessments.
"For the past 27 years, your Tax Collector's office has maintained a 99.3 percent or greater collection rate, with this year’s collection rate standing at 99.82 percent," said St. Johns County Tax Collector Dennis W. Hollingsworth, CFC. "Ultimately, this assists all local taxing authorities to finance services for the citizens’ needs."
Although all tax notices become due Nov. 1, 2017, they are payable through March 31, 2018, without incurring a penalty. The greatest savings will come to those who opt to pay their taxes in November when they can get a 4 percent discount allowed by law, FS 197.162. The amount of the discount decreases by 1 percent every month until March 2018 when taxes must be paid and no discount is applied.
There are various methods of payment available to St. Johns County property owners. The easiest, most efficient and economical means is by e-check payment on the SJTC website, www.sjctax.us. Online payments can be made via e-check for just $1.30, or by credit card for a 2.5 percent transaction fee paid to the financial institutions. Payment can also be made by mailing a check or visiting one of our four office locations.
In addition to the 71,083 tax notices sent to property owners, 44,193 tax notices were sent to mortgage companies with escrow accounts. Property owners with escrow accounts should receive an “information only” notice detailing your tax status and stating, "THIS IS NOT A BILL-DO NOT PAY- YOUR BILL HAS BEEN FORWARDED TO YOUR ESCROW AGENT."
Anyone unable to pay their homestead property taxes should contact the St. Johns County Tax Collector as early as possible to determine eligibility for the Homestead Tax Deferral.
If you have questions, comments or suggestions regarding payment of taxes or the operation of the St. Johns County Tax Collector's office, please do not hesitate to contact Hollingsworth at taxcollector@sjctax.us.
