Donley County property owners receiving tax notices

Folks owning property in Donley County began receiving statements for ad valorem taxes Saturday after the Donley Appraisal District put approximately 5,000 envelopes in the mail.

Chief Appraiser Paula Lowrie said she and her two staff members stuffed all the envelopes themselves and said the statements cover about 10,000 parcels of land.

“We could hire a company to stuff them, but it’s just about as quick to do it ourselves,” Lowrie said.

The combined statements cover taxes owed in Donley County, the Donley County Hospital District (which provides emergency medical services and indigent care), the Clarendon College District, the Clarendon and Hedley school districts, the Panhandle Groundwater District, and the cities of Clarendon, Hedley, and Howardwick.

Taken as a whole, the entire tax levy this year is $4,485,422.

Bills are due upon receipt and will become delinquent after February 2, 2015. Discounts are available for those who pay their taxes before January 1, 2015, as follows: three percent off in October, two percent off in November, and one percent off in December.

Owners of multiple accounts are responsible for ensuring they have reconciled all of their properties with all of their bills prior to making payment. Owners of multiple properties often have different names on the accounts. Some accounts may be in a company name, a trust or in various forms of a name (such as J. Smith, John Smith, and Jonathan Smith etc.). Some owners have differing mailing addresses as well.

In short, the collectors do not own the property, are not responsible for the tax or to determine how much a person decides to pay. During this phase the collectors receive and post payments and issue receipts upon request. If a person requires assistance in this area they should come to the Appraisal District office early (October-November) in this phase.

If you own property in Donley County and have not received your bill by mid-October, please contact the Donley County Appraisal District’s collections department to verify your account information and avoid possible delinquency.

If you did not receive your bill, you are still liable for the taxes. Each year on January 1, a tax lien attaches to all property subject to taxes to secure payment of the tax. The lien exists in favor of the taxing unit(s) having authority to tax the property until the taxes are paid.

The property tax code places the personal liability for the property tax on the owner of the property on January 1. Further, non-receipt does not affect the validity of the tax. Essentially, if you own property in Texas that is subject to taxation, make sure you are aware of the tax bill amount and the deadline to pay on time.

The District accepts cash, personal check, money orders and cashier’s checks. A person can also pay their property taxes online at our website www.donleycad.org. If paying by check, simply detach the stub and mail it with your payment to the address indicated on the stub. If you would like a receipt, please provide a postage paid self-addressed envelope with your payment.

For more information, contact the Donley Appraisal District at 806-874-2744.