Just a reminder, it’s tax time!

Don’t shoot the messenger, but all those who own property in Kerr County, whether it serves as their permanent homestead or investment property, are being reminded that they have until the first day of next month to pay their 2019 property taxes without incurring penalties or interest. The actual tax deadline is anytime before or on February 1, 2021, despite the usual deadline being January 31.

Kerr County Tax Assessor-Collector Bob Reeves says, “I would encourage anyone who owes property taxes to take care of them as soon as possible. Beat the rush and mark that off your ‘to do list’. If you wait, then your property taxes will incur penalty and interest, and no one wants that to happen.”

Penalty and interest will begin to accrue on February 2, with the initial penalty and interest being an added 7% of the total bill amount for the month of February, increasing by 2% each month after that. Property owners were notified of what they owe before the February 1 deadline in tax statements which were mailed back in October.

Kerr County’s tax office collects payments from property owners for all of the local taxing entities in the county, except for the Kerrville Independent School District, which handles its own notices and collections separately.

Reeves said, “Due to the pandemic and the high number of COVID-19 cases we’ve seen here locally in the past few weeks, we encourage taxpayers to make use of our secure online portal or regular U.S. Postal Service mail. “Those who decide to remit payment using the regular mail system should be sure that their envelope is postmarked on or no later than February 1, 2021, to avoid the consequences of penalty fees and interest.”

The address to send payments is as follows: Kerr County Tax Assessor-Collector Bob Reeves, Kerr County Courthouse, 700 Main Street, Suite 124, Kerrville, TX 78028.

For those who choose to visit the office in person, all CDC precautionary guidelines will be followed, and the physical office will be closed in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 18.

Kerr County property owners who are disabled or over the age of 65 years whose property serves as their homestead, as well as those who are classified as disabled veterans or their spouses, may choose to divide their tax payment into four installments. In that instance, the due dates will be the following for each payment: Feb. 1, March 31, May 31 and July 31.

Anyone with questions regarding their property’s appraised value, exemptions or changes should contact the Kerr County Appraisal District at (830) 895-5223. Residents with questions about how the property tax system works should refer to the State Comptroller’s Office at https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/ptax-faqs.php. A history of values and taxes, property ownership and more can be obtained by also visiting https://tax.co.kerr.tx.us/clientdb/?cid=1.