Tax Collector's Office

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 Tax Collector
Town of Bethel
3454 Route 55
P.O. Box 561
White Lake, NY 12786
E-Mail:  betheltaxcollector@hvc.rr.com
 

Telephone: (845) 583-4350 ext. 108
Fax: (845) 583-4710

January 2023

2023 Property Tax Bills

The 2023 Property Tax Bills should be mailed directly from the printer around January 1, 2023. The Tax Collector's Office Hours for in-person collection are 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., for the following days:

March:

Friday, 24th,  

Wednesday, 30th, 

Friday, 31st 

Closed on major holidays. Please read flyer insert with your tax bill for details or click on Legal Notices on left in table of contents.
Tax bills can be found online at www.taxlookup.net   Click on Sullivan (county), then Bethel. Enter search data in one of the fields (last name, address, bill number or Section Block & Lot).
Please email the Tax Collector at BethelTaxCollector@hvc.rr.com(preferred) or call the tax office with any questions at (845) 583-4350 ext. 108.  NOTE: if you do call, please state your phone number slowly and clearly and repeat the number. We do not have caller id and sometimes calls cannot be returned as the phone number left in the message is impossible to understand. 

eCheck/Credit/Debit card - Taxpayers can pay by eCheck . The fee is $1.50 a transaction. Go to www.taxlookup.net Sullivan County, Town of Bethel, enter your bill number and look for the online payment, proceed to payment, by pass all screens to enter your checking account or credit/debit card information. Credit/debit fees are approximately 3%.

Tax bill information is available at taxlookup.net (site is not maintained after April 1st). New owners, subdivisions, or  property merges are not shown until the following year. To access your  tax bill, log into www.taxlookup.net Click on Sullivan then Bethel. Access the tax bill by entering either the owner name OR property address, hit search. Scroll to bottom to  print or to expand tax bill view. To look up a previous year click the tax year on the left.
 

After March 31st, all unpaid parcels are turned over to Sullivan County for collection. 

The  property tax bill contains levies for the Town, County, Fire District,  and any special districts. In addition, if school or sewer bills are  unpaid, they will be re-levied on the Property Tax Bill 

Many  residents have their taxes escrowed with lending institutions. It is the  lending institution’s responsibility to notify the town for which they  are responsible for paying. Many banks contract with Tax Service  Organizations (TSO), which are agencies that service escrow accounts  for the banks. These organizations provide us with a listing of their  customers and their identifying account numbers. The larger  organizations do this primarily by computer disc. In the event that a  resident received a bill that should have gone to the bank, it is still  the responsibility of the bank to call for that bill. If the bill should  have gone to the homeowner, but went to the bank, it is the homeowner’s  responsibility to know that taxes are due. Please call our office  immediately and we will issue you a duplicate bill. The failure to mail a  statement or the failure of a property owner to receive a statement  will not affect the validity of the taxes or interest prescribed by law,  (New York State Real Property Tax Law §922). If you should have received a bill, but have not during the first week of January, please contact this office for a duplicate bill. 

 1. I never received my bill, or received it late; do I still have to pay the penalty?
Yes, the failure to mail a statement or the failure of a property owner  to receive a statement will not affect the validity of the taxes or  interest prescribed by law (New York State Real Property Tax Law §922).  In addition, neither the Tax Collector nor any other official has legal  authority to waive statutory penalty charges. These are fixed by the  Real Property Tax Law. If they are waived, the collecting officer will  be personally responsible. As all records are audited by State  examiners, there is absolutely no discretion in this matter. The  Constitution and the law of the State mandates the procedure. 

2. If I mail my payment on the due date do I have to pay a penalty? 

No. New  York State Real Property Tax Law §925, provides as follows: “Payment of  taxes by mail, when enclosed in a postpaid wrapper (envelope) properly  addressed to the appropriate collecting officer and is deposited in a  post office or official depository under the exclusive care and custody  of the United States Post Office shall, upon delivery, be deemed to have  been made to such officer on the date of the United States Postmark on  such wrapper. The provisions of this section shall not apply in the case  of postmarks not made by the United States Post Office. A postage meter  postmark is not a postmark made by the United States Post Office and,  therefore, is not within in the provisions of Real Property Tax Law  §925. Payments can not be deemed timely because of a postage meter  postmark date on an envelope containing a tax payment (Op. New York  State Comp. 69-170). 

If taxes  are not received until after the due date, they are not paid until after  the due date unless they fall squarely within the provisions of section  925 of the Real Property Tax Law, and the penalty must be added and  collected. No Town Official or employee can waive the penalty (Op. New  York State Comp. 68-626). 

3. Do you accept payment with credit cards?
Yes. Credit Card Payments are accepted online only. There is a bank surcharge added and will be calculated before your complete your checkout.

4. Can I pay my taxes in installments?
The  Town of Bethel accepts payments in three installments. The first in  January, the second in March, and the third and final payment in March.  Please be aware the penalties are still in effect and does not exempt  you from paying them. Please contact this office for the amount due if  you are interested in this option, especially the final payment due. 

5. Can I pre-pay my taxes?
No,  the warrant constitutes the mantle of authority for the collecting  officer to receive the taxes. Therefore, the warrant must be regarded as  the instrument which empowers the collecting officer to begin the  collection. Collection authority can not begin prior to the date of the  warrant. 

6. What if my mailing address changes?
Address  changes must be made in writing. Notify either the Tax Office or the  Assessor’s Office by mail, e-mail or fax if you wish to change your  mailing address by clicking on this link Address Change Request 

7. What if my mortgage is paid up?
In order to make sure you will receive the tax bills prior to the  penalty period (February for Town/County Taxes), you must notify the Tax  Office in your Town. Send or fax a copy of the “Satisfaction of  Mortgage” letter from your lender. 

8. How do I apply for exemptions?
All  exemptions are handled by the Assessor’s Office. Any questions, please  call Assessor at (845) 583-4350 ext 103 or 104 or e-mail bethelassessor@hvc.rr.com 

9. Why don’t I see the STAR exemption?
The basic STAR exemption only affects your School Tax portion of your primary residence. 

10. Why do I have to pay for a second notice? 

If  taxes have not been paid during the 30 days following the period when  the taxes could have been paid without any interest or penalty, then on  or after the 31st day following such interest-free period,  the collecting officer is required to send a notice of delinquent taxes  to the mailing address of the owner.  A duplicate copy of this notice must also be sent to the third party as requested according to Real Property Tax Law, 923.  The notice must be sent not later than 85 days after expiration of the  interest free period, or 15 days prior to expiration of the warrant  whichever is earlier.  The town board has adopted a local  law or resolution imposing the $2 to be added to the taxes, to cover  cost of mailing of each such notice under section 987(1).  When the town board requires this charge, it becomes part of the total amount due and cannot be waived. 

To assist  our elderly and disabled residents, third party notification of tax  bills is offered. Property owners who are disabled or 65 years of age or  older , and own a one, two, or three family home, may designate an  adult consenting third party to receive duplicate copies of tax bills  and notices of unpaid taxes. In order to receive this service, one must  fill out a third party notification form RP-923, which is available in  the Tax Office or by clicking on this link:  Third Party Notification  

  The  Tax Office is responsible for the collection of property taxes for  approximately 7,556 parcels. All powers and duties of this office, as  well as collection procedures, are statutory and defined in the New York  State Real Property Tax Law. We welcome any inquires pertaining to  collection policies as well as general tax information. We offer our  assistance to residents, realtors, lending institutions, title  companies, and other entities that may require tax information. The tax  roll is available for public inspections upon request.   

The Town of  Bethel Tax Collector is a two-year elected position. Before entering  upon the duties of the office, it is required that all tax collecting  officers take and subscribe the Constitutional oath of office. Once the  Collector has taken the oath, he/she becomes the insurer and guarantor  of all monies, securities, papers and records that the law provides  shall be in their custody. 

 The Bethel Tax Office does not mail or collect School District Taxes. School Tax Bills are mailed in early September. The due date  is specified on the bill. Please contact their tax office with any  questions you may have regarding School Taxes. As of November 15th all  unpaid School Tax bills are turned over to Sullivan County, and are  re-levied on the following years Property Tax Bill with an additional  penalty.   

Liberty School Taxes and Sullivan West School Taxes are posted at on  www.taxlookup.net  

Monticello School taxes are available at www.infotaxonline.com