Information from the County Attorney's Office
By Steven J. Franzen, Campbell County Attorney
If you own property, you must pay taxes on that property every year. While the 2020 tax bills for property located in Campbell County were due on December 31st, you have until April 15th, 2021 to pay your balance before the tax bill becomes delinquent. The consequences of delinquency are costly. State law mandates that delinquent tax bills incur penalties and interest. Fees as much as 30% of the face tax amount are added to the tax bill in addition to 1% per month or 12% per year in interest. Ultimately, the longer the delinquent tax bill goes unpaid, the more expensive it becomes.
In addition, unpaid tax bills become liens against the property, and these tax liens are put up for sale in August of each year. The already burdensome penalties and interest that are applied increase exponentially when the tax bill is actually sold. State law permits third-party tax bill purchasers to add administrative fees, costs, and attorney fees to the existing bill. After this process, your tax bill is several times the amount of the original bill, and you are in danger of losing your property in a foreclosure sale. If you also have a mortgage on the property, you may face additional repercussions pursuant to the contractual terms of your mortgage.
In order to avoid these consequences, you must pay your 2020 tax bill to the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office before the April 15th deadline. You can do this online at sheriff.campbellcountykentucky.com, by mail with checks made payable to Mike Jansen, Sheriff, or in person at either the Newport or Alexandria Sheriff’s Office location. If you did not receive your tax bill or have misplaced it, state law places the burden on you to obtain a copy of your bill from the Sheriff’s Office or Clerk’s Office and pay the balance.
I hope this article has emphasized the importance of every property owner paying their tax bill before it becomes delinquent. If you have any topics you would like to have covered in this column, please contact my office by e-mail at countyattorney@campbellcountyky.gov, by phone at 491-7700 or by regular mail addressed to 319 York Street, Newport, Kentucky 41071.