Unpleasant Tax Surprise...

**forHISglory** · 05-03-2010, 09:59 PM

We moved to Iowa last fall. We were told that property taxes would come due in 2010, but not told when in 2010. Today we received a property tax bill and it said that we were delinquent in paying the property taxes and that our home would be sold at the courthouse if we didn't pay up immediately. Plus, there was a hefty charge put on the tax bill for being deliquent.

We had never received a tax bill and had no idea of when the tax bills actually came out. The state we moved from sent out tax bills in the fall, and we paid for the year then. But apparently Iowa does it differently.

So we called the courthouse, called the realtor and called the attorney who did the closing on the house. The tax office at the court house said that we owed last year's taxes: the whole year!! I said that we never got a bill. She told me that it was our responsibility to inquire about when the taxes were due. And she told me that they sent the bill to the former owners, and it was our responsibility to track down the former owners and get the bill from them.

The attorney said that the tax office only accepts tax money at certain times and that because we bought in the fall, it just so happened that that was NOT one of the certain times.

This is crazy. I don't mind paying my taxes. I've never ever been delinquent on paying taxes and this is embarrassing. I'm going in tomorrow and pay the bill, but I find the system up here to be mumbo-jumbo. Granted, we haven't moved in a long time, so maybe this is normal practice. Is it standard procedure where you are that the new owners of a home don't get the bill, but are supposed to track down the previous owners and get the bill? Is it standard practice that no one tells you when the tax bills come out? Or that tax offices will only accept tax money at certain times of the year?

Grrrr...........

**beks37** · 05-03-2010, 10:07 PM

That just doesn't seem right! I used to work at a bank in the loan closing dept and in KS they prorate taxes to the day of the sale and the tax bill goes to the house.....not the former owners. That's really wierd that they only accept taxes at certain times of the year.

**Contrary Housewife** · 05-03-2010, 11:39 PM

Around here when the county courthouse registers the transfer of the deed, they record the new owner... so they know who to send the tax bill to.

I would get my lawyer on that.

**mauimagic** · 05-03-2010, 11:55 PM

How very strange - but then each state has its own strangeness!! Sorry you have to suffer through this!!

**Teresa T** · 05-04-2010, 01:30 AM

I don't understand how they work it in that state. All these computers are connected and the tax people should know the exact date and time that house went from one owner to the next.

I'm sorry, something like this would be very stressful. I hope you get some answers when you go into the office. But sometimes the people who work in those offices are not so nice and helpful.

**hollyhill** · 05-04-2010, 01:30 AM

Well we certainly get a bill every year! About a month before it is due.

And it is the realtors responsibility along with the notary to divide up the amount of the annual cost of property taxes at the time of sale for that year....

definately weird.

And nervewracking too!

**Russ** · 05-04-2010, 06:53 AM

I sort of understand your frustration.
I had a similar issue with our Animal control and our dogs license. We never received our notice for the license and got a 2nd notice (so they say) with the fine for being late! The late license fee is $50 compared to a regular license of $12. Talk about robbery.
I argued that I never got the first one and their response was "not our problem, talk to the post office." I asked what would happen if my check got lost in the mail? They said "thats not our problem, thats your problem." grrrrrrrrrrr

Sorry you have to deal with this mess.

**McD** · 05-04-2010, 09:13 AM

FHG--this information comes from the Polk County Treasurer Page, but it is pursuant to Iowa law, so I think it would give you a good basis to start off of. YOu might want to see if your county treasurer has a website.

Polk County Treasurer

**nodmicks** · 05-04-2010, 10:02 AM

Wow I am so sorry! When we closed our taxes were prorated and the next tax bill came to us. We can only pay at certain times too.

**frugalfriend** · 05-04-2010, 01:00 PM

Something sounds weird about this for sure! I would go to the web site of the tax assessor's office and find out if the previous owners were paid up on their part of the taxes before selling. Seems like this should have been handled at the closing, then the next tax bill would be sent directly to you. Sorry to hear of the hassle and confusion and hope you can sort it all out.

**forHISglory** · 05-04-2010, 03:36 PM

Understand: we are people who carry no debt, and pay every bill within 24 hours. That's just who we are. We were in shock to get this notice because we had NEVER received a tax bill for this new house. NEVER!! If we had received it, we would have promptly paid it. I hightailed down to the courthouse this morning to pay the taxes and plead for mercy on the fines. They told me that they could not take the fines off the bill; that it was against state law. They suggested that I call my realtor who sold us the house. Boy, was I dejected. I wrote them the check for the past due taxes and fines, but as you can imagine, I was not too happy. And we had been praying about this situation, that somehow the fines would be lifted, but it looked like it wouldn't happen. And then God answered our prayers in the most unexpected way.

I came home and called our realtor. He answered the phone by saying, "We have a check in the mail for you for XXX amount of dollars." It was the exact amount of the fines. I was astonished and asked him how he knew that. He said that the Treasurer's Office at the courthouse called him and gave him heck for not paying the taxes last year at closing. But he said that the office would not accept payments at that time of year, which is why we were issued a credit on the taxes. Anyway, he said that the Treasurer's office decided that to avoid this kind of problem in the future, that from now on they would accept tax money at closing. So he said that realtors all over the county would be grateful that I went to the Treasurer and pleaded our case, and that this had been a problem for many, especially for those who moved here from out of state and didn't know how the tax structure worked. So anyway, we are getting our fine money back and all is well. Thank you Lord!

**nodmicks** · 05-04-2010, 03:42 PM

Originally Posted by forHISglory

Understand: we are people who carry no debt, and pay every bill within 24 hours. That's just who we are. We were in shock to get this notice because we had NEVER received a tax bill for this new house. NEVER!! If we had received it, we would have promptly paid it. I hightailed down to the courthouse this morning to pay the taxes and plead for mercy on the fines. They told me that they could not take the fines off the bill; that it was against state law. They suggested that I call my realtor who sold us the house. Boy, was I dejected. I wrote them the check for the past due taxes and fines, but as you can imagine, I was not too happy. And we had been praying about this situation, that somehow the fines would be lifted, but it looked like it wouldn't happen. And then God answered our prayers in the most unexpected way.

I came home and called our realtor. He answered the phone by saying, "We have a check in the mail for you for XXX amount of dollars." It was the exact amount of the fines. I was astonished and asked him how he knew that. He said that the Treasurer's Office at the courthouse called him and gave him heck for not paying the taxes last year at closing. But he said that the office would not accept payments at that time of year, which is why we were issued a credit on the taxes. Anyway, he said that the Treasurer's office decided that to avoid this kind of problem in the future, that from now on they would accept tax money at closing. So he said that realtors all over the county would be grateful that I went to the Treasurer and pleaded our case, and that this had been a problem for many, especially for those who moved here from out of state and didn't know how the tax structure worked. So anyway, we are getting our fine money back and all is well. Thank you Lord!

I'm so happy it worked out that way for you!!!! I understand how horrified you must have been when you take pride in never being late.

**Telephus44** · 05-04-2010, 04:35 PM

We had a similar issue with our house when we refinanced. Our house is in two parcels for some odd reason, and the lawyer who handled the $$ at closing never paid the taxes on the second parcel. We got a notice from the town saying that they could seize the second parcel for auction - I went down, and they were nice about it - they actually knew that the house had been sold, so rather than sending it to the former owners they just mailed it to the house figuring that it would get to us, and were just happy we showed up with a check. Of course, the taxes were only $30 with a $2 late fee, so I didn't need to go back and argue with the bank and the lawyer about the closing money not being distributed correctly.

I do find it odd that they would only accept tax payments at certain times though. I would think that they'd be happy to get a check!

**shoiji** · 05-04-2010, 04:58 PM

Good to hear everything worked out. Even better that you went there to the office and pleaded your case!!! Sounds like it really helped to shake things up. Also great that the realtor was quick to say the check was in the mail for you!!!

Did you ever find out when you next bill would be. I would still be calling around until I found out a date. Seriously, I would be telling everyone I talked to that I did not want to go through this again, so when will I billed next?