New Castle County will keep its payment window open late to help taxpayers avoid late fees.
Sept. 30 is the deadline to pay county property taxes and state school taxes that the county is required to collect. By law, late fees start Oct. 1 with a six percent charge and 1 percent each month thereafter.
Payment is accepted in cash, check, money order, Discover Card and PIN debit card at the New Castle County Government Center at 87 Read’s Way near New Castle during regular hours – 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.
Hours will be extended to 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 29, and Friday, Sept. 30.
Payments also may be deposited in a secure 24-hour drop box between the doors of the government center’s main entrance.
Those who lost or did not get bills may download copies via parcel records at www.nccde.org/parcelview, which lists payments and property, school, street light and crossing guard taxes. Those needing help may call the county tax bill line,(302) 323-2600.
State school taxes and county taxes may be paid with single checks or money orders to “New Castle County” using return envelopes sent with tax bills or mailing the check and invoice to New Castle County Taxes, P.O. Box 430, Claymont, DE 19703.
Taxes also may be paid to the county by phone at (302) 323-2600 using Discover Card, which charges amount-based fees.
Paymentus, a third-party company that takes payments at (877) 225-7351, charges 2.5 percent fees and takes Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express and electronic checks. Paymentus questions are taken at (800) 420-1663.
Payment hours recently were held in Middletown, one of many conveniences added by Gordon. “Beyond not raising taxes over the 12 years of my administration,” County Executive Tom Gordon said, “we improved tax transparency, made bills easier to read and added ways to replace lost bills, make payments, get questions answered and avoid late fees.”
During his first time around as County Executive, Gordon’s administration mailed out a tax-like statement stresssing that the county only collects school taxes. The county often gets complaints on school taxes. The mailing did cause confusion and county has worked to make the process easier.
