Seeking to make it easier for property owners to pay their real estate taxes and sewer bills, Lawrence Township will now accept online payments in addition to old-fashioned checks.
Members of the Township Council approved the move to allow online payments as a convenience for property owners – and just in time for the extended due date of Sept. 4 for third quarter property tax payments.
The online tax and sewer payments come with a 2.99 percent convenience fee, which will recover the cost of processing the payment that is passed on to the township, as permitted by state law.
“It’s a nod to the future,” Municipal Manager Kevin Nerwinski said of the new online payment option.
While many property owners pay their taxes and sewer bills in person at the tax collector’s office, some property owners mail in their payments. For others, it will be easier to pay the bills online.
“You can still pay the bill in person or mail it in. This is more of a convenience for people to do it online. We are providing an additional service,” Nerwinski said.
The third quarter property tax bill’s due date has been extended from Aug. 1 to Sept. 4. Payments received after Sept. 4 will be charged interest back to Aug. 1.
The payment due date was extended because of a delay in preparing and mailing the 2018-19 property tax bills. The delay was caused by changes in state aid to the Lawrence Township Public Schools.
The total tax rate for 2018 is $2.80 per $100 of assessed valuation. The owner of a house assessed at the township average of $282,131 will pay $7,899 – or $37 more than the 2017 property tax bill.
In 2017, the total tax rate was $2.78 per $100 of assessed valuation and the owner of a house assessed at the township average of $282,131 paid $7,862.
Although property owners pay their taxes to Lawrence Township, the township serves as the tax collector and distributes the money to each governmental entity – the school district, the county government and the township.
