Tax bills due next week

With the New Year a week away, Terrebonne and Lafourche residents must not forget to stuff the taxman’s stockings.

Last month both parishes and the city of Thibodaux sent notices for this year’s property taxes, which are due Dec. 31. The three entities requested more than $200 million from its residents for 2015.

The Lafourche Parish Sherriff’s Office sent out notices to 51,256 property owners, with more than $127 million due. In Terrebonne, sheriff ’s officials requested more than $86.7 million from 58,961 property owners. Thibodaux sent out 6,554 notices and requested more than $1.4 million from those property owners.

Lafourche sent out fewer notices than Terrebonne, but it requested taxes from more properties due to the homestead exemption. The homestead exemption keeps the first $75,000 of value on a property the owner lives on from being taxed. In Terrebonne, 28,117 properties were fully exempt this year, leaving 30,844 property owners to pay taxes. Lafourche had 13,128 exemptions, resulting in 38,128 properties being taxable. According to Tammy Callais, deputy tax collector of Thibodaux, no properties in Thibodaux received the exemption.

With exempt houses removed, the average Lafourche property owed more than $3,330 in taxes. In Terrebonne, the average was a bit more than $2,800. The average Thibodaux property owed almost $221 in taxes.

For those who have not paid yet, penalties kick in on Jan. 1. Delinquent taxes will earn interest at 1 percent per month until they are paid, with an additional 10 percent collection fee tacked onto the balance if still unpaid by April 1. The penalties are the same across both parishes and Thibodaux.

Partial payments can be made as long as each partial payment is at least 25 percent of the total due and the first payment occurs before Dec. 31. The remaining amount is still

subject to the 1 percent monthly interest for tardiness and the 10 percent collection fee in April.

Homeowners with mortgages are advised to always check with their mortgage company before paying to avoid double payment. Those who purchased the property within the

last year may not have received a notice, but the current owner is responsible for all taxes due. They should contact the previous owner, who likely received the bill.

Property owners can pay remotely in Lafourche by visiting lpso.net/paymytaxes online or by mailing a check or money order to Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office, P.O. Box 5608,

Thibodaux, LA 70302.

Terrebonne will accept payments online at tpso.net or in mail at P.O. Drawer 1670, Houma, La 70361.

Thibodaux citizens can send payments to P.O. Box 5418, Thibodaux, LA 70302.

Homeowners can pay in person with cash, check, money order, credit or debit cards.

Note that credit or debit card payments carry a surcharge. •