BARTOW, Fla. – Polk County property owners should be aware they will soon receive a 2023 Property Tax Notice in the mail! The Office of the Tax Collector for Polk County (TCPC), Joe G. Tedder, expects property owners will receive the bills within the next few days.
Up to 1% of the mail sent each year will be returned to sender as “not deliverable” because of an incorrect address. However, the property owner is responsible to pay what comes due, by law, even if they do not receive the bill in the mail.
Property owners can go to www.PolkTaxes.com and access a copy of their tax bill(s)! For those without access to find their bill(s) online, the Tax Collector encourages those who do not receive their notice by November 13 to contact his office at (863) 534-4700.
The only exception provides that property owners who have already signed up for the property tax payment installment plan should receive their quarterly payment notices by December 1. If paying:
ONLINE – Go to www.PolkTaxes.com and follow the online payment directions.
BY MAIL – Please use the return envelope and make sure to mail the coupon, lower part of your notice form(s), to the Tax Collector’s Office for validating when paying taxes.
IN PERSON – Payments are accepted at the Tax Collector’s Bartow Service Center, located at 430 E. Main Street; Davenport Service Center at 2000 Deer Creek Commerce Lane; Lake Alfred Service Center at 200 Government Center Boulevard; Lakeland Service Center at 916 N. Massachusetts Avenue; and, at the Lake Wales Service Center at 658 Highway 60 W.
(For customer convenience, tax payments can also be placed in a DROP BOX inside the Winter Haven American Legion Tag Agency, at 300 Avenue M, N.W.)
Tax Collector Tedder encourages taxpayers to take advantage of discounts for early payment of property taxes! Early payment discounts are available as follows: 4% in November; 3% in December; 2% in January; and 1% in February. As a reminder, all unpaid property taxes for the 2023 tax year become delinquent on April 1, 2024.
“We encourage taxpayers to pay as early as they can, to save as much money as possible! For most, these are big one-time expenditures that can be tough to handle,” said Polk County Tax Collector Joe G. Tedder. “That’s why we want to emphasize how helpful the 4% November discount can be,” he continued.
It is the Tax Collector’s pleasure to serve the people of Polk County, and to make the tax payment process as smooth as possible! This year, the TCPC has again opened the tax roll for payments early, by one week, in order to allow customers the opportunity to take advantage of the discount for longer.