Beaufort County property tax bills are finally on the way. What you should know
After months of delays, Beaufort County residents can finally pay their property taxes online. The county also began mailing the bills on Wednesday.
The long delay in mailing the bills was due to the volatile tax-rate dispute between the county’s governing body and Auditor Jim Beckert. In court filings and pointed public statements, each side has blamed the other for the delay.
The fight is over the millage rate. The rate Beckert set for the county’s real property program was higher (5.8 mills) than the rate the Beaufort County Council approved in June (4.8 mills), and a judge ordered the bills to be fixed. A lawsuit against Beckert, which was later consolidated with Hilton Head’s lawsuit over the county’s new sheriff service fee, is ongoing.
Early last month, county taxpayers who wanted to claim income tax deductions were given the option to pre-pay their taxes online at a higher rate — risking refunds down the road. Those refunds are currently being processed.
Now, as county residents begin to pay their bills, the immediate impact of the dispute on the county’s coffers is more clear. The bills, typically due by Jan. 15, are now due by March 31 — resulting in a significant decline in county tax revenue. As of last month, less than 30% of the county’s budgeted ad valorum revenue has been collected.
“The fiscal impact of this is not over,” County Treasurer Maria Walls said. “That’s the hard part.”
To make up for the projected loss in revenue, Beaufort County and the county school district are considering borrowing tens of millions of dollars through tax anticipation notes. However, unlike the school district, which has said it may borrow up to $100 million through the notes, Beaufort County has yet to publicly say how much money it may need to borrow.
The fiscal impact
Only about 28% of county property owners pre-paid their property taxes when given the option starting on Dec. 18, Walls said.
Through Dec. 31, the county had collected $30,281,717 in ad valorem tax revenue of its budgeted $106,217,968, according to an executive summary provided by county chief financial officer Whitney Richland.
The county would typically expect to have received about 50% of its tax revenue by this time, according to the graph. It has received 28.5%.
The county is considering passing a tax anticipation note because its “cash position continues to decrease,” according to this week’s council meeting’s agenda package.
“A TAN may be needed to maintain cash flows for operations and debt service until the receipt of tax revenues is substantially complete,” the agenda said.
However, the county has yet to say how much money it intends to borrow, or what the full impact of the delay in tax bills will be. Walls said she previously recommended the county borrow about $30 million, which would equal about a month’s worth of expenditures.
Last week, Beaufort County’s Board of Education approved borrowing up to $100 million through a tax anticipation note. The board also voted to pursue legal action to recoup the $350,000 cost of the borrowing.
Schools’ chief financial officer Tonya Crosby said borrowing $100 million is a “worst-case scenario,” and the amount will likely be reduced as more information comes in from county officials.
Walls said she hopes the county can get back “on par” with prior year tax collections by June 30 — the end of the fiscal year.
“This has never happened before, and I don’t have a way to predict with certainty how the money will flow in,” she said. “I don’t have a crystal ball.”
Council Chair Joe Passiment said Thursday that finance director Hayes Williams and CFO Richland were collecting information on the county’s current financial picture to present at a future finance committee or full council meeting. The next finance committee meeting is scheduled for Jan. 19.
How to pay your taxes
Those who pay their taxes online can do so now at mybeaufortcounty.com. The county began allowing people to pay online at the start of the year.
Paper bills were delivered to the post office on Wednesday, Walls said. Property owners should start receiving the bills by Friday.
“The bills are out,” she said. “They’re available, and people can pay.”
The county received another extension from the S.C. Department of Revenue that gives property owners until March 31 to pay their bills with no penalty.
For those who pre-paid their taxes online at a higher rate, Walls said the county is currently processing about 28,000 refunds. She said she hopes to have them sent out by next week.
The county is processing mortgage escrow payments first to make sure the money is refunded to mortgage lenders, she said.
“If your mortgage company paid more, they’re going to charge your escrow payment,” she said. “So we’re doing everything we can to give that back to the mortgage company.”
The county treasurer’s website offers tips on how to pay taxes online and how the county is processing refunds.
This story was originally published January 14, 2021 at 3:38 PM.
