As a Certified Mortgage Planner in Northwest Indiana, I have had numerous calls over the past several months in regards to property tax bills. The main reason for the calls are due to a reassessment process that has created delays since 2005.

Our normal cycle for property tax bills in the state of Indiana is for the 1st installment to be due in May and the 2nd installment to be due in November. Both installments are exactly half of the bill.

Our state property taxes are a little unusual in regards to the fact that they are always paid in arrears. For example, the 2007 property taxes owed were not paid until the calendar year 2008.

This year there was even a longer delay due to new state legislation that had been passed and new calculations on reassessed townships. Instead of our normal split bills, residents of Porter County Indiana began to receive our one and only property tax bill for the entire year earlier this month. I personally received my property tax bill this past Tuesday.

There was good news and bad news. The good news is that many like myself will see their property tax bills go down due to property tax caps that went effective this year. The bad news is that the entire amount owed is due by Friday, December 4th.

Happy Holidays! Both Santa and The Scrooge Showed Up In My Tax Bill.