Gwinnett County Tax statements are arriving in the mail and as a result I have received numerous calls from clients unsure of what to do. They want to know is this a bill I have to pay. For most of my clients who both their homes using an FHA mortgage is nothing to do as the tax bill is escrowed with your mortgage payments. In this case the mortgage company will pay the bill and you do nothing.
For my clients that purchase homes this year we talk about filing a Homestead Exemption. This gives them a head start to file the exemption on the home. What is a Homestead Exemption? This is when the county exempts a portion of the home's value from property taxes, if this is your primary residence. You receive a discount off the normal tax bill, the amount is normally small, but it does help to reduce the amount you pay for your property tax.
It is very easy to take advantage of this saving, but going to your local tax commissioner’s office or looking on line for the required form. You only qualify if you own the property on January 1 of the taxable year. Clients who purchased homes this year do not qualify for the exemption until next year. To help my clients remember to file, I send an email to everyone who bought a house 2012 within the first 2 weeks of 2013.
One of the best ways to determine if there is any action required on your part when you receive the tax bill is to pull out your settlement statement and check to see if your taxes and insurance are escrowed. If they are not you must pay this bill by October 15, 2012 in Gwinnett County.
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