Attention Homeowners: Franklin County Property Tax Bills will be mailed out mid-December and are due January 20, 2010. Payments must be postmarked by January 20, 2010. Late payments are subject to penalties.

This letter was sent to out to the 3,014 taxpayers that were currently signed up for the annual or semi annual direct debit. This communication is to inform them that we are discontinuing the annual & semi annual debits. We are NOT discontinuing the monthly debits.

October 30, 2009

Please be advised that effective immediately, the Franklin County Treasurer is discontinuing the semi-annual and annual direct debit program for payment of property taxes. There are primarily two reasons that factored into our decision. The Treasurer is legally required to provide a 10 day notification of the amount to be debited from your account. It is no longer possible to offer the assurance that this legal requirement can be met due to delays beyond our control in the certification of election results.

Election results must be certified by the appropriate County Board of Elections. Then the County Auditor is required to send the State Department of Taxation the valuations and tax rates for review and approval before property tax rates may be calculated and tax bills produced. The delays are not attributed to one singular aspect of the election; rather result from various school, library and townships with ballot issues whose borders overlap in Franklin County and as well as surrounding Counties. Additionally, the trend is increasing for electoral challenges in races that receive a close margin of votes. These challenges sometimes result in adding weeks of delays to the certification of election results.

Additionally, due to the infrequent nature of the debit process for this program (every 6 months), we are experiencing higher than acceptable margins of returned debits and account closures.

Offering flexible payment alternatives to our taxpayers is important to us. We continue to offer online payment options via e-check and credit card for payment of taxes. This service will allow you to continue to pay your taxes by the end of the year, if that is of importance to you.

We also offer monthly pre-payment options that may help ease the financial burden of meeting your property tax obligations. An informational brochure containing the details of this program has been enclosed with this correspondence.

If you have any questions, please contact our office at (614) 462-3438 or email at Ed_Leonard@franklincountyohio.gov.

Sunday, December 6. WOSU@COSI. 10am – 1pm. 333 W. Broad Street, Columbus.
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Franklin County Treasurer Ed Leonard collected more than eight million dollars in delinquent property taxes through the Treasurer's seventh annual tax-lien certificate sale November 9, 2009.
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If you find that you are having trouble paying your mortgage, or if you are in foreclosure, you need to call for help. Free counseling assistance is available to struggling homeowners regardless of income.

The Franklin County Board of Commissioners, Treasurer, and Prosecuting Attorney have collaborated on a Homeowner Helpline. Calling First Link at 211 will connect you to a local non-profit housing counseling agency that can determine what type of help is best for you. Click here for details.

Earned income and adjusted gross income (AGI) must each be less than:

• $38,646 ($41,646 married filing jointly) with two or more qualifying children;
• $33,995 ($36,995 married filing jointly) with one qualifying child;
• $12,880 ($15,880 married filing jointly) with no qualifying children.

Tax Year 2008 maximum credit:

• $4,824 with two or more qualifying children;
• $2,917 with one qualifying child;
• $438 with no qualifying children.

Investment income must be $2,950 or less for the year.

The maximum Advance Earned Income Tax Credit (advance EITC) for TY 2008 the employer is allowed to provide throughout the year with the employee's pay is $1,750.

Please Call FirstLink at 2-1-1 to schedule an appointment or find a location of a tax site.

Payment Status- Check the status of your tax payment.

Pay Your Taxes- Pay your taxes online, in person, or by mail.

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