[Adopted 5-22-2002 by Ord. No. 1542]
Borough officials shall take all necessary and
reasonable action to ensure that the Borough real estate tax notices
are distributed to property owners by March 1 of each year.
All taxpayers subject to the payment of Borough
real estate taxes shall be entitled to a discount of 2% from the total
amount of such tax upon making payment of the entire amount within
two months after the date of the Borough real estate tax notice.
All taxpayers subject to the payment of Borough
real estate taxes who fail to make payment of any such taxes levied
against them within four months after the date of the Borough real
estate tax notice shall be charged a penalty of 10%, which penalty
shall be added to the taxes by the Borough Tax Collector and collected
by the Tax Collector.
A.
Authorization of installment payments. All taxpayers subject to the payment of Borough real estate taxes shall have the option to pay such taxes in four equal installments. Any taxpayer that decides to make such installment payments is not entitled to the discount referenced in § 201-92 above.
B.
Deadlines for installment payments. Any taxpayer who
elects to make installment payments for Borough real estate taxes
shall make such payments according to the following schedule:
(1)
First installment payment: 25% of the face amount
of the real estate tax shall be due on or before June 30 of each year.
(2)
Second installment payment: 50% of the face amount
of the real estate tax shall be due on or before July 31 of each year.
(3)
Third installment payment: 75% of the face amount
of the real estate tax shall be due on or before August 31 of each
year.
(4)
Fourth installment payment: 100% of the face amount
of the real estate tax shall be due on or before September 30 of each
year.
C.
Delinquent installment payments. Any taxpayer electing
to make installment payments that fails to make such payments by the
due dates and in the amounts referenced above shall be charged a penalty
of 10% on any such delinquent installment payment, which penalty shall
be added to the taxes by the Borough Tax Collector and collected by
the Tax Collector.
D.
Taxpayer’s intent to pay taxes in installment
payments. If a taxpayer makes the first installment payment before
the delinquent date of same, then that payment shall be conclusive
evidence of the taxpayer’s intent to pay Borough Real Estate
Taxes according to the installment payment plan. When the taxpayer
fails to evidence this intent to pay Borough real estate taxes on
the installment payment plan, then his or her taxes shall become due
and payable, and be collected, under the normal procedures, subject
to the discounts and penalties permitted thereby.
A.
Where a taxpayer has not paid Borough real estate
taxes within the specified time period and incurs penalty charges,
including those for installment payments, and the Borough Tax Collector
has reason to believe that the taxpayer is 60 years of age or older,
the Borough Tax Collector shall send by first class mail the following
notice in large print form with 18 point or larger text to the taxpayer:
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“YOUR REAL ESTATE TAXES HAVE NOT BEEN
PAID ON TIME AND A PENALTY HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE AMOUNT YOU OWE. IF
THE PROPERTY FOR WHICH THE TAXES HAVE NOT BEEN PAID IS YOUR PRIMARY
RESIDENCE AND IF YOU ARE 60 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER, CONTACT THE AREA
AGENCY ON AGING (TELEPHONE NUMBER) FOR POSSIBLE ASSISTANCE.”
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B.
Failure to receive this notice shall not relieve any taxpayer from the payment of any Borough real estate taxes, unless all conditions and provisions contained in § 201-95C below are met.
[Amended 12-8-2022 by Ord. No. 1675]
C.
Waiver
of penalties pursuant to Act 57 of 2022.
[Added 12-8-2022 by Ord. No. 1675]
(1)
ADDITIONAL CHARGE
QUALIFYING EVENT
(a)
(b)
TAX COLLECTOR
Definitions. The following words and phrases, when used in this section,
shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise:
Any interest, fee, penalty, or charge accruing to and in
excess of the face amount of the real estate tax as provided in the
real estate tax notice.
For the purposes of real property, the date of transfer of ownership.
For manufactured or mobile homes, the date of transfer of ownership
or the date a lease agreement commences for the original location
or relocation of a manufactured or mobile home on a parcel of land
not owned by the owner of the manufactured or mobile home. The term
does not include the renewal of a lease for the same location.
The elected Tax Collector for the Borough of Crafton, Allegheny
County, any authorized or designated delinquent tax collector, the
Allegheny County Tax Claim Bureau, or any alternative collector of
taxes as provided for in the Act of July 7, 1947 (P.L. 1368, No. 542),
known as the "Real Estate Tax Sale Law,"[1] an employee, agent or assignee authorized to collect the
tax, a purchaser of claim for the tax or any other person authorized
by law or contract to secure collection of or take any action at law
or in equity against the person or property of the taxpayer for the
real estate tax or amounts, liens, or claims derived from the real
estate tax.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 72 P.S. § 5860.101 et seq.
(2)
Waiver of additional charges. The Tax Collector of the Borough of
Crafton shall, for tax years beginning on and after January 1, 2023,
grant a request to waive additional charges for real estate taxes
if the taxpayer does all of the following:
(a)
Provides a waiver request of additional charges, on a form provided
by the state Department of Community and Economic Development, to
the Tax Collector in possession of the claim within 12 months of a
qualifying event;
(b)
Attests that a tax notice was not received; and
(c)
Provides the Tax Collector in possession of the claim with one
of the following:
[1]
A copy of the deed showing the date of real property transfer;
or
[2]
A copy of the title following the acquisition of a mobile or
manufactured home subject to taxation as real estate showing the date
of issuance or a copy of an executed lease agreement between the owner
of a mobile or manufactured home and the owner of a parcel of land
on which the mobile or manufactured home will be situated showing
the date the lease commences; and
(d)
Pays the face value amount of the tax notice for the real estate
tax with the waiver request.
