Property taxes due Dec. 31
Property taxes are due Dec. 31, and residents can pay their bill with cash, check, money order, debit card or credit card, according to Shannon Vial, tax supervisor at the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office.
“We do give a leeway into January because of the holidays,” Vial said. “So, if they come right after the first of the year, they’re fine, there’s no interest or penalties added.”
Residents can pay their bill online, by mail or in person. The tax office is now located at the River Room at 15 Dufrene Loop, but that will change after the first of the year when the office will return to the St. Charles Parish courthouse, Vial said.
Vial said residents with concerns about the amount of their bill should contact the assessor’s office first to go over the assessed amount of their home and to ensure they’ve received any exemptions they qualify for.
St. Charles Parish Assessor Tab Troxler said he highly encourages residents to consult his office’s annual report online because there are many tax saving exemptions that are available to residents.
But Troxler said the legislature needs to increase the homestead exemption.
“It hasn’t increased in the last 40 years,” Troxler said. “Other states have limits and caps to help control the burden on homeowners.”
He said the legislature should also remove the requirement of an adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less for property value freezes for residents who are 65 and older.
“Our retirees have more than paid their fair share of taxes,” Troxler said. “As they enter their retirement years, we can at least release them from this burden.”
Despite declining tax rates, many residents saw an increase in their property taxes because of this year’s property reassessment. By law, all Louisiana parishes must reassess property values every four years. Last year’s property taxes were based on a Jan. 1, 2019, assessment of property values. This year’s property taxes are based on a Jan. 1, 2023, assessment. Troxler said property values increased after the COVID-19 pandemic because of inflation and that property values in the parish grew an average of 30 percent from pre-pandemic levels.
“Residents are dealing with higher home values due to inflation and runaway insurance premiums,” Troxler said. “It’s simply too much to ask of homeowners.”
Since 2019, total tax rates in the parish have fallen by 5.7 percent across all taxing districts, according to the assessor’s office annual report. The current milage rate is 102.50 for each side of the river, down from a high of over 115 in 2000. A mill is a tax rate that is applied to the assessed value of a property. One mill is one dollar per $1,000 of assessed value.
“This year, more [tax rate] reductions were made,” Troxler said. “I believe going forward, additional reductions will be made, possibly getting us down to 85 mills, which would make us one of the lowest rates in the state.”
