The Tax Collector is charged with the receipt and collection of all taxes, assessments and sewer fees both current and delinquent. All funds are remitted to the Finance Department. If paying by check, a separate check must be received for each charge or fee.
If you are planning to sell your home, it is your responsibility to forward your tax bill and sewer service bill to the new homeowner at closing. New bills are not automatically mailed to new homeowners. A new homeowner can obtain duplicate bills for a fee of $3 by contacting the tax collector's office.
If you receive a Tax Advice Copy but no longer have a mortgage company paying your taxes, you should use the Advice Copy to make your payments. It is your responsibility to ensure your payments are received by the due date. An original bill will not be sent.
PROPERTY TAXES
It is important to note that the municipal taxes are only a portion of a Wyckoff property taxpayer's obligation. Three other separate governmental entities, Bergen County government, Wyckoff Local Public School District, and the Ramapo-Indian Hills Regional School District develop and adopt their own budgets to be funded by taxes.
However, New Jersey's fiscal laws require the municipal government of Wyckoff to serve as a billing and collection agency for all four separate entities.
The 2007 apportionment of taxes is as follows:
|
Amount
|
2007 Rate | 2006 Rate |
2005 Rate
|
||
|
Municipal Taxes
|
$8,964,598
|
$0.196 | $0.180 |
$0.379
|
|
| Municipal Open Space Taxes |
$231,338
|
$0.005 | --- | --- | |
|
County Taxes
|
$7,597,868
|
$0.164 | $0.155 |
$0.322
|
|
|
County Open Spaces Taxes
|
$443,029
|
$0.010 | $0.010 |
$0.010
|
|
|
Local School Taxes
|
$28,385,669
|
$0.614 | $0.579 |
$1.187
|
|
|
Regional School Taxes
|
$16,249,878
|
$0.351 | $0.336 |
$0.682
|
|
|
TOTAL TAXES TO BE RAISED
|
$61,872,380
|
$1.34 | $1.26 |
$2.58
|
If a home and property is assessed at $780,000, a property owner will pay 1.34 for every $100 of assessed value. The annual tax obligation for this home will be $10,452. From that $10,452 the following amounts are required to finance the services of:
Municipal Open Space 00.37 County Open Space 00.77
Real property taxes are due on Feb 1, May 1, August 1 and November 1. The Township Committee passed a resolution which allows for a ten calendar day grace period. Any real property tax payments received after the 10th calendar day of the month in which the taxes are due will be considered late and interest will be charged. The interest rate charged for late payment of taxes is 8% on the first $1,500.00 and 18% on the amount over $1,500.00. A year end penalty will be charged at 6% on all delinquent balances (including interest) in excess of $10,000 not received by December 31. Please read the back of the tax bill for valuable information that may answer many of your questions.
DELINQUENT TAXES AND SEWER CHARGES
The date of the 2007 tax sale for 2006 delinquent taxes is scheduled for October 23, 2007 at 10:00am in the Wyckoff Memorial Town Hall, Municpal Court Room, 340 Franklin Avenue.
To avoid publication of a property owner's name and address, all delinquent municipal charges and all accrued interest and penalties must be paid before September 12, 2007. If you have more than one delinquent charge (property taxes, sewer charges, sewer assessment payment) a separate check must be received for each.
New Jersey Law, N.J.S.A. 54:51.1 et seq, " The Tax Sale Law", requires all delinquent property taxes and other municipal charges (such as sewer charges) be sold at a public sale annually. At this sale, an interested party will bid to "purchase" a tax sale certificate on the property. Once a tax sale certificate is issued, the purchaser holds a lien against the property. The property owner has up to two years to redeem the tax sale certificate. There are additional costs, interest and penalties to redeem. If the certificate is not redeemed within two years, the lienholder may foreclose on the property.