CUSTOMERS OFFERED PENALTY WAIVER
Beaufort County’s thousands of taxpayers who are waiting for an important tax discount, the Legal Residence Exemption, will no longer have to worry about being penalized for not paying by the tax deadline on January 18th.
“If left unaddressed, thousands of customers would have to pay their tax bill in full, at a much higher amount, by January 18th and then wait for a refund,” said said Beaufort County Treasurer Maria Walls, CPA. “We do not want our customers paying any more than they have to.”
“We do not want our customers paying more than they have to. If left unaddressed, thousands of customers would have to pay their tax bill in full, at a much higher amount, and then wait for a refund. ”
Due to the volume of applications, the Beaufort County Assessor's Office is experiencing a delay in the processing of applications. Under South Carolina State Law, customers would be required to pay the taxes due by January 18th, regardless of their application status, or face significant late penalties.
Through teamwork and collaboration, any customer whose application has been submitted by January 18th will benefit from this new approach.
What Customers Can Expect
If a customer has not already paid, they may wait to pay until their application has been processed. Once completed, they will be notified of the outcome and given 30 days to pay the balance due without penalty.
If a customer has already paid, the processing of their application will be given priority to ensure their funds are refunded as quickly as possible.
“I commend both offices for addressing this issue and look forward to having our County Administrator and his staff working with the Assessor and Treasurer to come up with a long-term solution to address this annual problem,” said Joe Passiment, Beaufort County Council Chairman.
The Treasurer’s Office has notified over 3,000 affected customers of this benefit and what to expect next. Should a customer wish to check the status of their application, they may do so by visiting the Assessor’s Office website.