Personal Property Tax question

[Frodoo]

Virginia – The County I live in has personal property tax, so does my city. Every year the county mails out a letter to all registered property owners a form called “Return of Tangible Personal Property”. You must sign it and return by May 1st – or it is late. Being as the mail delivery is rural and is contracted out for delivery, I often exchange mail with my neighbors and I have missed tax refunds and paychecks other important mail and it’s a common fact that it will happen here. The PP tax bill is mailed you in October and is due in November.
As it was, I don’t remember getting the letter to sign and if I did, it was signed and I put my flag up for the mail carrier. Come November I did get a bill and mailed the payment and I have the canceled check as proof.
To my astonishment last week I got a letter from the county saying that my employer had been sent a demand letter to garnish my wages and that unless payment was made by May 3, that I would be summoned to appear in county court. Not stated in the letter was the fact that they put a stop on my DMV to suspend my driver’s license and registration. I found this out when I showed up to pay the collection fee. The collection fee was not because I didn’t pay the tax; it was because they claimed to not have received “Return of Tangible Personal Property” back signed. The fly in the soup is my tax bill was $8.00 for my 20 year old car and the collection fee was $52. They claimed that in February if my letter didn’t show up, that it was my fault and in the future I need to come personally to the office and get a replacement form and to prevent it from happening again to return it certified mail with signature, and I need to do this every year if I have a delivery problem that’s how it works. Section 58.1-3952 of the Virginia Code was cited numerous times.
What are my options please? I paid it. Is that all I can do?
VirginiaWhat is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

You can pay on time. You obviously knew the time of year the taxes were due. Blaming it on the mailman does not hold water.

 

[Frodoo]

It was paid on time, like i said it was letter they said they didn't get back signed called, Return of Tangible Personal Property.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Along with paying, you knew the form was due.

 

[Frodoo]

I guess you could say that it's my fault for counting on the mail system to remember pay my electric bill, then coming home one night and then have no lights, heat, etc..my fault for sure. The yearly tax form is reaching, it would be like remembering to set a dentist appointment. Remembering to pay the tax bills we get the we ones we don't get? Well life is not about fairness that's for sure. I often get responses like this on this forum.

 

[FlyingRon]

You know that the thing is due. If you don't get the copy in the mail, go to courthouse or wherever the tax office is and make the filing there.

 

[Frodoo]

I get that part and understand. I didn't understand the collection fee directly garnished out of my wages, the suspension of my driving privileges, and registration over a form they didn't get without any other notification other than a demand letter to my employer and threat to send me to jail on may 3.

 

[startedone]

Does this also include for property like home furnishings? Many times these are exempt from personal property tax if its a residential home ... businesses pay this type of tax usually.

You may wish to check your state's PP tax on this aspect. The car? Weird way of doing cars.

 

[FlyingRon]

started:

There's no STATE personal property tax (much to the chagrin of people who believed a former governor who ran on the campaign to abolish it). The tax is levied by the counties or, in some cases, cities, primarily on cars but also on other vehicles such as RV's, boats, and airplanes.

The procedure varies from county to county, in some counties they just send you a statement that says "here's the cars we have on record for you, let us know if it's anything different." Other counties require you to acknowledge their information is correct and send back the inquiry.

Then typically late summer you get the actual tax bill which typically needs to be paid by October. Some counties have stickers that they sell you to put on your car but that's waning now that the DMV allows them to put holds on peoples registrations if they don't pay up.

Garnishment means you've really ignored things.

Everybody KNOWS (or should know) about the car tax. Claiming you didn't get the bill will not get you out of the tax or the penalties, interest, etc... for not paying.