Below are the requirements for delayed tax rate certification.

A reminder for towns that are still waiting for their certified rates:

 

Reconciled 4^th quarter bills are required to be sent by September 30^th.  If, through no fault of the tax office, the bills cannot be sent by the statutory deadline, you must allow a grace period of 25 day from the mailing. Simply put, if the bills go out in early October and you have a 10-day grace period, you will not need to extend the grace period since November 10 is more than 25 days from the mailing.  If you send the bills the week of October 18^th or later, you will need to extend the grace period 25 days from mailing.

 

Other things to consider while waiting for your certified rate:

 

If you need to extend the grace period for the November quarter, please remember to include language on the bill that states what the last day to pay without interest is and the date that the interest will start to calculate from. 

 

Also, if you need to extend the grace period for the November quarter, and you hold an accelerated tax sale, you will not be able to include the 4^th quarter in that sale since it would not become delinquent until after the 11^th day of the 11^th month.

 

If the certified rate is not issued by October 1, you may not be able to send added assessment bills.  The Assessor has until October 1^st to certify the added assessment and the County Tax Board has until October 10 to complete and deliver the added assessment duplicates to the tax collector for billing.  Your added assessment bills must be mailed by October 25^th. There are no extensions for this.  The bills must be mailing 7 days before they are statutorily due (November 1). You can send omitted bills since they are based on prior year rates.

 

Below are portions of the relevant statutes.

 

54 :4-66.3.  Estimated, reconciled tax bills for municipality operating on calendar fiscal year 

    4.  Whenever, pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1994, c.72 (C.54:4-66.2), a governing body of a municipality operating on the calendar fiscal year determines that the tax collector will be unable to complete the mailing or delivery of tax bills by June 14, the estimated and reconciled tax bills shall be mailed by June 30 and September 30 respectively, and shall be calculated in accordance with the following procedures: 

 e.  The fourth installment of current year taxes shall not be subject to interest until the later of November 1, the additional interest-free period authorized pursuant to R.S.54:4-67, or the twenty-fifth calendar day after the date that the tax bill or reconciled tax bill for the fourth installment was mailed or otherwise delivered.  Any payment received after the later of November 1, the additional interest-free period authorized pursuant to R.S.54:4-67, or the twenty-fifth calendar day after the date that the tax bill or estimated tax bill for the third installment was mailed or otherwise delivered may be charged interest back to November 1. The reconciled tax bill shall contain a notice specifying the date on which interest may begin to accrue. 

 

54:4-66.4.  Estimated reconciled tax bills for municipality operating on State fiscal year 

    5. a.  Whenever, pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1994, c.72 (C.54:4-66.2), a governing body of a municipality operating on the State fiscal year determines that the tax collector will be unable to complete the mailing or delivery of tax bills by June 14 or December 1, as appropriate, the estimated and reconciled tax bills shall be mailed, prepared and calculated in accordance with the following procedures: 
  (1)  An estimated tax bill for the first installment of taxes on or before December 31 and a reconciled tax bill for the second installment of taxes on or before March 31; 
  (2)  An estimated tax bill for the third installment of taxes on or before June 30 and a reconciled tax bill for the fourth installment of taxes on or before September 30; 

 (7)  The fourth installment of taxes shall not be subject to interest until the later of November 1, the additional interest-free period authorized pursuant to R.S.54:4-67, or the twenty-fifth calendar day after the date that the tax bill or reconciled tax bill for the fourth installment was mailed or otherwise delivered.  Any payment received after the later of November 1, the additional interest-free period authorized pursuant to R.S.54:4-67, or the twenty-fifth calendar day after the date that the tax bill or estimated tax bill for the fourth installment was mailed or otherwise delivered may be charged interest back to November 1.  The reconciled tax bill shall contain a notice specifying the date on which interest may begin to accrue. 

 

 

54:4-63.36.  Tax bills; preparation and delivery; taxpayer put upon notice

    As soon as the omitted assessment duplicate is delivered to the collector of the taxing district, he shall at once begin the work of preparing, completing, mailing or otherwise delivering the tax bills therefor to the owners whose property has been assessed as omitted assessments and shall complete that work at least 1 week before November 1. The validity of any omitted tax or assessment or the time at which it shall be payable shall not be affected by the failure of a taxpayer to receive a tax bill, but every taxpayer to whom a notice of an omitted assessment has been sent in accordance with section 5 of this act is put upon notice to ascertain from the collector of taxes of the taxing district the amount which may be due for taxes or assessments against him or his property for omitted assessments.

 

 

54:4-63.5.  Filing, examination, correction and delivery to collectors

    On October first following the assessor shall file the added assessment list and a true copy thereof, to be called the assessor's added assessment duplicate, with the county board of taxation.  The county board of taxation shall meet for the purpose of examining, revising and correcting the added assessment list and duplicates, and on or before October tenth in each year cause the corrected, revised and completed duplicates, certified by it to be a true record of the added taxes assessed, to be delivered to the collectors of the various taxing districts in the county, and the added assessment lists shall remain in the office of the board as a public record.