After March 31st, payment must be made directly to Onondaga County.
(315) 435-2426
Make checks payable to "Chief Fiscal Officer"

Mail Payments to:
Onondaga County Department of Finance
Revenue and Tax Collection Unit
P.O. Box 1004
Syracuse NY 13201-1004

Walk in Payments:
Onondaga County Department of Finance
John H. Mulroy Civic Center - 15th Floor
421 Montgomery St.
Syracuse NY

TAX NOTICE

The Town and County Tax bills will be mailed out at the end of December to property owners without escrow accounts. If your bill was requested by a bank, the tax information was sent to the bank and not to your home. If you should have received a bill and did not, please contact the Tax Collector so a copy can be sent to you. The Town and County Tax bills are payable from January 1 to January 31 without penalty. The Real Property Tax Law prohibits the waiver of a late fee, even if the property owner did not receive a tax bill.

PAYMENTS

Payments may be made in person by check or cash at the Tax Office located at Spafford Town Hall through March 31st. Payments can also be made by mail to: Spafford Town Hall, 1984 Route 174, Skaneateles, NY 13152. We do not accept payment by credit card. Please do not send cash through the mail.

Checks should be made payable to: "Ann Warner, Tax Collector.

DUTIES DUTIES OF THE TAX COLLECTOR

The tax collector collects the Town and County property taxes January- March 31. The bills are mailed out in late December. The tax bill covers the period of January 1st-December 31st. Payments can be made upon receipt of bill through January 31st without penalty.

The last day for walk-in payments to the town is March 31st. Payments mailed to the tax collector post-marked on or before March 31 will be accepted. After March 31st you must pay Onondaga County directly.

PENALTIES FOR LATE PAYMENT

Starting February 1st there is a 1% penalty. Fees for March are 1.5%. If taxes are unpaid as of March 15th, a second notice of taxes due is sent, and an additional charge of $1.00 will be levied, and become a part of the amount due.

After March 31st, all unpaid taxes are returned to Onondaga County, Chief Fiscal Officer, Civic Center 15th floor, PO Box 1004, Syracuse, NY 13201-1004. Fees start at 6% and are increased each month until taxes are paid.

DELINQUENT TAXES

Between January 1 and March 31st, pay your current year town and county taxes to your tax collector. After March 31st, payment must be made directly to Onondaga County.

Make checks payable to "Chief Fiscal Officer"

Mail Payments to:
Onondaga County Department of Finance
Revenue and Tax Collection Unit
P.O. Box 1004
Syracuse NY 13201-1004

Walk in Payments:
Onondaga County Department of Finance
John H. Mulroy Civic Center - 15th Floor
421 Montgomery St.
Syracuse NY
 

If you did not receive a bill, or received it late, you are still responsible to pay late penalties. New York State Real Property Tax Law 922 states the failure to mail a statement or the failure of the property owner to receive a statement will not affect the validity of the taxes or interest prescribed by law.

Neither the Tax Collector nor any other official has legal authority to waive statutory penalty charges. These are fixed by the Real Property Tax Law. There must be no exceptions.

Question: If I mail my payment on the due date do I have to pay a penalty?

If taxes are not received until after the due date, they are not paid until after the due date, unless they fall within the provisions of section 925 of the Real Property Tax Law, and the penalty must be added and collected. No town official or employee can waive the penalty (Op. New York State Comp. 68-626).

Collection of taxes cannot begin prior to the date of the tax warrant. 'The warrant must be regarded as the instrument which empowers the collecting officer to begin the collection.' Onondaga County tries to sign in the last week of December to enable property owners the opportunity to pre-pay in current year.

ERRORS Questions on Tax Bill should be directed to the Town Assessor, Kim Gridley at 315-673-9559.

ESCROW  For residents who have their taxes escrowed with lending institutions--

It is the responsibility of the lending institution to notify the county of any additions or deletions of accounts. Many banks contract with the Tax Service Organizations (TSOs), which are agencies that service escrow accounts for the banks. These organizations provide us with a list of their customers and their identifying account numbers.

In the event that a resident received a bill that should have gone to the bank, it is still the responsibility of the bank to call for that bill. If the bill should have gone to the homeowner, but went to the bank, it is the homeowner's responsibility to know that the taxes are due. Please call or email the tax office immediately and a duplicate bill will be issued to you.

The failure to mail a statement or to receive a statement will not affect the validity of the taxes or interest prescribed by law. (New York real Property Tax Law 922). If you should have received a bill, but have not during the first week of January, please contact the tax collector for a duplicate bill. 

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