Town Tax Collector responsibilities include mailing, receiving and processing the General County and Town/Highway/Fire Tax Bill for the Town of Rochester. The bills are mailed during the first week of January. Taxes may be paid in the full amount billed or in equal half payments. Payments made after January 31st must include interest; interest rates are as follows:
Feb. 1 – Feb. 28…………..1%
Mar. 1 – Mar.31……………2%
Apr. 1 – April 30……………3%
May 1 – May 31……………4% + $1.00 (Notice Fee)
Payment can be made by cash, money order and by check made payable to Town of Rochester Tax Collector. The mailing address is the same for Town offices in general: Tax Collector, PO Box 65, Accord, NY 12404.
Tax bills include a schedule for amounts due and a variety of other information. It is important that the office has your correct mailing address in order for tax bills and other correspondence from the Town to reach you. If you change your address or no longer have an escrow account for your home mortgage, be sure to notify the Town Clerk’s office of your current mailing address.
After June 1st the local Tax Collector can no longer accept payments. Payments made after June 1 should be directed to the Ulster County Treasurer’s Office. Contact information for the Treasurer’s Office is: (845) 340-3431 or PO Box 1800, Kingston, NY 12402.
Some points of information:
The Town’s fiscal year is Jan. 1 to Dec. 31.
School Tax bills are mailed by the School District in September and can be paid to the School Tax Collector until early November. They also can be paid in full or in equal halves. Unpaid school tax bills, plus 3% interest, are turned over to the Ulster County Treasurer who adds them to the next Town General Tax bill with an additional 7 % County penalty included. Once added to the General Tax amount the school tax becomes part of the total due and cannot be paid separately.
