Harris Co. Tax Office will no longer automatically mail receipts

HOUSTON The tax office will no longer automatically mail receipts to taxpayers. People will be able to check online at www.hctax.net to make sure the payment went through.

"This change may be a slight inconvenience to some taxpayers, but the tax office is able to save lots of scarce tax dollars by adopting this new approach," Tax Assessor-Collector Don Sumners said.

This will save the county about $200,000 a year, according to the tax office.

Property taxes for 2010 are payable on or before Jan. 31 without penalty or interest. If you want to deduct your 2010 property taxes in 2010 for federal income tax purposes, the taxes must be paid on or before Dec. 31, 2010.

Since Dec. 31 is a county holiday this year and all tax office branches will be closed, taxes paid on Jan. 3, 2011 will be posted as paid on Dec. 31, 2010 whether paid in person, online at www.hctax.net or by mail if the envelope is postmarked on or before Jan. 3, 2011 by the U.S. Postal Service.