(Washington, DC) The Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) announced today that more than 150,000 real property tax bills for the 2006 first half tax year will be mailed tomorrow to District property owners. The tax bills, which reflect current and past due real property tax liabilities, now include more payment and balance history than in previous years. First half real property tax payments are due Friday, March 31, 2006.

Property owners can now pay their real property taxes online by using OTR’s free eCheck payment system. This convenient and easy to use system is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If a taxpayer does not receive a real property tax bill in the mail, they are encouraged to call the  OTR’s Customer Service Center at (202) 727–4TAX (4829). Failure to receive a tax bill does not justify non-payment of taxes owed. If a tax payment is late, the property owner will be charged a 10 percent penalty and 1.5 percent interest for each full or partial month the payment is late. If a mortgage company makes the tax payment on behalf of the property owner, the property owner must ensure that payments are made by the due date. Properties with delinquent tax bills may be sold at the annual Tax Sale, if the taxes are not paid in full.

The District of Columbia offers several programs to assist property owners and first time homebuyers with their real property tax bills, including: