4 WAYS TO PAY
1. Mail payments(checks made out to Town of Wilmington) to: Tax Collector, P.O. Box 217, Wilmington, VT 05363 (Must be POSTMARKED by due date!)
2. Pay in Person: Wilmington Town Office, 2 East Main Street:
3. Automated Tax Payments: The Town of Wilmington offers taxpayers the opportunity to have their biannual tax payments deducted directly from their checking or savings account. For more information please visit the Documents and Reports page. Click here for the sign-up form.
This form can be used to sign-up for water and sewer automated payments as well.
4. Pay Electronically by e-check or by Credit Card :You may pay your Town of Wilmington taxes electronically by credit card or by e-check payments. LexisNexis, a highly secure form of electronic funds transfer, allowing you to pay your bills online by using your computer and internet connection. The bank charges a “convenience fee” to use this service which is displayed before your payment is finalized; there is no fee charged by the Town of Wilmington. Please have your bill in front of you as you will need your parcel ID number. When entering the parcel ID number, enter only the characters, no dashes nor decimals. The maximum allowed is $15,000 per transaction. If the amount you are trying to pay exceeds this amount you will need to do more than one payment. [Example: If the bill is $16,000, then you must enter two transactions to pay-in-full; if the bill is $31,000, three transactions would apply].
Disclaimer: This electronic pay service is provided to you as a convenience, and in most cases it works well. However, it is the sole responsibility of each customer/taxpayer who chooses to use this service to ensure payment is sent to/received by the town on time. As a general rule, if a payment is returned to you or you are unable to process a payment through this system, the town accepts no responsibility if your payment is not received on time. A payment that is not received by the town on the due date will be charged interest and penalty as allowed by law.
To make a payment: CLICK HERE. Please have your bill in front of you as you will need your parcel ID number.
Water and sewer payments can be made on this portal as well. We do not accept payments for Coldbrook Fire District.
DELINQUENT TAX POLICY
TOWN OF WILMINGTON
The Town understands that it can sometimes be difficult for people to pay their taxes, however it is the responsibility of all taxpayers to pay their required share or others are required to pay higher taxes to make up the difference. This policy is designed to give clear instructions as to how to avoid being delinquent, provides a system by which people can become whole if they become delinquent, and outlines the steps and methods the Wilmington Collector of Delinquent Taxes will take if a taxpayer does not meet their obligations to the town and its citizens.
U.S. postmarks are accepted as on-time payments, upon date the bill is due.
Paying taxes by installment is acceptable to either avoid delinquency or to pay off a delinquency under a written repayment plan.
Once taxes are delinquent, a warrant is filed with the collector of delinquent taxes.
On each month that taxes are delinquent, the tax collector will send a notice to the delinquent taxpayer. Interest is added on the first day of each month, before the notice is mailed. The Town approved interest rate is one percent (1%) per month for the first three months, and thereafter it is one and one-half percent (1.5%) per month, starting from the due date of each installment. An 8% penalty is added after the February payment is missed. When a taxpayer is delinquent, any payment made will be applied first to outstanding interest and penalties; any remaining payment will then be applied to the principal.
If the taxpayer is more than one (1) year delinquent, the taxpayer will be notified of the date by which full payment must be received or payment arrangements made. It is the responsibility of the delinquent taxpayer to respond to the notice, or the town will initiate steps to collect, either by taking the property to tax sale or utilizing other statutory methods to collect payment. Payment arrangements may be agreed-to provided it will pay the bill in-full within one (1) year. Current taxes will also need to be paid in-full as they become due. A signed repayment plan must be approved by and filed with the Finance Officer to establish payment arrangements.
If no arrangement is made by the specified date or taxpayer defaults on their repayment plan, then the Town will either start tax sale proceedings and/or utilize other statutory methods to collect payment.
If the town utilizes a tax sale, the tax collector will begin the following actions to sell as much of the property as is necessary to pay the delinquent tax, and fees:
The collector will proceed with the tax sale according to the procedures specified in 32 V.S.A. § 5252.
Costs of preparing and conducting the sale, including legal fees up to a maximum of 15% of the amount of the delinquent tax, will be charged to the delinquent taxpayer.
Unless a property owner makes a written request for partial payments to be applied to the principal due, partial payments will be applied first to the interest portion of the amount due, and the remainder will be divided proportionally between the principal amount of the tax and the fee. Penalties and interest will continue to accrue monthly until an account is current and paid in full. If a payment is made within 20 days of a scheduled tax sale, certified funds will be required.
The minimum bid at tax sale will be the amount necessary to satisfy the amounts owed to the Town, including taxes, interest, penalties, legal fees, and legal expenses. Pursuant to Vermont law, the taxpayer has one year to redeem a property sold at tax sale by paying to the Town the amount paid by the successful bidder at the auction, plus monthly interest of 1% on the high bid.
If a property is being sold for delinquent taxes, the property owner may request in writing, not less than 24 hours prior to the tax sale, that a portion of the property be sold. Such request must clearly identify the portion of the property to be sold, and must be accompanied by a certification from the Vermont District Environmental Commission that the portion identified may be subdivided and meets minimum lot size requirements. In the event the portion identified by the property owner cannot be sold for the taxes and costs, then the entire property may be sold to pay such taxes and costs.
Tax abatement is a process by which a taxpayer may ask to have their taxes lessened, moderated or diminished. Abatement requests should be sent to the Town Clerk and are heard by the Board of Abatement, which is made up of the Board of Civil Authority plus the Assessor and Town Treasurer. For information on abatement of taxes see Vermont Statute 24 V.S.A., section 1535.
DELINQUENT UTILITY POLICY
TOWN OF WILMINGTON
The Town understands that it can sometimes be difficult for people to pay their utility bill, however it is the responsibility of all ratepayers to pay their required share or others are required to pay higher rates to make up the difference. This policy is designed to give clear instructions as to how to avoid being delinquent, provides a system by which people can become whole if they become delinquent, and outlines the steps the Town of Wilmington will take if a ratepayer does not meet their obligations to the town and its citizens.
U.S. postmarks are accepted as on-time payments, upon date the bill is due.
On each month utilities are delinquent, the Town will send a notice to the delinquent ratepayer. Interest is added on the fifteenth day of each month, before the notice is mailed. The Town approved interest rate is one percent (1%) per month for the first three months, and thereafter it is one and one-half percent (1.5%) per month, starting from the due date of each installment.
For those properties on both Town water and sewer, the town will follow 24 V.S.A., Chapter 129 for collection of outstanding bills once they are forty (40) days delinquent.
For properties that are only on Town sewer or those that have not paid even after shutoff and are more than one (1) year delinquent, the Town will notify the ratepayer of the date by which full payment must be received or payment arrangements made. It is the responsibility of the delinquent ratepayer to respond to the notice, or the Town will initiate the steps to collect either by taking the property to tax sale or utilizing other statutory methods to collect payment. Payment arrangements may be agreed-to provided it will pay the bill in-full within one (1) year. Current bills will also need to be paid in-full as they become due. A signed repayment plan must be approved by and filed with the Finance Officer to establish payment arrangements.
If no arrangement is made by the specified date or ratepayer defaults on their repayment plan, then the Town will either start tax sale proceedings and/or utilize other statutory methods to collect payments.
If the Town utilizes a tax sale, the Town will begin the following actions to sell as much of the property as is necessary to pay the delinquent utilities, and fees:
The collector will proceed with the tax sale according to the procedures specified in 32 V.S.A. § 5252, as authorized by 24 V.S.A. § 3408.
Costs of preparing and conducting the sale, including legal fees up to a maximum of 15% of the amount of the delinquent utility, will be charged to the delinquent ratepayer.
Unless a property owner makes a written request for partial payments to be applied to the principal due, partial payments will be applied first to the interest portion of the amount due, and the remainder will be divided proportionally between the principal amount of the utility charge and the fee. Penalties and interest will continue to accrue monthly until an account is current and paid in full. If a payment is made within 20 days of a scheduled tax sale, certified funds will be required.
The minimum bid at tax sale will be the amount necessary to satisfy the amounts owed to the Town, including utility charge, interest, penalties, legal fees, and legal expenses. Pursuant to Vermont law, the taxpayer has one year to redeem a property sold at tax sale by paying to the Town the amount paid by the successful bidder at the auction, plus monthly interest of 1% on the high bid.
If a property is being sold for delinquent utility charges, the property owner may request in writing, not less than 24 hours prior to the tax sale, that a portion of the property be sold. Such request must clearly identify the portion of the property to be sold, and must be accompanied by a certification from the Vermont District Environmental Commission that the portion identified may be subdivided and meets minimum lot size requirements. In the event the portion identified by the property owner cannot be sold for the utility charges and costs, then the entire property may be sold to pay such utility charges and costs.
Tax abatement is a process by which a ratepayer may ask to have their bill lessened, moderated or diminished. Abatement requests should be sent to the Town Clerk and are heard by to the Board of Abatement, which is made up of the Board of Civil Authority plus the Assessor and Town Treasurer. For information on abatement of taxes see Vermont Statute 24 V.S.A. §1535.
Homestead Declaration Information: https://secure.vermont.gov/hd/index
State Tax Information Links
Vermont Department of Taxes
Vermont Property Valuation & Review– you can choose different subject matter from the drop down menu, Vermont PTR, Property Tax Appeal info, Homestead declaration information etc…
Vermont Property Valuation & Review FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions – especially about school taxes