MONTEREY COUNTY — County of Monterey’s Treasurer-Tax Collector Mary Zeeb has announced a new tax payment option coming soon to local taxpayers.
“As part of my commitment to provide convenient, flexible and cost-effective ways for citizens to make property tax payments, I have engaged the services of Easy Smart Pay, a vendor that can accept monthly payments from taxpayers and remit the full installments to us on the traditional April and December delinquent dates,” Zeeb said.
This new payment option is entirely voluntary and specifically designed for taxpayers who do not have impound accounts linked to their mortgage and would prefer to break down tax bills into manageable monthly payments.
“While I currently accept cash, checks and debit/credit cards for tax payments, I am only able to accept two installment payments,” Zeeb said. “I have often heard from taxpayers that they would appreciate the option to make smaller monthly payments to pay their taxes. Once I learned about the service Easy Smart Pay provides, it made perfect sense to bring them to the county.”
Easy Smart Pay is a private company that will work with county taxpayers to set up automatic scheduled tax payments that can be deducted from a credit card or bank account. While Easy Smart Pay does charge for this service, Zeeb’s goal is to provide taxpayers options to make tax payments in a way that works best for them and enhances their financial well-being.
“Sure, Easy Smart Pay is not for everyone,” Zeeb stated, “but if it can help some taxpayers make easier work of paying taxes, then it’s a service I’m happy to offer.”
Monterey County Board of Supervisors approved the contract for this service Sept. 12. It is anticipated that taxpayers will be able to learn more about this program and sign up for services later this fall.
