Southampton Tax Office Extends Holiday Hours

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — The clock may be ticking but Southampton Town property owners will have a few extra hours to stay ahead of federal tax law changes set to kick in on January 1.

Although the rest of Town Hall is set to close early at noon on Friday Southampton Tax Receiver Theresa Kiernan said those looking to pay in person will be able to do so until 4 p.m.

“We’ve seen a surge in people looking to pay for the full 2017-18 tax year,” she said. “Each day since the bills went out, we’ve seen two extra trays of mail and the line is out the door.”

Per Suffolk County law, the first installment of property taxes is due before January 10, with the second half due by May 31. However, with last week’s signing of federal legislation capping state and local tax deductions at $10,000, many have been hurrying to pay as much as possible by the end of the year so they can include the higher amounts on income tax returns for 2017, a release from the town said.

In addition to offering the extended schedule, Kiernan said she wanted to remind residents that tax bills can be viewed, printed, or paid from home.

“For the past 8 years, going online has been, and still is, the best way to pay,” she said. “There’s no risk of a check getting lost in the mail, and you receive proof of payment right away.”

To do so, website visitors can log on here and click the link for “Online Payments” along the left side of the screen.

Kiernan’s office collects more than $350 million annually in school, county, and town taxes, among others; over 65 percent of bills are paid directly to the town by individuals, with the remaining 35 coming from banks for taxes included in mortgage payments, the release said.

Taxes are payable by cash, checks, payable to "Receiver of Taxes," drawn on a U.S. bank, money order valid in U.S. banking system and subject to collection, or online by credit cards and ACH, fees apply). Checks and ACH transactions returned by your bank for any reason will cancel your tax payment.

Taxes may be paid at the following locations during regular business hours. When paying in person, please bring the entire bill and it will be receipted.

Office of the Tax Receiver, 116 Hampton Road, Southampton, NY 11968 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m., and People's United Bank, all locations.

If paying by mail send only the stub portion of the bill with payment. The mailing address for all payments and correspondence is 116 Hampton Road Southampton, NY 11968.

And to pay online: To view, print, and/or pay tax bills online, access the online payment portal. The town accepts American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa cards, and a convenience fee of 2.5% will be applied to all credit card transactions. The town accept ACH payments online for a $1 processing fee.