Responsibilities of Office

The Receiver of Taxes in the Town of Bethlehem is responsible for collection of Town and County taxes.    In addition, the Receiver of Taxes must collect school taxes, water rents, sewer rents, building permit fees and other fees and charges payable to the town.  The Receiver is the insurer and guarantor of all moneys, books, papers, and records that the laws provide.  Homeowners' files are constantly changed with current bank information.  The Receiver is responsible for mailing of tax bills.

Prospective New Homeowners or Business Owners

The Tax Office is happy to answer any questions on your prospective new home.  We can confirm the school district, prior taxes paid, etc.  We can also give you a projection of future taxes.  This projection is an educated guess on our part; usually the actual tax rates are not available until just a few weeks before the bills are printed.  We are here to assist you.  Please call with any questions.

Town of Bethlehem Homeowners or Business Owners

Payment information

By Mail:  All payments must be mailed to:  Tax Department, 445 Delaware Avenue, Delmar, NY  12054.  Please note, if mailed, bills must be U.S. postmarked to determine its mailing date.  Postage meter indicia or foreign postmarks are not acceptable for determining timeliness of mailing.

In Person:  The Tax Department is located on the ground level floor at 445 Delaware Avenue, Delmar.  The office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is open the last Saturday before the deadline of January 31 for property taxes or September 30 for school taxes from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon for the convenience of taxpayers.

Draft Payments:  Homeowners can enroll in auto-payment program that automatically deducts the amount due from your checking or savings account.  There is no fee for this service.  Available for water payments and for tax payments.  Applications for auto-payment of water bills are on the back of the water bill.

In the event you did not receive a tax bill, please call 439-4955, extension 1177.

Returned Check Fee

$20 will be charged for a returned check per resolution of the Town Board

For January Property Taxes
Property Tax Bills are mailed in early January.  No penalty will be added if U.S. postmarked or paid in person on or before January 31.  Postage meter indicia or foreign postmarks are not acceptable for determining timeliness of mailing.  On taxes remaining unpaid after January 31, please note that a 1% penalty for payments made in February and a 2% penalty for payments made in March will be added until the return of the unpaid taxes is made to the Commissioner of Finance on April 1st pursuant to law and to whom they are payable.  After April first, additional fees are charged by the Commissioner of Finance.  Bills cover January 1 to December 31.

The back of the tax statement contains important information on exemptions, deadlines and third-party notification.  Taxpayers are urged to carefully review the provisions to determine if any of them apply.  In the event you did not receive a tax bill or if you have an escrow account and a bill was sent to you in error, please call the Receiver of Taxes at 439-4955, extension 1177.

For September School Taxes
School Tax Bills are mailed in early September.  No penalty will be added if U.S. postmarked or paid in person by September 30.  Postage meter indicia or foreign postmarks are not acceptable for determining timeliness of mailing.  When paid in person or U.S. posted October 1 - October 31, the penalty is 2%.  Those remaining unpaid after October 31 are re-levied on the January Property Taxes and include percentage penalties.  Bills cover July 1 to June 30.

Water Bills
Water Bills are mailed every three months.  Sewer charges are now included with the water bills that are sent on a quarterly basis.  Please contact the Public Works Department at 439-4955, option 1 then option 2 then option 1, for any billing questions.  Please contact the Tax Office with any payment questions or concerns.  We are now able to accept overpayments so if you are vacationing, you can pay ahead to avoid a late fee.

Water/Sewer Payments and How to Avoid Paying a Penalty
When you receive your water/sewer bill, please take notice of the due date. Due dates on the water/sewer bill are now 30 days after the Public Works Department processes the accounts and the due dates do not necessarily fall on the last day of the month.

To avoid ever paying a penalty, homeowners have the option to sign up for the automatic payment program for payment for water/sewer bills. Bill payments are automatically deducted from your designated bank account, instead of writing out a check each time the payment is due. You will still receive the bills so that you know how much to deduct from your check register but the bills will state ‘nothing due’. The enrollment form may be printed from the Town’s web site, obtained from the Receiver of Tax office or from the back of the water bill. If you want to use auto-pay for your next payment, you need to enroll at least 30 days before the bills are generated. After you enroll, you’ll never have to worry about a deadline or penalty. Please call Nancy Mendick Receiver of Taxes, for more details.

General Tax Information

Tax Bills
   Property owners who do not have an escrow account will be billed directly. For those with an escrow account, statements will be sent to the bank or financial institution holding the account.
   To remit by mail, tear off the stub at the bottom of the form and return it with a check in the envelope provided. Your cancelled check is your receipt. If you wish your tax bill to be stamped "paid" and returned, mail the entire bill with your payment.
   The back of the tax statement contains important information on exemptions, deadlines and third-party notification. Taxpayers are urged to look carefully to see if any of the provisions contained therein apply to them.
   If you did not receive a tax bill or if you have an escrow account and were sent a bill in error, please contact Receiver of Taxes Nancy Mendick at 439-4955, ext. 1177.

Refinancing and Escrow Accounts
To avoid potential billing problems and penalties, property owners who switch banks to refinance, whose financial institution is involved in a merger, or who satisfy their mortgage are asked to notify the tax office. This will assure that the bill will be mailed correctly. The Town will not waive late payment penalties because of tardy paperwork by a lending institution or because a tax bill was mailed to a wrong address.

Reminders
New York State Law provides that a municipality cannot waive penalties on real estate taxes received after the due date FOR ANY REASON.  To avoid any possibility of delay by mail, we suggest that if payment of taxes is to be made within the last few days of the month in which due, make certain that it is either hand delivered to the Tax Office or that you witness a TIMELY OFFICIAL UNITED STATES POSTMARK being affixed to the envelope.  Postage meters and foreign postmarks are not acceptable.  Timely payment of Property Taxes is the responsibility of the property owner(s).  By law, failure to receive a bill "shall not in any way affect the validity of the taxes or interest."  Taxes paid by check are subject to collection.

Tax Exemptions
You may be eligible for veterans, senior citizen or STAR property tax exemptions.  Applications are due by March 1 to apply for such exemption.  For further information, please call the Assessor's office at (518) 439-4955, ext. 1103.

Third Party Notification
If you are disabled or, 65 years of age or over, and own a one, two or three family home, you may designate an adult consenting third party to receive duplicate copies of tax bills and notices of unpaid taxes.  Applications are available at the Receiver of Taxes office, Town Hall and must be filed by December 15th for the next Property Tax bill and by May 15th for the next School Tax Bill.  

Arrears
If your tax bill notifies you that taxes from a prior levy are owing on this property, please contact and make payment to Albany County Director of Finance Office, 112 State Street, Albany, NY  12207 or call (518) 447-7089.  Continued failure to pay all of the taxes levied against the property will result in the loss of the property.

Tax Payment Receipts
Your canceled check is your receipt of payment.  If you require a bill receipt, mail back the ENTIRE tax bill and we will return the top portion stamped paid.  If your check can be the receipt, just mail the bottom stub (Receiver's stub) with your check and keep the top portion for your records.  If you pay in person, please bring in the entire bill so that we can receipt the top portion for you.  

Should you have any question or for more information, call the Tax Department at 439-4955, extension 1177.

Tax Department
Frequently Asked Questions

Q.   I live in the Town of Bethlehem but my kids go to Guilderland (or Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk or Bethlehem) schools.  Who collects my school taxes?
A.  We do. We collect from homeowners that reside in all three school districts within the Town of Bethlehem.

Q. Do I qualify for the STAR exemption?
A. You would need to ask the Assessor's Office, they administer all exemptions including STAR, Veterans, Seniors, etc. Please call 439-4955, extension 1103, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m..

Q. I just refinanced (or satisfied) the mortgage on my home. Do I need to let your office know this?
A. Yes. Since we mail the tax bills, we need to know where to correctly mail your tax bill. If you satisfied your mortgage, we need to mail your tax bill to you. If you refinanced, we need to know the new lender's information. Incorrect mailing of a tax bill does NOT negate the late payment penalty.

Q. We will be selling our home soon. Is there anything I need to tell your office?
A. Yes. We like to get new owner information. Also, the Public Works department needs the water meter reading to determine your portion of the water bill for the closing adjustment for your lawyer.  Contact their Customer Service Department at (518) 439-4955, option 1 then option 2, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Q. We will be purchasing a home in the Town of Bethlehem soon. Is there anything we need to tell your office?
Yes. We need to know owner names, bank escrow information and your home and daytime telephone numbers.

Q. Can you tell me exactly what my next tax bill will be?
A. No, we don't receive the Property Tax rates from the County and the School Tax rates from the School Districts until just before the bills are ready to be produced.

Q. Where can I obtain Notary Services?
A. Notary Services are offered in the Tax Office as well as other offices in the Town Hall such as the Town Clerk.