The two websites that allow Iowans to pay their property tax and renew their car licenses on-line have lowered the fee for the service. Polk County Treasurer, Mary Maloney, says you can now handle those transactions on-line with an e-check for 40 cents.
Maloney says it’s now cheaper to go on-line and pay your property taxes or vehicle license fee than it is to write out and mail a check. Malone says the cost of using an e-check was something people said was stopping them from using the on-line service. Now, she says you can go on-line and follow the directions and it won’t cost as much as a stamp.
Maloney says you need to know the routing number and checking account number on the bottom of your check. Maloney says many people are already using electronic checks to pay bills, but if you don’t she says it’s easy to make the payment on-line. She says the websites will give you directions to make a payment. Maloney oversees Iowa’s largest county, and says people like being able to pay without having to stand in line at the courthouse.
Maloney says 12 to 13-percent of the motor vehicle transactions are now done on-line. Maloney says you can still pay your taxes or license fees via credit card, but she says the credit card company charges an interchange fee that treasurers have to charge people.
Maloney says many people want to pay by credit card, but they have to pass on the interchange fee. Maloney says other merchants can add the interchange fee to the cost of their product, but treasurers can’t do that. The e-check option is available in all 99 counties, although there are two different websites that provide the service. You can surf to the Iowa Tax And Tags website , or The Iowa Treasurers website to pay your fees.