Personal / Business online payment cautions

Over the past several years, municipal tax payments by electronic checks have increased significantly. The Town of Prospect accepts these checks for payment but cautions taxpayers who use this service.

Most banking institutions have a disclaimer that is overlooked regarding the use of electronic payments for municipal taxes.  This disclaimer is set up for a very good reason.  With most banking institutions, when a taxpayer chooses to pay their tax bill electronically with a specific pay date, a clearing house receives the money on that day from the taxpayer’s account which leads the taxpayer to believe the tax collector received the check and cashed it.  That is not the case.  That clearing house has the money until the tax collector receives the check.

Another major issue is that clearing houses do not have an Official US Postmark on any of their envelopes.  If the tax collector does not receive a payment by the last day to pay without penalty, the envelope is checked for an Official US Postmark and if there is not one, the payment inside is considered late regardless of what the check date is.

CT State Statute 12-146 states “No tax or installment thereof shall be construed to be delinquent under the provision of this section if the envelope containing the amount due as such tax or installment, as received by the tax collector of the municipality to which such tax is payable, bear a postmark showing a date within the time allowed by statute for the payment of such tax or installment”.  The law does not refer to check dates or banking records so the Official US Postmark is the only legal writing tax collectors can accept.

In summary, using electronic checks for payment of taxes is a risky way to pay. There is no recourse if the tax collector receives your envelope after the last day to pay without penalty.

What is considered an Official US Postmark

A  postmark is an official Postal Service™ imprint applied in black ink on the address side of a stamped mail piece. A postmark indicates the location and date the Postal Service accepted custody of a mail piece, and it cancels affixed postage. A “local” postmark shows the full name of the Post Office, a two-letter state abbreviation, ZIP Code™, and date of mailing. Because the Postal Service is sensitive to the importance some customers place upon these postmarks, each Post Office is required to make a local postmark available. (https://about.usps.com/handbooks)

Metered mail does NOT contain an Official US Postmark.

Presorted mail does NOT contain an Official US Postmark.

Bulk mail does NOT contain an Official US Postmark.

Disclaimer

Most banks do not recommend paying taxes through their online service because the payments are not mailed with an Official US Postmark and may not be received by the Tax Office by the last day to pay. IMPORTANT: If you schedule your tax payment using your personal or business online banking feature, be sure to schedule it with a date that will ensure it arrives in the Tax Office prior to the last day for payment. Payments sent by your bank do not have a postmark on the envelope. Therefore, interest will be charged on payments received from this online banking service if not in our office by 4:00 p.m. on the last day for payment. Taxpayers utilizing this payment option do so at their own risk.

• Go to townofprospect.org
• Click on the dollar bill on the right side of the home screen

• Enter the search criteria to look up your tax bill(s). When looking for tax bills online you may search by any one of the following criteria:
  • NAME(Last Name [space] First Initial)
  • PROPERTY LOCATION
  • BILL NUMBER
  • UNIQUE ID
  • LIST NUMBER
• Add one of them to your shopping cart (you do NOT have to pay now)
• Go to the top right corner to click “Checkout”

• Under Terms and Conditions, click “Pay Now” (even if you do NOT intend to pay).

• On the Review Your Cart screen, click on the link that reads, “I want to register this account”.

• Fill out the form to create your account
• Be sure there is a checkmark in the box next to “I would like to sign up for Paperless.
• Click Complete Registration

One time registration is required for each bill type to access the resident portal.  You need to register for each of the bill types and accounts you wish to pay online.  If you own two parcels you will need to register both parcels.  If you own multiple vehicles, you will need to register each vehicle.  Once the initial registration process has been completed for each of your accounts, viewing and paying future invoices will be in place.  However, if you register your accounts with the same email and password, you will get a list of accounts to choose from in your customer portal.  The Town of Prospect offers residents an easy and secure way to view, print and pay their tax bills online.  We support electronic bill presentment (viewing) and payment because it is more convenient for residents and better for the environment.

Information regarding taxes paid in 2021 is available online at 2021 TAXES PAID. Tax information for previous years is available by contacting the Tax Collector's Office. If your bills are listed under different first names, you must search under each name separately using just the first initial of each person's first name.

Example: Search by name -
Smith J
Smith M
Brown J
Brown S

IMPORTANT NOTE: Bill numbers for taxes paid during the calendar year 2021 in most cases will start with 2019 and 2020. The second installment of real estate and personal property taxes and supplement motor vehicle bills for the 2019 Grand List became due January 1, 2021 and the first installment of real estate and personal property taxes and annual motor vehicle bills for the 2020 Grand List became due July 1, 2021.

HOW TO OBTAIN YOUR TAX INFORMATION ONLINE

HELPFUL HINT: PRINT THIS PAGE BEFORE CLICKING LINK BELOW FOR 2021 TAXES PAID

• To search by your name - Enter your last name, leave a space, and enter only the first initial of the person you are inquiring about. You will have to do a separate search for EACH name you are inquiring about. (For example, Smith J Smith A Smith S)
• To search by property location - enter the property number in the first box. Enter the street name only in the second box. (Do not include Road, Avenue, Court, etc.)
• Click on the circle for the "IRS Payment Records for Year 2021" and click Search

• On the right side of the screen, check the box for the accounts you want to view.

• Click on the "View IRS" tab.
• 

• If you want to print the list of accounts, hold down "CTRL" and "P".
• If you want to print the full account information on any or all of the accounts, click on the "i" icon for the account you want to print.

• Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on "Download PDF".

CLICK HERE for 2021 Taxes Paid

Previous year income tax information can be obtained at the Tax Office only.

Real Estate

Real Estate Change of Address Form

Motor Vehicle

Motor Vehicle Change of Address Form