Cape Girardeau County taxpayers can pay by mail, in person or even online. Regardless, the tax deadline is Dec. 31, and county collector Diane Diebold advises taxpayers not to wait until the last minute.

The collector's offices in Cape Girardeau and Jackson have seen a steady stream of customers over the past six weeks and many mailed-in tax payments.

"We received 1,500 pieces of mail on Monday," she said.

"In November, we collected close to $9 million," Diebold said. But the majority of taxes are collected in December.

Diebold estimated her office will have collected close to $70 million in real estate and personal property taxes by year's end.

About 70 percent of that money goes to the school districts, Diebold said. The remainder goes to the county, cities and other government entities.

The collector's office mailed out about 36,000 real estate and 35,000 personal property tax bills this year.

About 90 percent of the tax bills will be paid by year's end.

"The bulk of the payments are made through the mail," she said.

Many taxpayers still wait until the last week to pay their bills, Diebold said.

The two collector's offices will be closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but will be open for business from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday next week.

Residents who don't want to wait in line can drop off checks in the drop box outside the lower level of the county administration building in Jackson or in the box outside the Common Pleas Courthouse annex in Cape Girardeau.

Diebold said some taxpayers mail their taxes at the post office across the street from the county administration building, although they could have saved the cost of a stamp by using the drop box. Tax payments are retrieved from the drop boxes several times a day, she said.

Some taxpayers prefer to pay in person rather than wait for the county to mail back the receipts.

"They want a receipt in their hands," Diebold said.

The county collector said payments may be made by credit card. There is, however, a 2.5 percent charge added to the tax bill with this payment method. Diebold said state law requires the counties to cover the costs of processing credit cards.

Online payments through the county's website may be made until midnight Dec. 31 to meet the tax deadline, Diebold said. Those who mail in their taxes must have it postmarked by the midnight deadline to avoid late fees, she said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

1 Barton Square, Suite 303, Jackson, Mo.

44 N. Lorimier, Courthouse Annex, Cape Girardeau, Mo.