PAYING RATES

PAYMENT IN FULL

You can pay your rates in full at any time however to avoid the 10% you will need to ensure payment is made before the 1st instalment penalty date

Advantages of paying in full

If you pay the full amount of your rates by the first instalment penalty date:

     • you will avoid the 10% penalty for each instalment
     • you will not need to worry about the rates account for the remainder of the year
     • if you qualify for the rate rebate this will be credited to your nominated bank account

PAYMENT BY INSTALMENT

Rates are payable in 2 equal instalments. You will receive 2 rates accounts payable by the following month’s last Friday of the month.
The 2008/09 rating year payments are due by 5pm on the following dates:

• First Instalment – Friday 29th August 2008
• Second Instalment – Friday 30th January 2009

Please note, if posting your payment please allow enough time for payment to reach by the due date. If you payment is late a 10% penalty will be applied

PAYMENT METHODS

You can pay your rates by any of the following methods:

    • Direct Debit
    • Automatic Payment
    • Internet or Telephone Banking
    • Cheque
    • Money Order
    • Cash
    • Eftpos

PROBLEMS WITH PAYMENTS

Please let us know if you are having problems paying your rates or clearing arrears because of financial hardship. We may be able to help solve them.

PAYMENT BY DIRECT DEBIT

With direct debit you can pay your rates by weekly, fortnightly, monthly, bi-monthly or six monthly instalments.

Advantages include:

    • You may not have to pay bank fees - check with your bank
    • You won't get late payment penalties
    • Payment amounts are reviewed annually so you don’t need to check if payments need to be altered

Payments come directly out of your bank account and are transferred to your rate account. Your bank may charge you a fee for setting up the direct debit or per transaction. You will need to check with your bank about this.

We will send you an instalment notice of your rate account. This is for your information only, you do not need to pay on this as your direct debit will cover the payments.

The amount of your direct debit may change after the rates are struck for the new rating year, or if a payment is missed. You will be notified in writing at least 10 days before this takes effect.

New Direct Debit Agreements

Setting up a direct debit agreement

    • Contact us and we will send you a direct debit agreement form or follow the link to print one. Direct Debit form Please print both pages
    • Complete it, sign it, and either bring it into the Office or mail it back to us. If you printed it please return both pages
    • We will send you a confirmation letter when we have processed your agreement
    • The letter will include the amount to be direct debited, the start date and frequency

Arrears Balances

If your account has an arrears balance (as at 30 June of the previous rating year) and you would like to set up a direct debit to pay off the arrears, please contact us and speak to the Rates & Property Officer.

Missed Payments

If you want to miss a direct debit payment, you need to contact us at least two days before the due date with the details so we can make arrangements with you.

If you have missed a direct debit payment, then your bank will advise us of the dishonour. We will send you a letter advising that the payment has been dishonoured and ask you whether you would like the direct debit increased to cover the payments or make a manual payment to bring the direct debit up to date. When you come in, you will need to mention that that the payment is a direct debit repayment.

If you have missed payments and have not brought them up to date you may incur a penalty which will apply to any balance as of 31st March.

Sale Of Properties - Transferring Direct Debits

Direct debit agreements are property-specific and cannot be transferred to other properties.
If you move or sell house, you will need to cancel your existing agreement and complete a new direct debit agreement form. Contact us to do this. You will need to notify your lawyer as well as we cannot action the new agreement until we are formally notified of the change of ownership.

New Properties Created Through Subdivision

If you have a direct debit agreement operating on your property you are subdividing, once new titles have been issued a new valuation reference will be created for the new allotments. You will need to complete a new form for any new properties as these will not be automatically added and you will not be notified that these accounts are not on direct debit.

Changing Bank Account Details

A new form needs to be completed each time there is a change to the bank account whether it is a complete change of account or just a suffix. Contact us with the new details, and we will complete the form and send it out for you to sign and return.

Please note, all new forms must be returned to us, not your bank. If you have returned your form to your bank, please contact them and ask them to forward to Council for actioning.

Cancelling Direct Debit Agreements

You must allow us two days notice to cancel your direct debit. You will also need to advise your bank. Call us and we can arrange the cancellation over the phone.

AUTOMATIC, TELEPHONE AND INTERNET PAYMENTS

We accept Automatic, Internet and Tele-banking payments for rates accounts. No agreement will be entered into for these methods of payment as it is up to the individual to monitor their rate account - penalties will apply if the account is not paid by the penalty date. We do not accept Credit or Charge cards.

AUTOMATIC PAYMENTS

Please contact your bank to organise payment for your Rate Account.
When you are setting up a rate payment, you need to tell your bank your rate valuation reference number, from the top right hand corner of your rates assessment. If you have more than one property you need to advise your bank of each rate reference number.

If You Sell Your Property

If you sell your property you need to contact your bank to cancel your automatic payment.

If you sell your property and purchase another within the District, you need to contact your bank and make sure that the bank has your new rate reference number(s) as this refers to the property not the person. This is really important because if this is not done payments will continue to be credited to your previous (sold) property rates rather than the current property.

We take no responsibility for payments credited to rate accounts in error.

HOW TO SET UP TELEPHONE OR INTERNET PAYMENTS

Most banks are set up for this and know our bank account number and the required format for information. If you have any problems or your bank does not hold our bank account number, please see following:

Bank Name: Otorohanga District Council
Branch: Otorohanga
Bank Branch Account Number Suffix
02 0392 0018241 00

Internet Banking Reference

Make sure you include all the necessary information. For example:

    Particulars: Rates
    Code: 0565099999
    Reference: A Smith

We cannot accept: A Smith $300.00

CHEQUE

We accept personal, business and bank cheques over the counter or in the post.

If preferred you can postdate your cheque to the penalty date. If the cheque is post-dated please ensure the date is highlighted or a note is attached advising the cheque is post-dated. As we process a lot of cheques during rating time it has been easy to miss a post-dated date if it does not stand out.

Please note, if posting your payment please remember to include your remittance slip for all properties you are paying. Please also allow enough time for payment to reach us by the due date. If you payment is late a 10% penalty will be applied

MONEY ORDER

You can pay by Money Order by visiting your local Post Shop. Please ensure you have the valuation reference, rate payers name and a contact phone number on the Money Order. This is to ensure it is receipted to the correct account and if there are any problems we can contact you.

EFTPOS

Eftpos payments will be accepted at the Otorohanga District Council office only.

CASH

Cash payments will be accepted at the Otorohanga District Council office only. Please ensure you retain your receipt.

Rates Rebate Information

The Government has increased the Rates Rebate thresholds again meaning even more people than ever before will be eligible for the rebate.

The following changes came into effect on 1 July 2008:

    • Maximum rebate increased from $500 to $530
    • Income threshold increased from $20,000 to $21,180
    • Additional income allowance for dependants remains at $500 per dependant.

Homeowners can apply to their Local Council for the Rebate from 1 July 2008, for the 08/09 rating year, but please wait until you receive both your Local and Regional Council rates before you submit your application.
Close off date for the 2008/09 Rebate year is 29th June 2009. Please ensure you have your application completed with all relevant information to Council before this date as Rebates can not be applied for previous years.

Are you eligible?

If this is you:

    • Your income is low and
    • You pay the rates on the address that you live at, and
    • You were living there as at 1 July 2008, and
    • Your name is on the rates bill

Note: If your name is not on the rates bill you may qualify if you are a beneficial owner under the terms of a will or trust. Confirmation of this would be required.

You may be eligible if:

    • You are single, living alone and your income is low
    • Your total household income (including spouse) is less than $21,180
    • Your total household income exceeds $21,180, depending on the number of dependants and the amount of your rates
    • You are a couple whose only income is New Zealand Superannuation, and your annual rates are more than $1,200 and you have no dependants

Although a ratepayer's income might exceed the income threshold a Rebate could still be available, depending on the rates amount and number of dependants. If you would like to check if you are eligible please use the Rates Rebate Entitlement Calculator by clicking the link Rebate Calculator

When applying for the rates rebate you will need:

    • Council & Regional rates notice for the 2008/09 rating year
    • Proof of income for the 2007/08 year. This could be an
        o IRD summary of earnings (www.ird.govt.nz)
        o certificate of earnings from your employer(s)
        o statement of interest from your bank
        o details of share dividends
        o copy of your audited accounts if you are self employed
        o or any combination of the above.

Please note that your application cannot be processed without all the correct information.

How to apply

Download an application form (1.3MB PDF free Adobe Reader)

• Or pick up an application form from Otorohanga District Council
• Or call us on 07 873 4000 and we will post a form to you

You need to complete the form and either:

Get an authorised person to sign the form (see details on the application form) and send the form to PO Box 11, Otorohanga 3940 – we will advise you of your rebate and writing.

Make an appointment to see a staff member. Our staff are happy to help, but you must make an appointment and have all the information with you when you come in.

If you are granted a rates rebate the council will credit your rates account by the amount of the rebate, or send you a refund if you had already paid your annual rates in full.

Rates Info