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Bennington Township Treasurer's Office
This page contains
information on the Summer and Winter property taxes, due dates, and
answers to common tax questions.
Tax Bill
Summer taxes are to
be mailed July 1st, and are payable thru September 14th without
interest.
Winter taxes are
payable thru February 14th without interest.
If you are paying your own
bill, you can pay in person at the Bennington Township office, mail it,
or put it in the drop box located by the office door of the Bennington
Township Hall.
New Article:
Understanding Property Taxes, A Balanced System.
Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQ)
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Note:
No individual's tax information is available
on-line for viewing or for paying your taxes at this time.
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Frequently
Asked Tax Questions:
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When Are The Tax
Bills Sent Out to Homeowners? |
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Summer taxes are sent
out July 1st. |
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Winter taxes are sent
out December 1st. |
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Where & When Can I
Pay My Taxes? |
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In addition to paying in person at
the Township Hall, you can use the drop box at the Township Hall
or send by mail to:
Bennington Township Treasurer
5849 S. M-52
Owosso, MI 48867 |
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When Are Taxes Due
By? |
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Taxes are due on
receipt of the bill. To avoid all penalties, summer taxes must
be paid by September 14th, and winter taxes must be paid by
February 14th.
If the 14th is a
Saturday or Sunday, the payment must be received by the Monday
following the 14th. |
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Beginning the next business day, September 15th, add 1% interest
to the unpaid balance of your summer tax bill. An additional 1%
per month will be added on the first of each month thereafter.
Failure to receive the tax bill does not waive interest. |
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Can Tax Payments
Be Deferred? |
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Summer taxes may be
deferred if your preceding calendar year total household income
was less than $40,000 or you meet one of the following
requirements: |
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62 years of age or
older, including the unmarried surviving spouse of a person who
was 62 years of age or older at the time of death |
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A paraplegic or
quadriplegic |
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An eligible
serviceperson, eligible veteran, or their eligible widow or
widower |
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A blind person or
a totally and permanently disabled person |
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Applications for
deferment are available at the Treasurer's office or on-line
here:
Application for Deferment of Summer Taxes and must be
returned by September 14th. You must apply for a deferment
for every year a deferment is requested.
Click here for the Deferment form
instructions. |
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How are my
Township Property Taxes determined? |
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Your property
taxes are determined by multiplying the tax rate (set by local
government entities) by the assessed or taxable value of your
property*.
County commissioners,
city councils, school boards, and township boards hold budget
hearings each year to determine how many dollars will be needed
for the following year’s operations. These hearings are usually
held in September or October. Check the ARGUS-PRESS for
the hearing dates for Bennington Township. |
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What is a Mill? |
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The Mill Levy and
Tax Rate are two different methods of expressing the same
information. A Tax Rate is expressed in percentage, a Mill
Levy is expressed in mills (1 mill = $1 of property tax for
every $1,000 of assessed value). Each taxing entity
determines what revenues will be required to operate the entity
during the coming fiscal year. The required revenues are then
divided by the total assessed value to determine the tax
rate/mill levy per entity.
Example: Say the
total assessed value for the township as determined by the
assessor is $100,000,000.
The Township Board
determines the budgeted property tax revenues to be $1,398,000.
$1,398,000 (tax
revenue) divided by $100,000,000 (assessed value) = 1.3980% (Tax
Rate) or 13.98 Mills (Mill Levy)
Therefore the
township tax rate in this example is $13.98 in tax liability for
each $1,000 of assessed value.
Properties may be
affected by several taxing entities. To determine your Total Tax
Rate, sum the tax rates for each entity that impacts the
property.
* Headlee... and
Proposal A
The tax
calculation must also consider the restrictions established by
Section 31 of the Headlee Amendment which pertains to local
government. It requires that voters approve local
government tax increases not authorized by law or charter prior
to November 1978 (that is, any local taxes not already in place
at the time the Headlee amendment was adopted have to be
approved by the people who will pay them). This section also
provides that if the definition of the base of an existing tax
is broadened, the maximum authorized tax rate on the new base
must be reduced to yield the same revenue as the tax on the
prior base; for example, if the tax base was increased from
$1,000,000 to $1,100,000, and the tax rate was one mill, the
millage would have to be reduced to .909 mill, so that the yield
would be the same— $1,000—as that generated by the one mill on
the original tax base.
A key provision of
this section limits revenue from property-assessment increases.
If the assessed value of a local unit’s total taxable property,
excluding new construction and improvements, increases by more
than the inflation rate, the maximum authorized property tax
rate must be reduced so that the local’s total taxable property
yields the same gross revenue, adjusted for inflation, as
collected on it at its prior assessed value. The
assessment on individual property still could increase more than
the inflation rate, because the limit applies to all property
combined, not each parcel.
The Headlee
provision’s importance has been reduced by Michigan's Proposal
A, because the latter imposes a limit on assessment increases
that is more restrictive than that imposed by the Headlee
amendment.
Proposal A
increased the state sales and use tax rates from 4% to 6%,
limited annual increases in property tax assessments, exempted
school operating millages from uniform taxation requirement and
requires 3/4 vote of Legislature to exceed statutorily
established school operating millage rates. This constitutional
amendment:
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Limited
annual assessment increase for each property parcel to
5% or the inflation rate, whichever is less. When
property is sold or transferred, adjusted the assessment
to the property's current value. |
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Increased
the sales/use tax. Dedicate additional revenue to
schools. |
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Exempted
school operating millages from uniform taxation
requirement. |
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Required
3/4 vote of Legislature to exceed school operating
millage rates. |
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Activated
laws raising additional school revenues through taxation
including partial restoration of property tax. |
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Nullified
alternative laws raising school revenues through
taxation, including an increase income tax, personal
exemption increase, and partial restoration of property
taxes. |
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