Sheriff Craig Webre announced the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office will send out 42,945 tax notices this week to Lafourche Parish property owners. An additional 11,046 properties are homestead exempt, and no taxes are owed. A total of $117,860,905.94 in property taxes are now due and can be paid online, by mail or in person. These taxes help fund all aspects of public service in the parish such as roads, drainage, levees, law enforcement, fire departments, hospitals, ambulance services, schools, and recreation.

Property taxes are due by December 31, 2020, and unpaid taxes become delinquent on January 1, 2021. Per state law, delinquent taxes accrue interest at a rate of 1% per month until paid.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and for your own safety and well-being, Sheriff Webre is strongly encouraging citizens to utilize online and mail-in payments. Lobby space is extremely limited, and because of this, practicing safe social distancing while paying taxes in person may be difficult. Also, please be aware that beginning this year, local bank branches are no longer accepting payments. Traditionally, several local bank branches accepted in-person payments through December 31, but that service is no longer available.

Payments can be made in full online at LPSO.net/PayMyTaxes. Full payments can also be mailed using the envelope provided to Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office, P.O. Box 679538, Dallas, TX 75267-9538. Having been used since 2018, the out-of-state address is due to processing payments through a third-party service for faster payment processing and disbursement of tax dollars. This service also helps reduce staffing and overtime during the tax collection process resulting in a cost savings to taxpayers.

If a taxpayer wishes to pay in person, full payments via cash, credit card, debit card, check, or money order can be made at the LPSO Administrative Office (200 Canal Boulevard, Thibodaux) and at the South Lafourche Sub-station (102 West 91st Street, Cut Off). For those unable to pay in full by December 31, 2020, partial payments can be made at these locations or sent by mail to the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office, P.O. Box 5608, Thibodaux, LA 70302. Each partial payment must be at least 25% of the total amount of property tax due, and the first partial payment must be made prior to December 31, 2020. The remaining unpaid amount is still subject to the 1% monthly penalty per state law.

All unpaid taxes will accrue additional costs associated with the tax sale. If the property is sold at the tax sale, the property owner is subject to loss of the homestead exemption. Property sold at the tax sale may be redeemed up to three years from the date the property is sold, but per state law, a 5% penalty will apply as well as a monthly interest rate of 1%. The owner must contact the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office to redeem the property.

Any unpaid taxes on movable/inventory property may cause the property in questions to be seized and sold at auction or a writ may be sought to levy the property owner’s bank account for the amount of taxes owed.

The current property owner is responsible for all taxes due. Anyone who purchased property in 2020 may not receive a tax bill due to it being sent to the previous owner. Homeowners with mortgages should check with their mortgage company before making a payment as those companies generally collect escrow and pay property taxes on behalf of the property owner. Please check whether your mortgage company will make your tax payment before you make a separate payment directly to the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office.

As a reminder, 2020 is a reassessment year. Any questions regarding property assessment or ownership should be directed to the Lafourche Parish Assessor’s Office at (985) 447-7242.

For more information about tax payments, property owners can contact the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office at (985) 449-4431.