information for paying West leechburg Borough, county, AND school property taxes AND LST TAX
The current tax collector is Kevin Smith. He can be contacted for questions, etc. by phone at 724-433-0794 or by email at [email protected]. The mailing address is 131 Woodland Drive, West Leechburg, PA 15656.
Home and property owners in West Leechburg need to pay property taxes two times each year. Tax bills for West Leechburg Borough and Westmoreland County, which are typically called the "spring taxes" are mailed to be received by March 1st. Taxes for Leechburg School District, which are termed the "fall taxes" are mailed to be received by August 1st. IF YOU CURRENTLY HAVE A MORTGAGE, THE MORTGAGE COMPANY OR BANK THAT HAS YOUR MORTGAGE SHOULD BE CONTACTING THE TAX OFFICE LISTING YOU AS ONE OF THEIR CLIENTS, AT WHICH TIME YOUR PROPERTY TAX BILL WILL BE FORWARDED TO THEM. IF YOU HAVE A MORTGAGE AND HAVE RECEIVED YOUR PROPERTY TAX BILL IN THE MAIL PLEASE CONTACT YOUR MORTGAGE PROVIDER WHO WILL PAY YOUR TAX BILL USING YOUR ESCROW FUNDS.
All payments made need to include the tax bill with all the copies. Tax collector needs the bill copies for records for this office and for the offices that are receiving the taxes, ie county, borough and/or school district. If bill is not included duplicates have to be made for which duplicate fees are assessed. See below for fee amounts.
Due dates for taxes:
Spring Taxes (County and Borough property taxes)
NOTE ON ACCEPTED PAYMENT DATES FOR THOSE SENT BY MAIL. If payments are made by mail the postmarked date on the envelope will be the date used in determining whether the taxes were paid before the deadline dates for discount, FACE amount, and end of the year delinquency date of December 31st.
PAYMENT OPTIONS:
Wednesday mornings from 9AM to 12 Noon during March, April, June, August, September and November.
No scheduled office hours in January, February and July.
Call for an office appointment other than those listed above.
CHANGE OF ADDRESS:
To have your property tax bill for the county/borough and the school sent to an address other than the property's address you will need to complete the Address Change Request Form, sign it, and mail it to the address at the bottom of the form. The form can be downloaded by clicking here.
LST (LOCAL SERVICES TAX)
As allowed by Pennsylvania, local entities can assess a LST tax on employees of businesses that are located within that local entity. For West Leechburg, half of the LST tax is distributed to the borough and the other half to the school district. The West Leechburg Council, which is the governing authority that assigns the LST tax rate, has assessed an annual $52 per employee tax which is payable to the West Leechburg Tax Collector. When paid the payee needs to include with the check, the employer name, name(s) of the employee(s) for which tax is being paid, and the employee(s) social security number(s) along with the employer's EIN number if it exists. A single check can be sent to pay for multiple employees. Checks should be made payable to Kevin Smith, Tax Collector.
SCHOOL PROPERTY TAX HOMESTEAD EXCLUSION
The state of Pennsylvania assists homeowners in paying their school property tax via the Homestead Exclusion. Homeowners in Pennsylvania are only allowed one property/parcel that has their primary residence to be eligible for this Homestead Exclusion assistance. Rental properties and business properties are not eligible, only properties with with the taxpayer's primary residence can use this exclusion. If you do not have the Homestead Exclusion and feel you are eligible call the Westmoreland County Tax Assessment Office at 724-830-3409. If you just purchased a home in West Leechburg you will need to apply for this Homestead Exclusion by calling the county Tax Assessment Office. Also if you have a family trust and/or an arrangement with future heirs you may want to contact a tax accountant or attorney to discuss the implications of the Homestead Exclusion on any future inheritance taxes. The amount of each eligible homeowner's reduction in school tax for 2020 was $253.78.
FEES AND CHARGES:
All fees listed below need to be made payable to Kevin Smith.
-Providing a duplicate bill (needed if bill/bills is/are lost or payment is not sent with bill),
$10/each bill that needs duplicated. These duplicate bills and the attached carbon copies are required for paper tax records for the tax office and the relevant tax entity. A copy can also be given to the tax payer as long as a self addressed, stamped envelop is provided. Mortgage and/or mortgage service companies that are paying property taxes from escrow accounts need to send with the payment all of the bill copies. If bills are not included with payment then duplicate bills will need to be made which will incur the duplicate bill fee for each bill in addition to the fee charged for forwarding tax bills to mortgage and/or mortgage service provider companies.
-Tax lien letter that includes 3 years of tax records & current year property status - $15/each parcel -Note a property sale may include multiple tax bills at which case a $15 fee is charged for each tax parcel bill. (Information on Tax lien letters from Westmoreland County in regard to
delinquent payments after December 31st can be found by clicking here.). BEFORE A TAX LIEN LETTER CAN BE RELEASED IN REGARD TO THE SELL OR TRANSFER OF A PROPERTY, A DYE TEST NEEDS TO BE PERFORMED AND PASSED ON THE PROPERTY. Go to the Borough Regulations tab or click here to contact plumbers that can perform this test in West Leechburg.
-Pulling tax bills and forwarding to mortgage and/or mortgage service providers - $10/bill (a return postage paid addressed envelop needs to be provided).
-If an electronic version in excel format of the list of mortgagees in West Leechburg is required by mortgage provider, an additional fee of $4 (+ the $10 per parcel fee stated above) per parcel assessed. If an excel type file of the list of mortgagees is provided by the mortgage provider the fee is instead $2 (+ the $10 per parcel fee stated above) per parcel.
All fees were approved by the West Leechburg Council.
If you have any questions do not hesitate to call me at 724-433-0794 or send me an email at [email protected].
Thank you,
Kevin Smith
Home and property owners in West Leechburg need to pay property taxes two times each year. Tax bills for West Leechburg Borough and Westmoreland County, which are typically called the "spring taxes" are mailed to be received by March 1st. Taxes for Leechburg School District, which are termed the "fall taxes" are mailed to be received by August 1st. IF YOU CURRENTLY HAVE A MORTGAGE, THE MORTGAGE COMPANY OR BANK THAT HAS YOUR MORTGAGE SHOULD BE CONTACTING THE TAX OFFICE LISTING YOU AS ONE OF THEIR CLIENTS, AT WHICH TIME YOUR PROPERTY TAX BILL WILL BE FORWARDED TO THEM. IF YOU HAVE A MORTGAGE AND HAVE RECEIVED YOUR PROPERTY TAX BILL IN THE MAIL PLEASE CONTACT YOUR MORTGAGE PROVIDER WHO WILL PAY YOUR TAX BILL USING YOUR ESCROW FUNDS.
All payments made need to include the tax bill with all the copies. Tax collector needs the bill copies for records for this office and for the offices that are receiving the taxes, ie county, borough and/or school district. If bill is not included duplicates have to be made for which duplicate fees are assessed. See below for fee amounts.
Due dates for taxes:
Spring Taxes (County and Borough property taxes)
- 2% Discount applied if paid by April 30th,
- FACE or the assessed tax amount pay period May 1st through June 30th,
- Taxes paid July 1st through December 31st are FACE amount plus 10% penalty, and
- After December 31st taxes are no longer accepted by this office and are turned over to Westmoreland County for collection. For details click here.
- 2% Discount applied if paid by September 30th,
- FACE or the assessed tax amount pay period October 1st through November 30th,
- Taxes paid December 1st through December 31st are FACE amount plus 10% penalty,
- Tax payers have the option of paying in three equal installments that are one third of the FACE value if payments are made by September 15, October 15, and November 15 with a 10% penalty on the installment amount past due. If mailing an installment payment please mail all copies and make sure you include a self-addressed stamped envelope to be used for mailing a copy of the bill marked received back to you. When sending in subsequent installment payments please again mail with your payment for next installment the bill marked received for the previous installment and a self addressed stamped envelope. As long as the envelope with payment is postmarked the due date or earlier no 10% penalty is applied. If payment is made after the installment due date please add 10% to your payment. Feel free to call 724-433-0794 if you have questions.
- After December 31st taxes are no longer accepted by this office and are turned over to Westmoreland County for collection. For details click here.
NOTE ON ACCEPTED PAYMENT DATES FOR THOSE SENT BY MAIL. If payments are made by mail the postmarked date on the envelope will be the date used in determining whether the taxes were paid before the deadline dates for discount, FACE amount, and end of the year delinquency date of December 31st.
PAYMENT OPTIONS:
- By mail to the address on the tax bill which is also provided above. All copies of the tax bill(s) received must be included in the envelope with the payment. To receive a stamped RECEIVED bill/receipt include with your payment a self-addressed stamped envelope. Installment payments for fall taxes must have a self addressed stamped envelope for at least the first two installment payments. Payment can only be made by check or money order. No cash payments can be made by mail.
- By paying at the office in the municipal building that is shown in the picture above at 1015 Plazak Street adjacent to the playground. Scheduled office hours are:
Wednesday mornings from 9AM to 12 Noon during March, April, June, August, September and November.
No scheduled office hours in January, February and July.
Call for an office appointment other than those listed above.
CHANGE OF ADDRESS:
To have your property tax bill for the county/borough and the school sent to an address other than the property's address you will need to complete the Address Change Request Form, sign it, and mail it to the address at the bottom of the form. The form can be downloaded by clicking here.
LST (LOCAL SERVICES TAX)
As allowed by Pennsylvania, local entities can assess a LST tax on employees of businesses that are located within that local entity. For West Leechburg, half of the LST tax is distributed to the borough and the other half to the school district. The West Leechburg Council, which is the governing authority that assigns the LST tax rate, has assessed an annual $52 per employee tax which is payable to the West Leechburg Tax Collector. When paid the payee needs to include with the check, the employer name, name(s) of the employee(s) for which tax is being paid, and the employee(s) social security number(s) along with the employer's EIN number if it exists. A single check can be sent to pay for multiple employees. Checks should be made payable to Kevin Smith, Tax Collector.
SCHOOL PROPERTY TAX HOMESTEAD EXCLUSION
The state of Pennsylvania assists homeowners in paying their school property tax via the Homestead Exclusion. Homeowners in Pennsylvania are only allowed one property/parcel that has their primary residence to be eligible for this Homestead Exclusion assistance. Rental properties and business properties are not eligible, only properties with with the taxpayer's primary residence can use this exclusion. If you do not have the Homestead Exclusion and feel you are eligible call the Westmoreland County Tax Assessment Office at 724-830-3409. If you just purchased a home in West Leechburg you will need to apply for this Homestead Exclusion by calling the county Tax Assessment Office. Also if you have a family trust and/or an arrangement with future heirs you may want to contact a tax accountant or attorney to discuss the implications of the Homestead Exclusion on any future inheritance taxes. The amount of each eligible homeowner's reduction in school tax for 2020 was $253.78.
FEES AND CHARGES:
All fees listed below need to be made payable to Kevin Smith.
-Providing a duplicate bill (needed if bill/bills is/are lost or payment is not sent with bill),
$10/each bill that needs duplicated. These duplicate bills and the attached carbon copies are required for paper tax records for the tax office and the relevant tax entity. A copy can also be given to the tax payer as long as a self addressed, stamped envelop is provided. Mortgage and/or mortgage service companies that are paying property taxes from escrow accounts need to send with the payment all of the bill copies. If bills are not included with payment then duplicate bills will need to be made which will incur the duplicate bill fee for each bill in addition to the fee charged for forwarding tax bills to mortgage and/or mortgage service provider companies.
-Tax lien letter that includes 3 years of tax records & current year property status - $15/each parcel -Note a property sale may include multiple tax bills at which case a $15 fee is charged for each tax parcel bill. (Information on Tax lien letters from Westmoreland County in regard to
delinquent payments after December 31st can be found by clicking here.). BEFORE A TAX LIEN LETTER CAN BE RELEASED IN REGARD TO THE SELL OR TRANSFER OF A PROPERTY, A DYE TEST NEEDS TO BE PERFORMED AND PASSED ON THE PROPERTY. Go to the Borough Regulations tab or click here to contact plumbers that can perform this test in West Leechburg.
-Pulling tax bills and forwarding to mortgage and/or mortgage service providers - $10/bill (a return postage paid addressed envelop needs to be provided).
-If an electronic version in excel format of the list of mortgagees in West Leechburg is required by mortgage provider, an additional fee of $4 (+ the $10 per parcel fee stated above) per parcel assessed. If an excel type file of the list of mortgagees is provided by the mortgage provider the fee is instead $2 (+ the $10 per parcel fee stated above) per parcel.
All fees were approved by the West Leechburg Council.
If you have any questions do not hesitate to call me at 724-433-0794 or send me an email at [email protected].
Thank you,
Kevin Smith