In late August, the Mecklenburg County Tax Office mailed 170,471 property tax notifications to taxpayers who have their local real estate taxes paid by a mortgage company. The notice informs taxpayers how much their bills are, and which mortgage companies have requested the bills.
 

In some instances, the taxpayer’s tax service company – rather than the mortgage company – was listed on the form. Tax service companies are contract vendors of the mortgage companies, and they work with hundreds of tax offices to obtain bills for the mortgage companies so they can pay taxes from mortgage escrow accounts. The exact number of mortgage letters listing tax service companies rather than a mortgage company is unknown.

"It is important to note that the tax data, including the value, tax amount due, and other critical information on these notices correctly reflect the tax records," said Neal Dixon, Mecklenburg County Tax Office director. "There was no error in calculating the tax bill itself."

The tax service companies in question were listed on the mortgage because they sent their electronic files requests in an incorrect format, Dixon said.

Many mortgage company customers don’t know the name of their tax service, and some taxpayers are concerned that their bills will not be paid from their escrow accounts. Although the tax service company was listed instead of the mortgage company, the bills will be supplied to the requesting mortgage company for payment.

Taxpayers are encouraged to contact their mortgage companies to ensure they have the tax information needed to pay their tax bills. In the meantime, the county is working to update the tax records to reflect the mortgage companies rather than the tax service companies that are employed by the mortgage companies.