Kosciusko County Treasurer Rhonda Helser

KOSCIUSKO — At the Kosciusko Commissioners meeting held in May, Kosciusko County Treasurer Rhonda Helser requested and received approval for implementation of the Tax Refund Exchange & Compliance System, a program to assist in the collection of delinquent property taxes. TRECS allows counties to collect outstanding debts owed to local units of government by intercepting personal state income tax refunds.

According to Helser, this will be used for both personal property taxes and real estate property.

Helser explained that real estate property tax is charged on immovable property such as land or on structures that are permanently attached to the ground, like a house or building. If you own a home, you pay property tax directly to your local tax assessor or indirectly with your monthly mortgage payment.

Personal property tax is an annual tax imposed on moveable assets, such as mobile homes, RVs, vehicles and boats. The portion of the fee that is based on the value of the moveable asset is considered a personal property tax. 

Delinquent accounts will first be turned over to a collection agency. If the collection agency is unable to collect the delinquent fees, the accounts will then be turned over to the Association of Indiana Counties. 

The AIC TRECS Program is a results-oriented process to help counties collect outstanding debts in a timely, cost-effective manner. TRECS debt set-off allows counties to compile and submit their delinquencies for set-off against pending state tax refunds.

The debt set-off program allows units of local government to submit any outstanding certified delinquent debt totaling $25 or more through a local government clearinghouse to the Indiana Department of Revenue, to attempt to match these debts against individual income tax refunds. The clearinghouse is authorized to charge $20 to the amount of delinquent debt submitted by participating local governments.

Helser stated that payment plans are always an option. 

“If someone has delinquent property taxes, they can always come to our office and pay whatever they can afford. We take partial payments.”

As of February 2018, 10 counties were registered for participation in the TRECS Program. Marion County in Indianapolis was the first county to sign up. As part of the process, counties send a pre-seizure  notice to county debtors, initiating the beginning of a 30-day dispute window. From about 15,000 debtor letters mailed in early December from Marion County, thousands of debts were repaid.

With approximately $8,000 invested in printing and postage, the county saw a 260 percent return on investment. Henry County reported collecting $13,000 for two consecutive days as debtors responded to their county’s TRECS notice mailed in mid-January. Lawrence County collected nearly $50,000 in just one week from about 1,000 debts.