Sandoval County Treasurer Lorraine Dominguez’s office mailed roughly 116,000 bills on Thursday.

As we get to the last two months of our calendar, several folks will receive holiday cards. Something else thousands of Sandoval County residents will find in their mailboxes won’t contain holly and be wrapped in pretty paper. Instead, it’s 2007’s property tax bills.

Payment for the first half or full year must be postmarked by Dec. 10 to avoid delinquency charges or interest. The second half payment is due on April 10, 2008, and must be submitted by May 10, 2008, to avoid delinquent charges. The bills are being mailed to property owners’ addresses worldwide.

“The property tax bills that go in the mail in November are the only notice taxpayers will receive for the entire year,” Dominguez said. “The bills include coupons for submitting payment for both the first and second one-half installments, as well as a third coupon for taxpayers to use when paying the full year’s taxes in one payment.”

While taxes for many property owners are paid by their mortgage company, Dominguez said taxpayers should contact their escrow agent to confirm receipt of the tax information from the Treasurer’s Office.

“Even if the bill is being paid by a mortgage company, the owner of the property should keep a copy of the bill,” she said.

Property tax payments can be submitted to Sandoval County in a variety of ways, including in person at the Sandoval County Courthouse in Bernalillo or by mail using the return envelope included with the bill. Other options include payments by electronic fund transfers, Visa or MasterCard by phone at 1-866-269-1950 or online though a link available on the Treasurer’s section of the county Web site, www.sandovalcounty.com.

“Taxpayers should realize, however, that credit card transactions will incur a fee of 2.5 percent of the payment amount and electronic fund transfers from savings or checking accounts will include a fee of $3 per transaction,” Dominguez said. “These fees are charged by the financial institution and Sandoval County does not receive any proceeds from the convenience fees.”

More information on tax bills, payment options and related topics is available online at the County Treasurer’s section of the county’s Web site, www.sandovalcounty.com, or by calling the Treasurer’s Office at 867-7581.