Property tax in Indiana is due in two installments each year: May 10 and November 10. Those payments cover the prior year’s assessment, so a bill paid in 2026 reflects what your property was worth and who owned it in 2025. If either date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, national holiday, or statewide holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 6-1.1-37-10 – Penalties for Delinquent Taxes The same two dates apply in all ninety-two counties.2Indiana Department of Local Government Finance. Property Tax Due Dates
What Those Two Dates Actually Cover
Indiana collects property taxes in arrears. You’re always paying for last year’s assessment, split evenly between the spring and fall installments.2Indiana Department of Local Government Finance. Property Tax Due Dates The May payment and the November payment are two halves of the same annual bill, not two separate bills.
New homeowners get caught by this more than anyone else. If you bought in 2025, the bills that arrive in 2026 still relate to the previous owner’s assessment year. Your closing paperwork likely handled this with a prorated credit, but the county sends the bill to whoever holds the deed when it mails. If you’re unsure who owes what, call your county treasurer before the deadline rather than after.
Getting the Bill and Reading It
Counties mail tax statements once a year in the spring, with coupons for both installments included. Most counties do not send a separate reminder for the November payment, and many do not send delinquency notices either.3Hancock County Indiana. Frequently Asked Questions Never receiving a bill is not a legal excuse for paying late. If your statement hasn’t arrived by mid-April, contact your county treasurer or pull your information from the state’s Gateway taxpayer portal.4Indiana Gateway. Taxpayer Portal
The statement itself is a standardized form called the TS-1, prescribed by the Department of Local Government Finance. It shows your gross assessed value, your deductions, the local rate, and any circuit breaker credit, alongside the prior year’s figures so you can see how your bill changed.5Department of Local Government Finance. TS-1 Tax Comparison Statement A missing homestead deduction can add thousands to a bill, so give the statement a careful read before you cut the check.
How to Pay
Every county treasurer’s office accepts in-person payments during business hours, typically by cash, check, money order, or card. Many offices also keep a secure drop box for after-hours payments. If you mail your payment, the United States Postal Service postmark is your proof of timely payment, so a check postmarked May 10 counts even if it arrives at the courthouse later.
Most counties also offer online payment through third-party processors. These charge convenience fees that vary by method: electronic checks usually run a small flat fee, often under $2, while credit card payments run roughly 2% to 3% of the amount. The county keeps none of that fee.
If a Mortgage Lender Pays Through Escrow
If your mortgage includes escrow for taxes, your lender pays the treasurer on your behalf. Your tax statement will usually carry an “IN ESCROW” watermark when a lender has requested billing. The property owner remains legally responsible for the tax no matter the escrow arrangement, so confirming with your mortgage servicer that each installment went out on time is the only reliable way to know. When a loan is paid off or an escrow arrangement ends, the obligation to pay the county directly falls back to you.
What Happens If You Miss May 10 or November 10
The penalty is immediate. Pay within thirty days of the due date, with no prior delinquent taxes on the same parcel, and the penalty is 5% of the unpaid amount. Past thirty days, or if you already owe back taxes on that parcel, the penalty is 10%.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 6-1.1-37-10 – Penalties for Delinquent Taxes
Each additional year the taxes stay unpaid, another 10% penalty is added to the outstanding principal the day after each installment date.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 6-1.1-37-10 – Penalties for Delinquent Taxes These are penalties on the original tax amount, not compounding interest, but they add up quickly. A $2,000 missed installment can grow by $200 every six months until it’s resolved. Any payment you send is applied to the delinquent tax first and then to penalties, so partial payments start reducing the underlying balance before touching the surcharges.
When Delinquency Puts the Property at Risk
Prolonged nonpayment moves a property onto the county’s tax sale list. The county can then sell a tax lien at auction to recover what’s owed. At that point, missed installments become a real risk of losing the property.
After a tax sale, the original owner has one year from the sale date to redeem by paying the full amount owed, including penalties and the buyer’s costs.6Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 6-1.1-25-4 – Period for Redemption If the property was offered but did not sell, the redemption window shrinks to 120 days after the county acquires the lien. Properties on the county’s vacant and abandoned list have no redemption right at all. The county treasurer has limited discretion to extend any of these timelines.
A Separate Deadline for Business Personal Property
If you own a business, the real estate deadlines above are not the only ones that matter. Indiana also taxes business tangible personal property such as equipment, furniture, and fixtures, and the annual return is due May 15. County assessors generally do not grant extensions on that filing.7Indiana Department of Local Government Finance. Personal Property
Businesses with less than $2,000,000 in total acquisition costs within a county qualify for an exemption, but Form 104 still has to be filed to claim it. If you previously filed and claimed the exemption with acquisition costs under $80,000, the exemption carries over automatically and no new filing is required. For everyone else, the obligation returns each year, and missing May 15 can prompt the assessor to estimate your value, which rarely helps the taxpayer.