Tax Information

Mortgage/Escrowed Property Taxes

For those property owners with a home mortgage, please be advised that the City will send your property taxes directly to your bank or loan servicing company. Many municipalities will send the taxes directly to the homeowner. In turn, the homeowner is responsible for getting that tax bill to the mortgage provider. In an effort to assist our citizens, we try to eliminate this step in the process and avoid potential confusion to help assure your taxes are paid in a timely manner.

As such, if you have a mortgage, expect your property taxes to be sent to the servicing company. Your lender is maintaining a tax escrow account for your taxes. If you are unsure, or unaware, of whether the City is sending the taxes to your mortgage company, please contact the Treasurer's Office for confirmation. You may also request a copy of your tax statement or tax bill for your own records.
FYI: Escrow accounts are used in conjunction with your mortgage loan. They act as a savings account to hold money to pay for property taxes and homeowner's insurance. Each month, the payment you make to the mortgage company includes a portion that goes towards paying off the loan and a portion that goes into the escrow account. Because failure to pay property taxes can result in a tax lien or foreclosure, some lenders require borrowers to maintain an escrow account to ensure that the payments are being made on time.

FYI: Property Tax Payments. Your lender must work directly with the City of Jeannette to obtain the information on your property taxes. The county sends the tax bill to the lender for review. The lender then makes a payment to the county using the money from your escrow account. You should also receive a copy of your tax bill for your records; however, you don't need to pay your tax collector directly.
FYI: Escrow Calculations. The amount you pay into escrow each month is based on the yearly total amount you owe for property taxes and homeowner's insurance. The grand total is simply divided by 12 to reach the monthly payment amount. Most lenders like to keep some additional funds in the account to act as a safety-net or cushion in case of an unexpected increase in a bill. The lender is allowed, by law, to collect an additional two months worth of payments for this purpose.

FYI: Yearly Statements. At the end of each year, the lender reviews your escrow account to provide you with an account disclosure statement. The statement includes details of the payments into and out of the account. It will list the specific payments made to the tax collector by date. The statement also provides an analysis what your payments will be for the upcoming year. It's common for property taxes to increase over time as the assessed value of your property also increases. Additionally, you may overpay or underpay for the year. You'll either be issued a refund or owe the lender extra money.