Hamilton County E-Billing

ABOUT THIS SERVICE:
The Treasurer is offering digital delivery of tax information (Tax Statements), instead of using traditional postal delivery. For those who register before the cut-off date (mid-March), your 2013 Property Tax Bills will be delivered to your email accounts in mid-April, 2013. You will not need to login to get them.

This service does not provide information for filing your Income Taxes.

To complete the registration process; you need:
- The access code provided on the tax bill that you received in the Spring
- access to the internet
- access to your email account

Click here to begin: CitizenConnect (http://connect.hamiltoncounty.in.gov)

Registration Video | Registration Instructions | Frequently Asked Questions

MORE HELP: Online Registration Issues | Managing Your Account | How To OPT OUT

Please check the information below first. If you can't find what you need, or are still having issues, please report it to webmaster@hamiltoncounty.in.gov .

REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS & VIDEO

Registration Video (wmv) or Registration Video (flash that auto-fits to size of your browser window)
We provide this tutorial in two formats. If you can not view one please try the other, they contain the same information.

For either video, just click on the link and it should open in a second window. If it doesn't, please look for a small security message from your browser. Depending on your browser settings, you may need to allow the video to play, or allow it to open a new window.

The basic steps for Registration:

Step	Description	Time mark in Flash video minutes:seconds
1	Create a CitizenConnect account. (You may enter whatever username, password, and email you like.)	1:50
2	Under Property Tax E-Billing, click on "Sign up". On the next screen, there should be a box where you enter your Access Code. Click Begin Registration.	4:00
3	Review the Instructions and Qualifications, click Continue. Edit applicant information as needed. You can add other properties at this time. Ensure the correct property is listed. Click Continue.	4:44
4	Open the Confirmation Email sent from the County Treasurer. Click on the link in the email; it is only good for 48 hours (at which point you'd need to go back to Step 2). If it's not click-able you can copy/paste the link into your browser's address bar ( see Issue 8 below). The link should open your browser to an agreement page. Read and click I Agree.	5:25
5	Open the Thank You Email sent from the County Treasurer; it verifies the registration is completed. Open the pdf attachment to make sure you can use it. We do not want to send information in a format you can't use. If you can't use this pdf, please make sure you have a current version of Abode Acrobat installed. If you can't resolve the issue, you will want to un-register or Opt-Out.	6:08

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Will my mortgage lender continue to receive tax statements about my property?

The new service only affects delivery to you. Delivery to your mortgage lender will continue as normal.

When will I get my pdf Tax Statement?

Each spring, the County sends out TaxStatements about 2 weeks before the 1st installment is due. These statements show what is due in May and November of the current year (they do not show how much you paid the prior year). The E-Billing service lets the County deliver these statements via email instead of postal delivery. Both postal and email deliver usually happen in late April.

How do I get a copy of last year's Tax Statement?

Tax Statements are public records. We post them online about the same time that we mail them. So the statements for the previous year are available on our website until late April. Go to http://www2.hamiltoncounty.in.gov/apps/reports/defaulttax2.asp; you can search by parcel number or house address. This application also has a Tax Payments report. It shows the amounts paid, the dates, and who made the payments. If the payments were made via your lender, it would reflect their name.

How do I get the statement that shows the taxes I paid last year?

If you have a mortgage, your Lender probably made those payments for you, via an escrow account. The County can't give tax advice, but normally the lender sends you an annual statement that shows how much you paid them, and the amount that went toward taxes. Please check with your accountant, as this may be the "statement" that you are needing.

How does E-billing benefit the County and it's Citizens?

Each spring, the County Treasurer sends out more than 125,000 letters containing your tax bill and comparison statement. That mailing uses more that 2 tons of paper and costs more than $43,000 in postage; and there's the cost for paper and printing. So going digital helps decrease our carbon footprint and lower our operating costs. Email delivery also gives you the ability to access this information when away from home or out-of-town. This is an opportunity to reduce spending, be environmentally friendly, and improve government services.

ONLINE REGISTRATION ISSUES

1. I'm trying to log in for the very first time. It says my email is invalid.

Did you create an account yet? The first step is for you to make an account with us. Click on "Create an account": you may enter whatever username, password, and email you like.

2. What is a Property Access Code? How do I get one? What if I lost mine?

The Property Access Code is a "secret value" we send to the property owner; it is not the parcel number. We have mailed Property Access Codes to a chosen group of owners for initial use of this new service. We will expand this offer in the future. If you have lost your Property Access Code, please call the Treasurer's Office at 317-776-9620.

3. I received an error message.

Property Already Registered: You may have tried to enter the same property access code a second time.
Also, during the registration process, you receive an email with a confirmation link. You get this message if you click on the link a second time.

This registration has expired. Please begin registration again from your account. : During the registration process, you receive an email with a confirmation link. For security reasons, this link is only valid for 48 hours. You get this message if you click it after that timeframe.

If you did not use the link within the 48 hours, the registration process was cancelled. You will need to log into CitizenConnect and start over.

4. What if a registered property doesn't show up on my account?

You received a message that the property is already registered; but it doesn't show up in your account. In this case, the property is registered under a different CitizenConnect account or was registered using the paper form. Call the Treasurer's Office at 317-776-9620 for details pertaining to E-Billing for that property.

5. I'm not getting the e-mails from Hamilton Tax E-Billing.

1. Check your spam folder. It might be that it was delivered, but was deposited in your spam. To ensure delivery, please add no-reply@HamiltonCounty.in.gov to your address book or safe list.

2. Check that there are no errors in your Tax E-Billing email account. If you registered online, you can do this online through CitizenConnect . If you registered using a paper form, you will need to call the Treasurer's Office at 317-776-9620. If we sent you email and it was undeliverable, the delivery method will revert to traditional mail.

6. I can't open the pdf files included with the E-Billing email.

These pdf's are compatible with Adobe Reader. If you experience problems, please ensure you have a current version of Adobe Reader, it is available for free at www.Adobe.com. If you can't resolve the issue, you will want to un-register or Opt-Out.

7. I'm not sure I completed the process. I didn't get your emails and I already checked my spam folder.

If the process completed properly, you would have received 2 emails from Hamilton County Treasurer. The second one starts with "Thank you for signing up to receive tax statements via email. " If you got this email, you completed the process. If not, please watch the above video that shows the complete process. This should help you determine where you are in the process.

If you already made an account but didn't get the emails, please try this:
1. Close all your browsers windows and open one new one. This resets your session cookies which will help to prevent errors.

2. Use the account you already made and log into CitizenConnect at http://connect.hamiltoncounty.in.gov.

3. Click on either link inside of the Property Tax E-billing "box". It knows where you are in the process. It will either show the property you're registering; or it will show a box where you enter your access code.

4. You should be able to continue from this point by following the instructions on the screen, or refer to the video near the top of this page.

8. I got the first email, but there is no link in the email.

Some email applications do not let us send you a click-able link; it is a security measure for your protection. It is not something we can control. You should be able to copy/paste the long address into the address bar of your browser (see below for directions). It should open an Agreement page where you can click "I Agree". Then you should receive the second email from Hamilton County Treasurer. The second email is proof that the process completed successfully.

Some email applications may not even let you copy from our email. Try clicking "Reply"; and see if you can copy from the new email.

How to Copy/Paste The URL:
1. Highlight the long URL (address)
2. Hover over the highlighted text and right click. Select Copy.
3. Open a browser window. Place your cursor in the Address bar and remove all of the existing address.
4. Right click in the Address Bar, and select Paste. Your cursor should now be at the end of the long URL (address).
5. Hit Enter or Return on your Keyboard

MANAGING MY ACCOUNT

I forgot my password or user name.

On the login screen, click the "Forgot your user name or password?" link. On the next screen, enter your email account. On the next screen, select "A New Password" or "My Username", and we will email this information to you.

How do I log in?
What are my login values?

If you registered for E-Billing online, you already have a CitizenConnect account. Go to CitizenConnect to log in. Enter your user name (not your email) and password.

You chose the values for your username, password, and email account (they were not set by us). If you've forgotten the username or password, click on "Forgot your password?". Enter the email account you used when you created your account. Once the system finds your account, it can send you your username or reset your password. If you still have problems please email the webmaster, from the email account you used when you created your account with us.

If you used a paper form to register for E-Billing, you cannot access your E-Billing information online.

How do I change my Email Address(es)?
Why do I have two Email Addresses?

If you registered for E-Billing online, you have a CitizenConnect account. The email address used by CitizenConnect does not have to match the one you use for E-Billing. If you want them to match, you will need to make two updates:

- CitizensConnect: Log into CitizenConnect (http://connect.hamiltoncounty.in.gov) and click on Profile. Change the Email Address shown under Contact Information; enter it again in the Confirm Email box. At the bottom of the page, enter the Word Verification, and click Save Changes.

- Tax E-Billing: Log into CitizenConnect . In the Property Tax E-Billing box, click on "view or update". This first page shows the CitizenConnect Email address at the upper right; and it shows your email address for Tax E-Billing at the upper left. "Change E-Billing Email Address" in the upper center will change the email address used for Tax E-Billing.

If you used a paper form to register for E-Billing, you cannot access the information online and will need to use this paper form (State form 53954) found at www.in.gov for making changes.

Why did the County remove my property from E-Billing?

There are several reasons for the delivery method to revert back to traditional mail. Here are some of the more prevalent:
- We tried sending you emails and they were undeliverable.
- There was a change to the name of the property owner. Even small changes may trigger this occurrence.
- There was a change to the boundaries of the property.

OPT OUT / UNREGISTERING PROPERTY

How do I Opt Out?

The State of Indiana requires that you submit a form to change your e-billing status (such as opting out). If you registered for E-Billing online, you can also opt out online. Log into CitizenConnect . Under Property Tax E-Billing, click on "view or update". Any properties registered for E-Billing under this account will be listed. For each property, you can click "opt out"; and the delivery method for that property will revert to traditional mail.

If you used a paper form to register for E-Billing, you cannot access the information online and will need to use this paper form (State form 53954) for any changes.

Hamilton County, Indiana