The Christmas shopping season and the tax collection season will collide in Elkhart County.

Elkhart County now has state permission to send out its 2008 property tax bills. The first tax payment due date has been set for December 2, four days after Thanksgiving.

On the bright side, many homeowners with homestead credits will actually see their taxes go down compared to last year.

“Well it was a little less than before,” said homeowner Thelma Kauffman. Kauffman has already gone to the Elkhart County Treasurer’s office to peek at, and pay, her bill. Kauffman said this year’s taxes ended up being about $250 less than last year’s.

“It was definitely lower than I figured it would be,” said Jim Kauffman who was at the treasurer’s office today to learn his bottom line. “I would say about 25-percent or so.”

Indeed, Indiana’s Office of Management and Budget estimates that the average Elkhart County homeowner with a homestead credit will see their 2008 property taxes reduced by about 25-percent.

While that may be the rule, Elkhart County Treasurer Larry Ernest is quick to point out the exception.

“Middlebury School District has the debt service for their next bond issue for their new high school kicking in this year,” he said. Some homeowners in the Middlebury School District actually saw their bills increase.

In past years when bills were sent out late, counties were allowed to collect the taxes in one lump sum payment. That won’t happen this year.

Taxpayers have the option of paying in two installments that are six weeks apart. The first would be due December 2, while the final installment would be due on January 13.

The fact that the second installment would be made in the following calendar year presents a potential problem. Property tax payments are deductible for those who itemize on their federal income tax return, but only the portion of those payments that are made in that calendar year.