Travis Co. residents urged to pay property taxes online due to jugging cases spike

Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector Bruce Elfant is asking residents to pay property taxes online after citing recent crime data. The deadline to pay online is Tuesday, Jan. 31 at midnight.

AUSTIN, Texas - The deadline to pay your property tax online is Tuesday, Jan. 31 at midnight.

Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector Bruce Elfant is asking residents to pay their property tax online after citing recent crime data.

The Travis County Sheriff's Office is investigating nine open cases where tax office customers had their property tax payments stolen from the mail in the 2021 tax year.

Citing a recent spike in juggings, a crime where criminals follow victims from the bank, ATM, or check-cashing stores, Elfant said bringing cash to the tax office could also put you at risk.

To date, there are no reports of tax office customers being jugged.

"We want people to know that the deadline for paying online is tonight at midnight. And that's the easiest thing to do in the middle of an ice storm," said Elfant.

Elfant said residents can pay online. If you can't pay online, you can go to the Travis County Tax Office the first day they reopen and pay without penalty due to the winter weather.

As of now, the office is still not sure when they will reopen.