Paying mud tax by credit card

[Lowexpectations]

Originally Posted by azinwood

do the math and see if the points you get back are worth the fees. in our case, the miles we earn should be worth a lot.

Typically your points aren't worth the dollars spent in the above scenario

[Lowexpectations]

The only way you benefit by paying with a credit card is if the amount of interest/late fees the taxing jurisdiction would charge you is higher than the credit card transaction fee + prevailing cc interest - rewards

And this is only if you didn't have the money to pay the taxes either way

[gwarnecke]

I thought that Texas law, and some credit card agreements, specifically forbid merchants from passing along processing fees to consumers.

Maybe the MUD can get away with it b/c they're not a "merchant".

[Lowexpectations]

Originally Posted by gwarnecke

I thought that Texas law, and some credit card agreements, specifically forbid merchants from passing along processing fees to consumers.

Maybe the MUD can get away with it b/c they're not a "merchant".

They fall under a govt entity I believe

TEXAS AND CREDIT CARD CONVENIENCE FEES OR SURCHARGES

In Texas, the Finance Code prohibits sellers from charging such a fee to credit card customers, however, sellers may offer a discount for paying in cash. Additionally, government entities are exempt from this restriction, therefore government agencies can (and often do) charge extra fees for using credit cards. Note that many of the universities charge a convenience fee; i.e., Texas Parks & Wildlife charges a fee; TCU charges 2.75% with a $3.00 minimum. Landlords cannot charge a fee, and there have been cases to prevent this action.

They also typically don't actually transact the business, a number of utility companies will accept ach but credit cards are processed by an outside vendor which you agree to ahead of time and the outside vendor's processing fee which might be another loop hole

[JL]

Ok. I was hoping that with it being a government entity, the fee was going to be much less, but seeing Lowexpectations quote of Texas finance code, i guess nope. It looks like some of you caught on to the reason why i wanted to pay by credit card. I was going to apply for a new credit card with a nice pts reward bonus granted i spend $4k within 3 months, but i decided to just pay with check as i normally do each year for my MUD tax. The fee is just too much.

[Lowexpectations]

My prop tax bill is closer to 12,000 so if it made sense I'd be charging it too