Technology aims to simplify county tax payments

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A growing number of Richland County taxpayers are taking advantage of technology that lets them make tax payments from their smartphones.

The county’s business systems division developed quick response bar codes, or QR codes, for tax payments in 2013. The QR codes have been used on vehicle tax notices for several years, but now all notices, including property, personal, real estate and business tax assessments, are printed with a QR code.

As of November, all county tax notices include a QR code, according to a news release from Richland County.

Taxpayers use a QR reader on their smart device to scan or snap a photo of the code on their tax notice and are directed to the county treasurer’s online bill payment page. The county said about 1,500 taxpayers have used the QR technology since 2016, with an anticipated 2,400 projected to use it in 2019.

“We always want people to have the most convenient options in how they can best meet their tax obligations,” Richland County Treasurer David Adams said in a news release. “We are growing with technology, and we’ll continue to do so to make working with Richland County as easy as possible.”

As of July, Richland County had collected more than $3 million using the QR code technology.

People can also snap a QR code posted on the wall outside the auditor’s counter at the Richland County office at 2020 Hampton St. to receive their current tax notices.