‘Software is not making it possible’: Powhatan extends tax bill due date again due to technical issues

POWHATAN COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Powhatan County residents have received yet another extension due date after the Board of Supervisors approved to extend the deadline to June 30 on Monday.

On Monday, May 19, the Powhatan Board of Supervisors voted to extend the deadline to June 30 due to "technical difficulties" with its software provider, despite the possibility of an additional extension heading into July. This means that residents have yet to receive their personal property and real estate tax bills.

The county's software provider, Keystone Information Systems, was reportedly having these issues as late as May 14. At that time, it was still generating data to make the first half 2025 tax bills.

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"This is something we've unfortunately run into in the past with the software that the offices use for that -- the bills have not been able to be prepared in time, so we do need to do an emergency extension of the tax deadline," said Bret Schardein, Powhatan's county administrator, at Monday's meeting.

He went on to call it a "headache" and emphasized the necessity to extend the deadline.

"This was not a problem with the new software -- this was a continuing issue, unfortunately, that staff in the administration, the commissioner's office and treasurer's office have tried to get ahead of this and stay on top of it, but again, this the software is just not making it possible," Schardein said.

Despite the new extension approval, county treasurer Becky Nunnally told 8News that extending the deadline would make it harder to compare this year’s data to previous years if the deadline is extended to the next fiscal year.

As a result, all taxpayers of Powhatan County will "automatically receive said extension without penalty or interest," according to the county, and residents will accrue interest on all unpaid balances as of July 1.

Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect the accurate date of the extension as indicated during the May 19 meeting.