Property taxes are due next month, and more people appear to be making their payments electronically.

The first of the year’s two property tax installments is due May 10. In Marion County, bills go in the mail on Friday — emailed bills have already been sent.

You can pay in person at your county treasurer’s office, but with the pandemic, Marion County Treasurer Barbara Lawrence is encouraging people to use remote options. In Marion County, you can pay by phone, text or online — Lawrence says there was a noticeable increase in those methods last year, and says early payments indicate that trend is continuing.

Electronic payments aren’t available everywhere, and the service fee for that option varies by county. Marion County has reached a deal with its payment processing vendor to reduce its fee to two-and-a-half-percent, but Lawrence says some counties with lower volume range as high as three-percent.

How much you pay depends on where you live: which township, school district, sewer district and so on. Lawrence says she expects most Marion County bills to be higher this year, not only because of higher rates but because of increased property values.