With less than a week left to enroll, city officials are urging property owners to register online to receive their property tax assessments via e-mail. The service is an effort by the city to reduce mailing costs.

It's the first time the city will offer the online option, which also allows for filing appeals and exemption requests. Owners have until Dec. 1 to register for the free service at www.realpropertyhonolulu.com..

The city already offers several services online, including motor vehicle registration and building permits.

"We're trying to move our business online, and from our standpoint it saves us the cost of mailing (the notices). The cost of postage keeps going up," said Gary Kurokawa, director of the assessment division. "It's a convenience for people to receive it via e-mail. You can store it, save it and send it off to your attorney or accountant."

It costs the city about $80,000 each year to mail assessments to 280,000 property owners on O'ahu.

The city hopes to eventually eliminate the need to mail paper copies. Large landowners such as Kamehameha Schools, DR Horton Homes and others enrolled after the city approached them. Kamehameha Schools alone saves the city postage on about 800 assessments.

So far, about 100 homeowners have signed up for the online service.

"If we're giving people more options that's a positive thing," said City Council member Donovan M. Dela Cruz. "You reduce cost, you increase access and you provide options, and that way we can divert funds to more pressing city needs."

Beginning Dec. 15, eligible homeowners will be able to file their home exemption claims online for the 2010-2011 tax year and beyond.

Property owners will also be able to file appeals online to the Board of Review for the 2009-2010 tax year, beginning Dec. 15, 2008, to Jan. 15, 2009.