NORTH ATTLEBORO - You won't need to search for a stamp to pay your excise tax bill this year because the town is preparing to allow paying bills online.

Pending final testing, which is expected to occur just prior to 22,000 excise tax bills being mailed out next week, taxpayers will be able to make a payment from their home computers without a trip to the mailbox or town hall.

Town Treasurer Diana Asanza said online bill payment will be available to pay real estate, personal property and motor vehicle excise tax bills. The town is partnering with Unibank, which provides the Unipay service through its secure Web site.

"Unipay is like having an additional lock box but with no additional charge," Asanza said. "It's a great collection mechanism to use."

Payments can be made directly from a checking account at no charge. Credit cards can also be used, but come with a fee of 2.7 to 3 percent, which is passed on to the taxpayer, not the town. A link for the online bill payment center will be added to the town Web site - www.north-attleboro.ma.us - once the service goes live.

Asanza said online payments will post faster, improve customer service and offer a more convenient option for taxpayers. If a tax bill is due on Feb. 1, for example, customers will have until midnight of that day to pay online.

For now, only the most recent bills can be paid online. Taxpayers with delinquent bills will still have to pay the old-fashioned way.

If all goes well, the town can also consider adding online payment options for other services, such as landfill, water and sewer bills in the future.