Paying Property Taxes: How it Works
Property taxes are charged on a fiscal year beginning July 1st and ending June 30th; hence tax years are referred to as 2023/2024 or 2024/2025 and so on. Taxes are billed in two equal installments: the first installment covers July 1st through December 31st, and the second installment covers January 1st through June 30th.
Property taxes in California are re-calculated with every resale and reassessed after any major remodel. In most cases, taxes will run you about 1.2% of your property value (or purchase price if you’ve just bought). This amount is split into two payments or, “installments” and made twice per year, once on April 10th and once on December 10th. Property taxes increase marginally (up to 2%) for each year you own the property.
Homeowners, you will receive your Property Tax Bill every October. The bill can be a little confusing and likely says something like, “The first installment will be due November 1, 20XX and will be delinquent if paid after December 10, 20XX; The second installment will be due February 1, 20XX and will be delinquent if paid after April 10, 20XX”.
Broken down, this means you have until the last date to make those payments, i.e. December 10th and April 10th, respectively.
If mailing, payments must be received or postmarked by the last payment date to avoid late penalties.
Prefer to pay online? Most counties also accept electronic payments up until 11:59 p.m. by the last payment date, and extra days are sometimes given when the 10th falls on a weekend or a holiday. Some counties charge extra to use a credit card, but typically have no or low fees for an electronic-check type payment.
CAN YOU DISAGREE WITH THE AMOUNT?
You may apply to the Assessor to see if that office will change the valuation. Additionally, Appeals Boards have been established for the purpose of resolving valuation problems. Appeals on regular assessments may be filed between July 2nd and September 15th. Appeals on corrected assessments, escaped assessments (those that did not take place when they should have), or supplemental assessments must be filed no later than 60 days from the mailing date of the revised tax bill. If you choose to appeal, pay your tax installments in full by the deadlines or you may incur penalties. If the appeal is granted, a refund will be issued to you.
You can always check the status of your property taxes and payment history online.
