San Diego property tax: Check your bill, assessment and payment

By Refund Answers · Updated November 1, 2026

For a San Diego home or parcel of land, start with the San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collector to find and pay the bill. Questions about the property’s assessed value go to the County Assessor instead. The Assessor directs payment, penalty and payment-status questions to the Treasurer-Tax Collector. Official billing guidance

This checklist covers annual secured property taxes on homes and land, plus supplemental bills—not federal income-tax refunds or unsecured business-property bills.

1. Find the bill and confirm who will pay

Open the County’s official property-tax search, or use the Pay Bill button on the Treasurer-Tax Collector homepage. For secured property, the County says to search by parcel number or current mailing address; that may differ from the property’s street address.

Before paying:

• Confirm the parcel, tax year, bill type and installment.
• Look for separate supplemental or prior-year bills. The portal warns that one search may not display every tax bill associated with the property.
• If your mortgage servicer pays taxes through escrow, confirm its payment arrangements before paying the annual bill yourself. The County identifies owner-and-lender duplicate payments as a recurring problem. Lender payment guidance

The 2026–27 annual secured bills are available. If you did not receive yours by October 31, the County directs you to find it online. Current tax-roll notice

City of San Diego trash-fee alert, as of November 1, 2026: The Treasurer-Tax Collector reports erroneous trash fees on some bills and says the City is correcting affected parcels. If that charge appears wrong, contact the Tax Collector about your bill’s status rather than deducting an amount yourself. The County’s alert does not establish a blanket payment-deadline extension. County alert

2. Use the 2026–27 payment deadlines

For the annual secured bill, the County publishes these dates:

Installment	Due date	Last date before delinquency
First	November 1, 2026	December 10, 2026
Second	February 1, 2027	April 12, 2027

You may pay both installments before the December deadline. These dates come from the 2026–27 tax-roll notice. The usual second-installment deadline is April 10, but weekend or holiday delinquent dates move to the next business day. Secured-tax rules

A late installment incurs a 10% penalty; a late second installment also carries a $10 fee. Unpaid annual secured taxes go into default after June 30, with additional charges. If your bill already shows defaulted taxes, ask the Tax Collector for the current amount and available payment arrangements rather than paying only the original installment. County penalty rules

Do not apply this table to a supplemental bill. Use that bill’s printed delinquent dates.

3. Complete the official payment process

The County’s payment instructions are:

1. Search for and review the bill.
2. Select the installment and choose Add to Cart.
3. Open View Cart, review the amount, then choose Check Out.
4. Follow the payment prompts and click Submit.
5. Save the receipt marked “Successful.” The County says the transaction is not final until you receive it.

E-check is free through the County system and uses your bank routing and account numbers. Credit-card payments carry a 2.19% convenience fee, according to the official payment portal. E-check guidance

A payment scheduled through your bank’s bill-pay service is not necessarily an immediate electronic payment to the County. The Tax Collector warns that banks may mail checks without a USPS postmark and that delivery can take five or more business days. Mailed payments generally must be received or USPS-postmarked by the delinquent date; near the deadline, the County recommends witnessing the postmark. Postmark and bank bill-pay rules

For another payment method or a failed transaction, use the Tax Collector’s contact page. 877-829-4732 is for questions; its operators do not accept payments. The separate payment-by-phone number is 855-829-3773.

4. Understand the assessment—not just the tax rate

San Diego County’s base property-tax rate is 1% of assessed value, with bonds, fees and special charges added. Proposition 13 generally limits annual inflation adjustments to assessed value to 2%, but a reassessable ownership change or new construction can change the assessment. Some transfers qualify for exclusions. The 2% limit is not a blanket cap on your total bill. Assessor’s assessment guidance

Mello-Roos special taxes, where applicable, are added to the property-tax bill at the district’s request. That is another reason a parcel’s total bill may exceed 1% of assessed value. County Mello-Roos explanation

If this is your principal residence, check the bill’s Exemptions section for the homeowners’ exemption. It reduces assessed value by $7,000, saving approximately $70 annually. Applying is free, and a qualifying owner generally files once while continuing to occupy the home as their principal residence. Use the Assessor’s homeowners’ exemption instructions for eligibility and filing deadlines.

5. Treat supplemental bills separately

A reassessment after a purchase or new construction can produce a supplemental bill reflecting the difference between the prior and new assessments, prorated for the applicable period. It is in addition to the annual bill, not a replacement. Supplemental bills are not sent to the lender for payment; the owner remains responsible for timely payment. Supplemental-tax guidance

A downward reassessment can produce a negative supplemental bill with a refund check. That refund does not remove your responsibility to pay other property-tax bills. Negative supplemental bills

6. Challenge the value without missing payment

If you believe the assessed value is too high, contact the Assessor and gather evidence supporting a lower value, such as comparable sales. San Diego’s regular assessment-appeal filing period is July 2 through November 30. Official assessment-appeal instructions

Supplemental assessments have a separate 60-day appeal window. San Diego’s Assessor describes it as running from the mailing date on the supplemental tax bill, while statewide guidance distinguishes assessment notices from tax bills. Contact the Clerk of the Assessment Appeals Board at 619-531-5777 as soon as a supplemental notice or bill arrives to confirm the controlling mailing date and obtain the application. Do not wait for the regular filing period. County instructions · State appeal-deadline guidance

An appeal does not suspend payment deadlines. Pay on time while the appeal is pending. If the assessment is reduced after payment, follow the applicable refund-claim instructions; the state explains that whether a separate claim is needed depends on how the appeal application was completed. Payment and refund-claim rules

For questions about value or reassessment, the Assessor’s number is 858-505-6262. Assessment and contact guidance

These are general official procedures. A disputed ownership transfer, exclusion or construction assessment may require individualized tax or legal advice; the bill search alone cannot determine those issues.