Less than 2 months left to pay late property taxes and file COVID-19 penalty cancellation requests

SAN DIEGO – San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister reminded delinquent property taxpayers that they have only 54 days to pay their bills before they go into default.

Over the next two weeks, the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office will mail notices to roughly 50,000 delinquent taxpayers, reminding them of the June 30 deadline. All taxes that remain unpaid July 1 will incur a 1.5% penalty each month until they are paid in full.

The Treasurer-Tax Collector will waive late penalties for those who can provide documentation showing that they were directly impacted by COVID-19.

“We know this crisis has caused unprecedented challenges for our property taxpayers, so we will be as lenient as possible,” McAllister said. “However, if we receive a COVID-19 penalty cancellation request without any documentation or a payment attached, it will be denied.”

Those seeking penalty relief must mail in the following three items: a COVID-19 penalty cancellation request form, which is available at https://www.sdttc.com/content/ttc/en.html; payment for the second installment of property taxes they owe and printed documentation showing how they were impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and why they could not pay their property taxes by April 10, the delinquent date.

Taxpayers can mail the request, documentation and payment to SDTTC – ATTN: COVID-19 REVIEW, 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 162, San Diego, CA 92101. They can also drop off the information in a Treasurer-Tax Collector drop box found outside all our convenient branch locations.

All penalty cancellation requests will be reviewed and approved on a case-by-case basis. If a taxpayer is unable to pay their second installment by June 30 and is seeking an extended period of time to pay, state law provides the option of a payment plan beginning July 1. However, once taxes are in default, all penalties and interest apply when going on to a payment plan.

“For those impacted by the coronavirus pandemic this is a rare chance to pay taxes without penalty after April 10, but we don’t want anyone to incur hefty penalties July 1,” McAllister said. “Those who can pay now should do so. Property taxes fund many essential services, including coronavirus response and the salaries of first responders.”

Residents should stay up-to-date on ways to stay healthy, current closures and the county’s coronavirus response at https://www.coronavirus-sd.com.

Submitted by the San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collector.