Defaulted bills mailed to more than 28K property taxpayers

SAN DIEGO COUNTY – Dan McAllister, treasurer-tax collector of San Diego County, announced his office is offering penalty relief for small-business owners and homeowners who are among those receiving more than 28,000 defaulted bills.

“We know many of the late bills are due to COVID-19, and we want our taxpayers to know there could be relief,” McAllister said. “They may qualify to have their penalties waived if they file for a COVID-19 cancellation request. Our customers must provide documentation as evidence to show how the pandemic impacted their ability to pay their second installment by April 10.”

This week, the treasurer-tax collector’s office is mailing 28,623 defaulted bills to property taxpayers who failed to pay all their 2019-2020 property taxes.

“We’re sending 6,195 more defaulted bills than we sent last year,” McAllister said. “We expected to see an increase in tax defaults due to COVID-19’s impact on the San Diego economy and workforce.”

The defaulted bills total over $127 million; last year, $92 million in defaulted taxes was due.

The deadline to pay the 2019-2020 annual tax bill was June 30. Beginning July 1, each late bill will incur a 1.5% penalty each month, or 18% each year, it remains unpaid. That amount is on top of the 10% penalty added for each late installment.

Taxpayers who have submitted a COVID-19 penalty cancellation request and have not heard back from the treasurer-tax collector yet will receive a response in the mail. The treasurer-tax collector’s Office has received 3,261 COVID-19 penalty cancellation requests and has approved 53% of them. Most denials are due to missing documentation; however, if taxpayers resubmit their request with documentation, the office will review it again.

Submitted by San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collector.