Homeowners, small business owners may qualify for property tax penalty relief

SAN DIEGO – San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister announced his office is accepting penalty cancellation requests for homeowners and small business owners who were impacted by COVID-19 and missed the Dec. 10 property tax deadline.

“COVID-19 has affected many in San Diego – especially our small businesses, so we want to do what we can to help those who did not have the funds to pay their taxes on time,” said McAllister. “We want to be as lenient as we can and show compassion for those who need it.”

Property taxes that were unpaid after Dec. 10 have incurred a 10% penalty. To qualify for penalty cancellation, the property must either be:

Residential and occupied by the homeowner

Or owned and operated by a taxpayer that qualifies as a small business.

Here are the four easy steps a taxpayer must complete to submit a penalty cancellation request after going to https://www.sdttc.com/content/ttc/en.html:

Complete the request form, print it and sign it.

Include copies of printed evidence proving how the taxpayer was impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and unable to pay the property taxes by the delinquent date.

Include a check for the base amount of the property taxes owed. The TTC does not accept request forms when there is no payment attached.

Mail the request form, documentation, and check to SDTTC – ATTN: COVID-19 REVIEW, 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 162, San Diego California, 92101. Alternatively, drop off a request in the dropboxes found outside our branch office locations.

Requests, along with the payment, must be submitted no later than May 6, 2021. All penalty cancellation requests will be reviewed and approved on a case-by-case basis. Since April, the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office has received 4,690 COVID-19 penalty cancellation requests and has approved 58% of them. Most denials are due to missing printed evidence or a missing payment.

“Property taxes are essential to the county, cities, and school districts. They fund many vital services, including COVID-19 response and the salaries of first responders,” said McAllister.

More information can be found on the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s COVID-19 information page.

Submitted by San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collector's Office.