Property Tax Postponement for Senior Citizens, Blind or Disabled Persons: The State Controller’s Office (SCO) administers the Property Tax Postponement (PTP) program, which allows eligible homeowners to postpone payment of current-year property taxes on their primary residence. PTP applications are accepted from October 1 to February 10 each year.
Go to the SCO website at http://www.sco.ca.gov/ardtax_prop_tax_postponement.html for more information. If you have questions, call (800) 952-5661 or email postponement@sco.ca.gov.


Homeowner’s Exemption: This exemption reduces the valuation by $7,000 only for an owner occupied principal place of residence. To receive the full exemption amount for the 2019/2020 tax year, you must have filed a claim with the Assessor by February 15, 2019. A late filing by December 10, 2019 will allow 80% of the exemption, or $5,600, BUT ONLY TO THE OWNER-OCCUPANT AS OF JANUARY 1, 2019. New homeowners, who owned and occupied their property on January 1, 2019, and filed timely with the Assessor, will receive the Homeowner’s Exemption. Once the exemption has been granted, you are not required to refile each year. However, you are required by law to notify the Office of the County Assessor, in writing, if one of the following events occurred prior to January 1, 2019:

  1. Ownership of the property transferred to another party; or
  2. Your principal place of residence changed to another location.


Veteran’s Exemption: If you are a 100% disabled veteran, you may be eligible for a Veteran’s Exemption. You cannot, however receive both a Veteran’s and Homeowner’s Exemption on the same property. In addition, exemptions do not apply to improvement bonds, sewer maintenance, weed abatement, or any other special charges. For information, call the Assessor’s Division at (650) 363-4500 or email at: assessor@smcare.org.

 

Electronic Fund Transfers: Please note: per R & T Code 2503.2 (e)  electronic fund transfers shall constitute payment of tax, assessment or redemption as of the date of acceptance when, but not before, the transfer has been completed by acceptance by the bank designated by the Tax Collector of the payment specified by the originator’s payment order.


Special Assessments: Questions on special assessments should be directed to the phone number listed adjacent to the specific assessment