Do You Need to Postpone Paying Property Taxes This Year?

Do You Need to Postpone Paying Property Taxes This Year?

By Michelle C. Carr-Crowe

Do you need to postpone paying property taxes this year? Taxes are considered late and significant fines begin accruing immediately after 5:00 pm on December 10th.

If you are blind, disabled or 62 years of age or older, and if you have an annual income of $24,000 or less, you may have the option of having the State pay all or part of the property taxes on your home or mobile home.

However this option does not exempt you from paying eventually. Instead, this deferred payment is a lien on the property and becomes due upon sale, change of residence, or death. The filing period for property tax postponement is between May 15 and December 10 (less than 7 days from now).

Information and claim forms can be obtained by calling the State Controller's Office at 1-800-952-5661, or by visiting their website http://www.sco.ca.gov/.

You can also view and pay property taxes online via electronic check (for a fee of $15) or by credit card (for 2.5 percent of the balance). This can be done at http://payments.scctax.org/payment/jsp/currentSecured.jsp.

For convencience, here’s a list of local United States Post Offices with extended hours of operation here.

Mail or bring your tax payment to:
Tax Collector's Office
70 West Hedding Street
East Wing, 6th Floor
San Jose, CA 95110

http://payments.scctax.org/payment/jsp/startup.jsp

Can’t remember your parcel number? You can look up your record by either the address or parcel number here: http://payments.scctax.org/payment/jsp/getUnsecured.jsp.

Taxes are due no later than 5:00 pm on December 10th. Contact the Santa Clara County Tax Collector right away if you are blind, disabled or 62 years of age or older, and make less than $24,000 a year and need to postpone paying property taxes this year.