Politics & Government

Nearly 54,000 Property Owners Missed Tax Payments

The county is preparing to send notices to the delinquent homeowners.

Nearly 54,000 property owners still owe property tax payments for the current fiscal year, representing about 3 percent of the bills sent out, a county official said Wednesday.

Delinquency notices—with a 10 percent late fee and $10 charge—will be mailed soon, Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister said. The value of the notices is about $134 million, he said.

In September, the county sent 983,924 annual property tax bills and expected to collect $4.445 billion, McAllister said.

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"Our collection rate is stellar this year," McAllister said. "At 96.98 percent, I think we have one of the highest collection rates in the state. It's that 3 percent we have to keep pushing for and remind our taxpayers to pay their share."

The delinquency fines increase by 1.5 percent per month starting June 30, the end of the current fiscal year. Property tax bills are first mailed in September each year and an initial installment, or the entire payment, is due by Dec. 10. The second installment is due April 10. Each missed payment comes with a 10 percent penalty after the deadline, and the second missed deadline also adds a $10 charge.

Find out what's happening in Rancho Bernardo-4s Ranchwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

After June 30, delinquent accounts are charged an additional 1.5 percent penalty, plus a $15 redemption fee.

For more on property taxes, including information on how to pay your bill, see here.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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