The tax year, or fiscal year, is July 1 through June 30.
Property taxes become a specific lien on January 1 preceding each fiscal year.
The first installment is due November 1, and is delinquent December 10. It pays for the period July 1 through December 31.
The second installment is due February 1, and is delinquent April 10. It pays for the period January 1 through June 30.
For example, the tax calendar for the fiscal year of 2004-2005 would begin on July 1, 2004, and end on June 30, 2005.
The real property tax becomes a lien on January 1 preceding the fiscal tax year.
Both installments can be paid when the first installment is due. A 10% penalty is added to each installment that is not paid on time.
If either December 10 or April 10 falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the delinquent date is extended to the close of the next business day.
Tax Calendar
A secured tax bill covers a fiscal year. The fiscal year begins July 1 and ends on June 30 of the following calendar year
Annual tax bills are mailed once a year no later than November 1, and can be paid in two installments. Every effort is made to get a copy of the tax bill to each new property owner. To avoid penalties, you should check the status of your property taxes and/or request a duplicate bill by calling Tax office. Tax office Interactive Voice Response System allows you to obtain information from the computer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. (Don't wait until it's too late and you are required to pay penalties.) If you did not receive a bill, or if you recently purchased a property, you may obtain a duplicate tax bill by calling (408) 808-7900.
The annual tax bill identifies the following: The owner of record as of the legal lien date. The property location, when available. The assessed value of the property. The amount and type of exemption, if applicable. The amount of taxes due on the first and second installments, as well as the total of taxes due. A breakdown of the types of taxes being collected, including the general tax levy (the constitutional 1% levy), locally voted special taxes, and city or district special assessments. If your bill bears the statement "Prior Years Taxes Unpaid," this is an indication that there are delinquent taxes from prior years, which are not included in your bill. Please call (408) 808-7900 for more information
You can mail your payment, but in order to avoid the delinquent penalty, your payment envelope must possess a United States Postal Service postmark on or before the tax delinquent date. Remember, the delinquent dates are as follows: First installment delinquent at 5 p.m., December 10. Second installment delinquent at 5 p.m., April 10. If the delinquent date falls on a weekend or holiday, the penalty is not imposed until 5 p.m. on the next business day.
The Tax Collector's Office provides a web site, where Credit Card and e-check payments can be made. Credit Cards accepted are: Visa, Master Card, American Express, and Discover.
Please note that additional credit card processing fees will be charged in addition to your payment.
The County of Santa Clara uses Official Payments Corporation to process credit card and e-check payments.
Since the County is by law not allowed to collect less than the actual tax amount, any fees for processing this credit card payment must be paid by you.
To pay your tax bill by credit card, please go to the following web site: http://payments.scctax.org/payment/jsp/startup.jsp
You may receive more than one supplemental tax bill, depending on when you purchased your property or completed new construction. Because the secured property taxes are based on the January 1 value and cover a fiscal year, your purchase/construction date may effect the calculation of the taxes for two (2) fiscal years. For example, if you purchased property in February 2003, your purchase would effect the 2002/2003 fiscal year taxes (February 2003 through June 2003) and the 2003/2004 fiscal year taxes (July 2003 through June 2004). The latter fiscal year is effected because the value would have already been established by the County Assessor on January 1, 2003, prior to the purchase/construction. Therefore, the taxes calculated for 2003/2004 would also have to be adjusted by a supplemental bill to reflect the increased value
"Supplemental" taxes are additional secured taxes that are due when property undergoes a change in ownership or new construction. The additional tax is owed because the County Assessor is required to immediately adjust the January 1 value to reflect the new value of the property (see Secured Tax definition). Adjusted for the number of months left in the fiscal year, the supplemental tax bill represents the tax due on the difference between the old and new values
Supplemental Tax Bill determined by
The difference between the new value and the old January 1 value is multiplied by a proration factor. The proration factor is the percentage of months remaining in the fiscal year. This result is then multiplied by the tax rate (usually 1% plus voter approved indebtedness) to determine the supplemental tax amount due.
http://www.acgov.org/assessor/
We Often notice Buyers tend to have question why my property taxes high comparing with previous Owners ( sellers)
Property taxes are calculated based on the purchase price of the property.
In California, the purchase price equals the assessed value. This value can increase every year but is capped at 2% annually
After closing, the Buyer will often then receive a “Supplemental Property Tax Bill” to make-up for the difference in the lower tax amount the Seller was paying, and the new, higher amount the Buyer (now current owner) is paying.