Property Tax Bill Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

I have a question about my property tax bill (i.e. assessed value, tax bill and payments, tax rates). Who should I contact?

Depending upon your question, you should contact one of three county departments involved in the property bill process. The three major departments and their property tax duties are:

Department contacts for Property Tax Bill Questions
Department Duties For questions regarding:
Assessor
  • Locates all taxable property in the county and identifies ownership.
  • Establishes a taxable value for all property subject to property taxation.
  • Applies all legal exemptions.
  • Completes an assessment roll showing the assessed values of all property and transmits the assessed values to the County Auditor-Controller.
 Assessed values, exemptions, or exclusions
Auditor Controller
  • Computes the amount of taxes due.
  • Apportions and distributes to the various entities the property tax monies collected by the Tax Collector.
 Computation of your property tax, tax rates
Tax Collector
  • Mails the tax bill and collects the amount due that was computed by the Auditor-Controller.
 Current year payments or prior year delinquencies, copies of your tax bill

The assessor link above will direct you to a listing of all 58 California county assessors' offices. Information on how to contact other county departments, such as the county auditor/controller is generally available from a county assessor's website.

The tax collector link above will direct you to a listing of all 58 California county tax collectors' offices for information regarding your tax bill.

It is helpful to have your assessor's parcel number or account number on hand when contacting these agencies.