Property taxes looming in the Bay Area
As municipalities grapple with formulating public policies on property tax collections amid COVID-19, Governor Newsom issues relief.
Ordinarily, property taxes are paid in two installments, one being in December and the second the following April, but these are far from ordinary times. As a bit of trivia, San Francisco and San Mateo joined an exclusive club of Bay Area counties that extended the normal April 10 deadline for forking over the second installment of 2019-2020 property taxes without being penalized, but exactly when these payments were due was up in the air.
On the San Mateo Tax Collector’s website, there were no words minced as property owners were told emphatically May 4th was the drop-dead date to pay taxes without incurring a penalty, and then, only with cash. San Francisco’s deadline, initially in a state of flux, was extended to May 15th.
The Governor resolves quandaries on the local level
Since the outset of the pandemic, Governor Newsom time and time again played referee by reconciling a patchwork of local ordinances with the stroke of a pen. His latest executive order gives some breathing room to owners who are facing hefty fines for property taxes paid after April 10, so long as they demonstrate financial hardship due to the public health crisis.
The Governor acknowledges property tax penalties can be stiff, but owners won't suffer punitive fees and fines until next May if they enter into good-faith payment plans.