COVID-19: What COVID-19 means for your property taxes
We understand that this is a very stressful time, especially for those suffering direct effects from this public health crisis, and the Treasure and Tax Collector's Office is committed to helping in any way they can. Here are some answers for the most frequently asked questions asked by Los Angeles County property owners.
Impact to Property Taxes
Although we are not accepting in-person payments currently at our offices, taxpayers can pay online, via telephone or by mail. There is no cost for e-Check payments online. For online credit/debit card transactions, our card payment
processor charges a 2.25 percent service fee. Please visit https://ttc.lacounty.gov/ to review all payment methods, and several other online self-service options.
The PIN is located on any secured property tax bill and does not change annually. If you do not have this year’s property tax bill, please refer to a previous year’s bill. Please also note that a PIN is only required for online e-Check payments.
No. The County cannot waive the associated service fees of 2.25 percent for credit/debit card transactions. The fees are charged by our card payment processor to facilitate the transaction. As a reminder, there is no cost for e-Check
payments online.
No. Property tax amounts are established on the lien date of January 1 of each year. The property tax amounts currently due for the 2019-2020 Annual Secured Property Taxes have a lien date of January 1, 2019, and therefore, no reduction will be made to the current bill. Should you have questions related to decline-in-value or business personal property valuations, please contact the Office of the Assessor at
(213) 974-3211 or visit their website at https://assessor.lacounty.gov/.
Processing times for mailed payments may be delayed due to the current public health concerns. We will process all mailed payments as soon as possible. Should your payment not be processed by April 10, 2020, you can request penalty cancellation as outlined above.
As of this date, we are receiving mail from the USPS and courier services. If circumstances change, we have the ability to cancel penalties for payments that would have been mailed timely. For more information regarding mailed payments, please click here: https://ttc.lacounty.gov/avoid-penalties-by-understanding-postmarks/
State Law requires that the Tax Collector to issue refunds within 60 days of the date of initial payment. However, due to the current state of emergency, we may experience unusual delays meeting this timeframe.
As a reminder, you can use the Treasurer & Tax Collector's website to look up taxes due, request a duplicate bill, and look up payment history. Please CLICK HERE for more information on all payment options.
The Treasure and Tax Collector has also created a TOP 5 DOs AND DON’Ts with helpful information on property tax payments, including How To Avoid Penalties.
For any additional tax related questions, you may call them at 213-974-2111.
Penalty Cancellation Related to COVID-19
Yes. Beginning on April 11, the day after property taxes become delinquent, taxpayers unable to pay on time for reasons related to COVID-19 may submit a request for penalty cancellation on our website. The department has created a special team to process these requests.
The department accepts partial payments. If you can pay part of your property taxes, we encourage you to do so. This revenue helps keep the government running and providing vital services that the public relies on, especially during emergencies like these. In addition, you may file a request for penalty cancellation on our website for the remaining balance.
State law allows us to consider circumstances beyond a taxpayer’s control that prevented the taxpayer from making a timely payment for property taxes. We ask that you submit the specific circumstances which you encountered for our review. We will review each request on a case-by-case basis.
Visit our website and click on the icon to request a penalty cancellation. Follow the instructions and complete the required information. Do not submit supporting documentation at this time. Should we determine that we need additional information to review your request, we will provide you instructions via email.
Upon successful submission of your request for penalty cancellation, the online application will display a confirmation page with your confirmation number that you may retain for your records. In addition, you will receive an your confirmation number at the email address you provide on your request.
We typically process penalty cancellations within 45-60 days; however, due to the ongoing public health emergency, we anticipate processing delays.
Given the current public health emergency we cannot give a timeframe at this time. We will contact each taxpayer on a case-by-case basis, advise the taxpayer of the outcome of the request, review payment options available and establish the timeline for payment based on the taxpayer’s individual circumstances.
Please CLICK HERE for more information on all payment options.
You may also call us at 213-974-2111, or visit our website at ttc.lacounty.gov.
Please note that our increased call volumes can contribute to long wait time and that many
self-service applications are available on our website, including looking up payment history
and requesting a duplicate property tax bill.