This press release is courtesy of the San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office
Penalty Cancellation Available for Home and Small Business Owners
San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister announced his office is offering penalty relief for small business owners and homeowners who are among those receiving more than 28,000 defaulted bills.
“We know many of the late bills are due to COVID-19, and we want our taxpayers to know there could be relief,” said McAllister. “They may qualify to have their penalties waived if they file for a COVID-19 cancellation request. Our customers must provide documentation as evidence to show how the pandemic impacted their ability to pay their second installment by April 10.”
This week, the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office is mailing 28,623 defaulted bills to property taxpayers who failed to pay all their 2019-2020 property taxes.
“We’re sending 6,195 more defaulted bills than we sent last year,” said McAllister. “We expected to see an increase in tax defaults due to COVID-19’s impact on the San Diego economy and workforce.”
The defaulted bills total over $127 million; last year, $92 million in defaulted taxes was due.
The deadline to pay the 2019-2020 annual tax bill was June 30. Beginning July 1, each late bill will incur a 1.5% penalty each month (18% each year) it remains unpaid. That is on top of the 10% penalty added for each late installment.
Taxpayers who have submitted a COVID-19 penalty cancellation request and have not heard back from the Treasurer-Tax Collector yet will receive a response in the mail. The Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office has received 3,261 COVID-19 penalty cancellation requests and has approved 53% of them. Most denials are due to missing documentation. However, if taxpayers resubmit their request with documentation, we will review it again.
