Santa Barbara County will consider penalty cancellations for property taxes

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - As most property owners in Santa Barbara County know, the second installment of their 2019-2020 Annual Secured property tax bill due as of February 1 must be paid by April 10 or it will be delinquent. Payments received after that will be assessed late penalties.

However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Santa Barbara County Treasurer-Tax Collector will consider written requests for penalty cancellations on a case-by-case basis. The Cancellation of Penalty form will be available on the website after April 10.

The Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office said it does not have the authority to extend the payment delinquency date past April 10. Only state leaders in Sacramento have the power to change that deadline. So in response, officials in counties all over California are willing to consider penalty cancellations.

Some taxpayers have wrongly assumed that since their federal and state income tax deadlines have been pushed back to July because of the Coronavirus pandemic, it also meant they had more time to pay their property taxes, but that is not the case.

Santa Barbara County officials said that property owners who can pay their property taxes on time by the April 10 deadline are encouraged to do so. They explain how that revenue keeps the government running and provides critical services to residents.