Sacramento County property tax: rates, due dates and what a sale changes

Sacramento County property tax at a glance (2026-27)

How Sacramento County property tax is set under Prop 13

Since 1978, California has taxed what a property cost, not what it's worth today. The Board of Equalization's overview of the system describes Prop 13 as limiting the rate to 1% plus whatever is needed to pay local voter-approved bonds, and limiting yearly increases in a property's base year value to no more than 2%, except when it changes ownership or new construction is finished.

Base year value: the starting point of your property tax

When you bought the rental, the Assessor set its base year value at about the purchase price. That value is the foundation of every bill since. Two owners of identical houses on the same street can pay very different taxes because one bought in 2004 and the other in 2024. The BOE calls this out directly: longtime owners tend to pay markedly less than recent buyers.

The 2% cap on assessed value and the 2026 property tax roll

Each January 1 the base year value is raised by the California inflation figure, capped at 2%. For the 2026 roll, the BOE's January 13, 2026 letter to assessors put the price increase at 3.307%, so every county applied the full 2% (a factor of 1.02). In years with low inflation the increase has been smaller, which is why the value on your bill may sit below a simple 2%-a-year projection.

Voter-approved bonds on top of the 1% property tax

The County Tax Collector's dates page describes the rate as 1 percent plus bonded debt for the property's location. School, college and local bonds approved by voters are added as small decimal rates, and they differ from one tax rate area to the next. Your bill lists each one, and the total is what you multiply by the assessed value.

Prop 8: when property tax value falls below market

If the market value on January 1 drops below your factored base year value, the Assessor can enroll the lower figure until values recover. The Sacramento County Assessor runs an informal review each year from July 1 to December 31. With the city's typical value still about 9% below its July 2022 peak in Zillow's September 2026 figures, owners who bought near that peak are the ones who should check whether a review is worth asking for.

Reading a Sacramento County property tax bill

The Assessor values the property, the Auditor-Controller applies the rates and the Tax Collector mails and collects the bill. The Tax Collector says plainly that it doesn't set the amounts, so a question about value goes to the Assessor, and a question about a charge goes to whoever levied it.

General levy and bond lines on the property tax bill

The ad valorem section shows the 1% general levy and each bond rate, multiplied by your net assessed value. A rental has no homeowners' exemption, so its net value is its full assessed value.

Mello-Roos and other direct levies on the property tax bill

Direct levies are charges that aren't based on value: Mello-Roos special taxes, 1915 Act improvement bond assessments and other special charges such as some district fees. The Tax Collector lists each under a direct levy name, and disputes go to the district, not the county. Newer subdivisions are more likely to carry Mello-Roos, and some levies can lead to accelerated foreclosure by the district if they're left unpaid past June 30. A buyer's agent will ask about them, so know yours before you list.

Parcel number: the key to every property tax lookup

Your 14-digit assessor's parcel number sits in the top left corner of the bill. Every county lookup, payment and phone call starts with it.

Sacramento County property tax due dates for 2026-27

The tax attaches as a lien on January 1, the Assessor finishes the roll on July 1, and the bill covers July 1 to June 30. Missing a date costs real money, and not receiving a bill doesn't cancel a penalty.

The second property tax installment gets no reminder

The county mails one bill a year with both payment stubs. It sends no reminder for the April installment. If your lender pays from an impound account, you get an information copy, but you still need to watch for supplemental bills, which go to you.

Late property tax penalties in Sacramento County

A late installment picks up a 10% penalty and a $15 cost. After June 30, the bill is defaulted and starts adding redemption penalties and a state fee. The county also returns partial payments and charges $53 for a returned payment, after which it wants a cashier's check or money order.

How to look up and pay Sacramento County property tax

Sacramento County property tax lookup on e-PropTax

Enter the 14-digit parcel number at the county's e-PropTax site to see the latest annual bill, any supplemental or other bills issued this fiscal year, unpaid stubs, direct levies subject to foreclosure and a warning if prior-year taxes are owed. It shows no owner name or address. If you don't have the parcel number, find it in the Assessor's Parcel Viewer by address, or call the Tax Collector at (916) 874-6622. The system is down for maintenance on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Paying property tax online

e-PropTax takes an e-check at no charge, or a credit or debit card for a 2.29% fee with a $1.95 minimum, paid to the processor rather than the county. On a $2,588 installment, the card fee is about $59, so the e-check is the better choice unless you want the card points.

Paying property tax by mail or in person

Mail a check payable to Sacramento County, with the parcel number and the right stub, to Sacramento County Tax Collector, P.O. Box 508, Sacramento, CA 95812-0508. The postmark must be on or before the due date, and business meter dates aren't accepted. In person, pay at 700 H Street, Room 1710, by 5 p.m. on the due date.

Property tax on a Sacramento rental: owner vs buyer

Here's where the tax meets the sale. These are labelled assumptions, not county averages. You bought a City of Sacramento rental in 2014 for $260,000. The example raises the value the full 2% every year, which overstates it slightly, and uses a total rate of 1.10%: the 1% levy plus an assumed 0.10% of bonds. Your own rate is printed on your bill. No direct levies.

Why the buyer's property tax lowers an investor's price

The buyer's bill is $1,549 a year higher than yours, about 43% more. At Sacramento's typical asking rent of $2,045 a month (Zillow, September 2026), property tax takes about 21 cents of every rent dollar for the buyer against about 15 cents for you. An investor runs the numbers on their own tax, not yours, so the higher bill comes out of the rent they can count on and the price they can pay. An owner-occupant buyer feels it less, since they're comparing the payment with rent rather than with a yield, which is one reason a vacant house can reach a wider pool.

Why the low property tax argues for keeping the rental

The other side of the same table: the Prop 13 bill you'd give up is a real cost advantage, and a 1031 exchange doesn't carry it to a new property. A replacement rental is reassessed at its price. If the tax gap is a big part of why the rental still works, weigh it in whether to sell your rental or keep it, and test the numbers in the rent vs sell calculator.

Supplemental property tax bills after a Sacramento sale

When a house changes hands, the Assessor reappraises it and the county sends the new owner one or two supplemental bills for the gap between the old and new values. They're in addition to the annual bill, and they go to the owner, not the lender.

How a supplemental property tax bill is figured

The BOE describes the math: new value minus the value on the roll, times the tax rate, times a proration factor for the months left in the fiscal year. In the example above, the gap is $140,809, worth $1,549 a year at 1.10%. With a December 1 factor of .58, a sale that takes effect then produces a first supplemental bill of about $898 for December through June.

One or two supplemental property tax bills

The Tax Collector says a change from July 1 to December 31 usually brings one bill to June 30. A change from January 1 to May 31 brings two: one to June 30 and one for the whole next fiscal year, because the January 1 roll still carried the old value. A change in June brings one bill for the next year.

What supplemental property tax means for you as seller

Supplemental bills belong to the buyer, and a lower value can mean a refund to them. Your side is the regular bill, prorated in escrow to the closing day; the line-by-line proration is in the cost of selling a rental in Sacramento. The county warns that the annual bill may still carry your name after the sale, so don't be surprised to see it, and check with escrow before you assume anything is unpaid.

Sacramento County property tax exemptions and senior relief

California has no property tax exemption based on age alone. The relief that exists is tied to the home you live in, which is why a rental gets almost none of it.

Homeowners' property tax exemption

The exemption takes $7,000 off the assessed value of the home you occupy as your principal residence on January 1, which the Sacramento County Assessor says saves about $70 to $80 a year. File by February 15 for the full amount or by December 10 for 80%. A rented, vacant or second home doesn't qualify, so if you've been claiming it on a house you moved out of and rented, tell the Assessor.

Prop 19 base year transfer: property tax relief for owners 55 and over

An owner who is at least 55, severely disabled or a disaster victim can sell their primary residence and carry its base year value to a replacement primary residence anywhere in California bought within two years, up to three times, according to BOE guidance (Letter to Assessors 2024/044). A more expensive replacement takes an upward adjustment. The claim goes to the Assessor on form BOE-19-B within three years. It applies to homes you live in, so selling a rental doesn't create one.

Prop 19 property tax rules for an inherited rental

Since February 16, 2021, the parent-child exclusion covers only a family home that becomes the child's principal residence, or a family farm, according to the BOE. An inherited rental is reassessed to market value, which often pushes heirs toward selling. The inherited Sacramento rental page covers that decision.

Property tax postponement for seniors

The State Controller runs a Property Tax Postponement program that lets qualifying seniors, blind or disabled owners defer the tax on the home they live in, with filing periods and limits the Controller sets each year. Like the exemptions above, it doesn't reach a rental.

Property tax checklist before you sell a California rental

None of this is tax advice, and your bill holds the real numbers. Before you list:

1. Pull this year's bill on e-PropTax and confirm both installments are paid or scheduled.
2. Write down your tax rate and the direct levies, so you can answer a buyer's questions about Mello-Roos and special charges.
3. Check whether you still have a homeowners' exemption on a house you no longer live in.
4. Compare your bill with what a buyer would pay at today's price, and use the gap when you weigh keeping against selling.
5. If you bought near the 2022 peak, ask the Assessor about a Prop 8 review before December 31.

For a price grounded in recent sales near you, Justin can prepare a rental valuation, and the guide to selling your Sacramento rental covers the rest of the sale.

Sacramento County property tax questions

Sources

• Sacramento County Tax Collector: Secured property taxes
• Sacramento County Tax Collector: Important dates and bill information
• Sacramento County Tax Collector: Property tax FAQs (direct levies, payment, fees)
• Sacramento County Tax Collector: Supplemental and addenda taxes
• Sacramento County Assessor
• Sacramento County Assessor: Supplemental assessments
• Sacramento County Assessor: Homeowners' exemption
• Sacramento County e-PropTax
• California Board of Equalization: Publication 29, California Property Tax overview (March 2025)
• California Board of Equalization: Letter to Assessors 2026/002, 2026-27 inflation factor
• California Board of Equalization: Supplemental assessment
• California Board of Equalization: Proposition 19
• California Board of Equalization: Letter to Assessors 2024/044, Prop 19 base year value transfer FAQs