Property taxes in Marin County start with the 1% base rate set by Proposition 13, applied to your property’s assessed value, with voter-approved bonds and local parcel charges added on top. Bills come out in October, split into two installments due December 10 and April 10, and late payments trigger an automatic 10% penalty that the Tax Collector has no authority to waive. What follows walks through how the bill is built, when to pay, how to lower it if you qualify, and what happens if you don’t pay at all.
How Your Assessed Value Is Set
Proposition 13, passed in 1978, caps the base property tax rate at 1% of assessed value and limits annual increases in that assessed value to the change in the California Consumer Price Index, with a hard ceiling of 2% per year.1California State Board of Equalization. How Property Is Assessed As long as you keep the property, your assessed value grows slowly and predictably.
That changes when the property sells. The Assessor-Recorder revalues it at the current market price, which becomes the new base year value. In a county where homes routinely sell for well over a million dollars, a buyer’s first tax bill can be dramatically higher than what the previous owner paid. New construction also triggers a revaluation, but only on the added or improved portion.2California State Board of Equalization. California Property Tax An Overview
What Else Appears on the Bill
The 1% base is only part of what you owe. Marin County tax bills also include voter-approved general obligation bonds, water bonds, and other special taxes that fund schools, fire districts, and infrastructure.3Marin County. Watch Mailboxes for Property Tax Bills Some parcels also carry Mello-Roos Community Facilities District charges, which are flat per-parcel fees rather than percentage-based taxes. These direct assessments cover services, improvement districts, and special taxes specific to your location.4Marin County. Property Tax FAQs
Because of the add-ons, the effective rate on most Marin parcels runs higher than 1%. Your actual rate depends on which taxing districts overlap your parcel, and each line item (the base 1% ad valorem tax, every bond measure, each direct assessment) is broken out separately on the bill.
Payment Deadlines and Late Penalties
The property tax fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30. A tax lien automatically attaches to every taxable property at 12:01 a.m. on January 1, securing the taxes for the fiscal year that follows.5Marin County. Property Tax Calendar
Annual secured bills typically arrive in October and are split in two:
- First installment: due November 1, delinquent after 5:00 p.m. on December 10. Miss it and you owe a 10% penalty.
- Second installment: due February 1, delinquent after 5:00 p.m. on April 10. Missing this one triggers a 10% penalty plus an additional administrative cost.5Marin County. Property Tax Calendar
When either deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, the due date moves to the next business day. Mailed payments must carry a U.S. Postal Service postmark on or before the deadline; a private postage meter stamp doesn’t count. The penalties are automatic. The Tax Collector cannot waive them for personal hardship or simple forgetfulness.
How to Pay
Marin County accepts payment through several channels. The online portal at the Tax Collector’s website takes e-checks at no charge, or credit and debit cards with a 2.35% service fee charged by a third-party processor; the county keeps none of that fee.6Marin County. Property Tax Payments You can also mail a check to the Tax Collector’s office in San Rafael or use the secure drop box to avoid relying on postal delivery times.
If you have a mortgage, your lender probably collects property taxes monthly through an escrow (impound) account and pays the Tax Collector on your behalf. Federal law limits the cushion a lender can hold in escrow to roughly one-sixth of the total annual disbursements from the account.7Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Escrow Accounts One important exception: supplemental tax bills (described below) are usually not covered by escrow. Most lenders expect you to pay those yourself.
Supplemental Bills After a Purchase or Remodel
Buy a property or finish a construction project and you’ll receive one or two supplemental tax bills in addition to the regular annual bill. These cover the difference between the old assessed value and the new value for the remaining months of the fiscal year.8California State Board of Equalization. Supplemental Assessment If the ownership change or completion date straddles two fiscal years, you may get two separate supplemental bills. Each has its own due dates printed on the bill, and each carries the same 10% penalty for late payment. New buyers who assume their escrow covers everything are the ones most often caught by surprise.
Exemptions and Exclusions That Can Lower the Bill
Homeowners’ Exemption
If you own and live in your home as your primary residence on January 1, you qualify for a $7,000 reduction in assessed value. At the 1% base rate, that’s about $70 a year.9California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Homeowners’ Exemption File the claim form once and it stays on the property until you move or stop using it as your primary residence.
Disabled Veterans’ Exemption
Veterans with a service-connected disability rated at 100% (or compensated at the 100% rate due to unemployability) qualify for a far larger exemption. The basic level exempts roughly $100,000 of assessed value, with the exact figure adjusted upward each year for inflation. A higher exemption is available for veterans whose household income falls below an annually adjusted threshold. Both amounts are set by the California State Board of Equalization and published each year.10California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Disabled Veterans’ Exemption
Proposition 19 Base-Value Transfers
Proposition 19 lets homeowners who are at least 55, severely disabled, or victims of a wildfire or Governor-declared disaster transfer their existing base year value to a replacement primary residence anywhere in California, up to three times.11California State Board of Equalization. Proposition 19 If the replacement home costs more than the original, only the difference above the transferred value gets taxed at the new rate.
Parents can also transfer their primary residence to a child without reassessment, provided the child files for the homeowners’ exemption within one year and uses the home as a primary residence. This exclusion has a value limit: the property’s current taxable value plus an adjusted amount currently set at $1,044,586 for transfers occurring between February 16, 2025, and February 15, 2027.11California State Board of Equalization. Proposition 19 Any value above that cap gets reassessed. Prop 19 narrowed the old parent-child exclusion considerably; investment properties and second homes no longer qualify.
Proposition 8 Decline-in-Value Reviews
When the housing market drops and your property’s current market value falls below its factored base year value (the Prop 13 value with annual inflation adjustments), the Assessor is required to enroll the lower market value instead.12California State Board of Equalization. Decline in Value – Proposition 8 You don’t always need to file a formal appeal. The Assessor’s office reviews values annually and applies reductions where the data supports them.
One catch worth knowing: once the market recovers, the Assessor can increase the assessed value by more than the usual 2% a year until it climbs back to the factored base year value. The assessment can never exceed the factored base year value without a change in ownership or new construction, but the bounce-back can feel abrupt after years of reduced bills.12California State Board of Equalization. Decline in Value – Proposition 8
Appealing Your Assessed Value
If you believe your assessed value exceeds fair market value as of the January 1 lien date, you can file an assessment appeal with the Marin County Assessment Appeals Board. The window for regular assessments runs from July 2 through November 30, with the application due by 5:00 p.m. on the closing date. Supplemental and escape assessments have a shorter window: 60 days from the postmark date on the bill.13Marin County. Appeal Your Property Tax Assessment
Along with the Assessment Appeal Application you’ll submit a $50 non-refundable processing fee, payable by check or money order to the County of Marin.13Marin County. Appeal Your Property Tax Assessment The application asks for your Assessor’s Parcel Number, the current assessed value from your bill, and your opinion of fair market value. Back up that figure with comparable sales of similar nearby properties, ideally homes that sold close to the January 1 valuation date. Appraisal reports, photographs documenting defects, and contractor repair estimates all strengthen a case.
The Appeals Board has up to two years from your filing date to schedule a hearing and issue a decision. Keep paying your taxes based on the contested value during that entire wait. Skipping payments while an appeal is pending triggers the same penalties and delinquency consequences as any other missed payment.14County of Marin. Assessment Appeal Application If the Board rules in your favor, the county refunds the overpayment.
What Happens When Taxes Go Unpaid
Missing a deadline triggers the 10% penalty, but the consequences get worse quickly. If taxes remain unpaid through the end of the fiscal year on June 30, the property is declared tax-defaulted. From that point on, the unpaid balance accrues additional penalties at 1.5% per month, or 18% a year, on top of the original penalties.
For residential property, the county can sell the property at public auction after it has been in default for five years. Nonresidential commercial property faces a shorter three-year timeline.15California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code 3691 During the default period you can still redeem the property by paying all delinquent taxes, penalties, and accrued interest in full, but the longer you wait, the more expensive redemption gets. If you’re falling behind, call the Tax Collector’s office early. The options available before default are far cheaper than digging out of a multi-year hole.
Deducting Marin County Property Taxes on Your Federal Return
If you itemize on your federal return, Marin County property taxes count toward the state and local tax (SALT) deduction on Schedule A. For the 2026 tax year, the SALT cap is $40,400 for most filers and $20,200 for married individuals filing separately.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 164 – Taxes The cap covers property taxes, state income taxes, and any other state or local taxes combined.
Between Marin’s home values and California’s income tax, plenty of local homeowners hit the cap. The $40,400 limit rises 1% a year through 2029, then drops back to $10,000 starting in 2030 unless Congress acts.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 164 – Taxes If your lender pays through escrow, you deduct the amount actually disbursed to the county, not your monthly escrow payment, which may include insurance and other costs. Your lender reports the tax amount on Form 1098.