New Owner Information

As a new owner, you are responsible for any taxes that were not paid at the time escrow closed. Taxes are generally prorated between the buyer and seller during escrow and proper credit is given to each. Although proration usually occurs, the actual taxes may not have been paid to the Tax Collector at that time. Please review your escrow papers and/or title report to determine if any portion of the annual taxes were paid by the previous owner or title company before the close of escrow. For questions regarding taxes paid during the closing process, please contact your title company directly.

Annual Secured Propety Tax Bills

Annual tax bills, which can be paid in two installments, are mailed once a year by November 1. Since the bill contains payment stubs for both installments, this is the only bill regularly mailed each year by the Tax Collector. For more information about when taxes are due, please review our section on Due Dates and Penalties.

Depending on when the ownership change is placed on the tax roll, the annual tax bill could be sent either to the previous owner or directly to you. If you did not receive an annual tax bill from either the previous owner or the Tax Collector, you should contact the Tax Collector immediately and request one. For more ways to obtain your tax bill visit our section on Obtaining Your Tax Bill. It is your responsibility to obtain the bill. State law stipulates that failure to receive a bill does not permit the Tax Collector to excuse penalties on late payments.

Please Note: Due to an extraordinary number of ownership changes, the Sonoma County Assessor’s Office is experiencing a significant backlog processing these changes. If you have recently purchased a property and have not received a 2022-2023 Secured Property Tax Bill, please contact the Tax Collector at (707) 565-2281 for direction.

Alternately, if you received a tax bill for a property you no longer own, please write “sold” on the bill and return it to our office. Should you need additional assistance please reach out to our office during regular business hours.

Supplemental Property Tax Bills

In addition to annual taxes, you will probably be responsible for paying Supplemental Property Taxes. Any time a property is sold or improved, the value of the property is reassessed. If the property has been reassessed at a higher value, you will receive one or more supplemental tax bills in addition to the annual bill mentioned above. (For more information on supplemental tax bills, please read our section on Supplemental Property Taxes). If the property has been reassessed at a lower value, you will receive a refund.