Property Tax

Los Angeles County CA property tax services involve several county departments, each responsible for a different part of the assessment, billing, payment, and appeal process. This article explains how those responsibilities are divided, how to review a bill or balance, which identifying numbers may be required, which payment methods are available, how installment plans work, when penalty cancellation may be considered, and where to direct questions about assessed value or tax collection.

Property owners should identify the type of issue they have before contacting a county office. Questions about property value, exemptions, tax calculations, bill payments, delinquent amounts, and assessment appeals are handled by different departments. Sending an inquiry to the correct office can reduce delays and help avoid receiving an answer that does not address the underlying problem.

The information below explains county services and procedures based on official Los Angeles County resources. It is not legal, financial, or tax advice.

County Property Tax Responsibilities

The Los Angeles County Property Tax Portal brings together information from the Assessor, Auditor-Controller, Treasurer and Tax Collector, and Assessment Appeals Board. Although these departments work within the same property tax system, their duties are separate.

Assessor and Assessment Roll

The Los Angeles County Assessor appraises property under applicable state law and establishes the assessed value placed on the Assessment Roll. The Assessor also reviews and applies qualifying exemptions to the roll.

Questions about an assessed value, property characteristics, ownership records, an exemption, or information shown in the Assessor’s property records generally belong with the Assessor. The Assessor does not collect property tax payments and does not control whether a payment is considered late.

Auditor-Controller and Tax Rates

The Auditor-Controller processes the Assessment Roll after receiving it from the Assessor. This department adds direct assessments, applies the general tax levy of 1%, and applies voter-approved or bonded indebtedness tax rates. This process is referred to as extending the roll.

The extended roll is then sent to the Treasurer and Tax Collector for preparation and distribution of individual tax bills and collection of the amounts due. Questions involving how tax rates or direct assessments were applied may require assistance from the Auditor-Controller rather than the payment collection office.

Treasurer and Tax Collector

The Treasurer and Tax Collector distributes property tax bills, receives payments, maintains payment information, and handles delinquent secured and unsecured tax accounts. This is the primary department for payment methods, unpaid balances, installment plans, payment history, and requests involving tax penalties.

Paying a bill through the Treasurer and Tax Collector does not change the assessed value established by the Assessor. A taxpayer who believes the property value is incorrect should address the valuation issue separately, even when a tax bill has already been issued.

Assessment Appeals Board

The Assessment Appeals Board oversees disputes concerning assessed property values. A taxpayer who disagrees with the value placed on property by the Assessor may file an assessment appeal during the applicable filing period.

An assessment appeal concerns the value used to calculate property taxes. It is different from a request to cancel a late-payment penalty, correct a payment record, or arrange an installment plan. Those collection matters remain under the Treasurer and Tax Collector.

Information to Gather First

County property tax systems require specific identifying information. Using the wrong number can lead to an unsuccessful search, an incorrect account, or a payment applied with inaccurate information. Review the bill and property records before beginning an online transaction.

Assessor’s Identification Number

The Assessor’s Identification Number, commonly called the AIN, is used throughout the secured property tax system. It may be required to view a secured property tax bill, locate the amount owed, review secured payment history, search Assessor records, or add a property to the Property Tax Management System.

The electronic bill service provides an option to look up an AIN when the taxpayer does not already have it. Property owners may also locate property information through an address search in the Assessor’s system.

Bill Year and Bill Number

Current-year unsecured property tax searches use the bill year and bill number rather than relying only on the AIN. These fields should be copied directly from the unsecured tax bill to reduce the chance of searching the wrong account.

Secured and unsecured taxes are not interchangeable categories. Secured taxes are associated with real property, while the county maintains a separate process for unsecured tax information. Search availability and office responsibilities can differ between the two.

Property Identification Number

The Property Tax Management System stores both the AIN and the Property Identification Number, or PIN, associated with a property. Taxpayers using the management system should distinguish the PIN from the AIN and enter each number only in the field designated for it.

Property Tax Portal Services

The county portal serves as a central access point for property tax information. It connects taxpayers with bill viewing, payment, balance, mailing-address, property-search, management, and departmental information. The service needed depends on whether the taxpayer is checking a current bill, a delinquent amount, a payment record, or underlying property information.

Amounts Owed by Tax Type

The county’s property tax balance information page separates secured and unsecured tax searches. Taxpayers should select the correct tax type and use the requested identification fields.

Secured tax availability

Current-year secured property tax information is available online from October 1 through June 30. The secured search uses the Assessor’s Identification Number.

Delinquent secured property tax information is available throughout the year except during July. A taxpayer trying to search during July should be aware that the regular delinquent secured information service is not available during that month.

Unsecured tax availability

Current-year unsecured tax information is available online from March 1 through June 30. The search requires the applicable year and bill number.

Delinquent unsecured tax information is not provided through the same online search. It is available by telephone or in person through the Unsecured Property Tax office listed at the end of this article.

Electronic Tax Bill Access

Taxpayers who need a bill can use the Treasurer and Tax Collector’s electronic property tax bill service. The service asks for the AIN and includes an option for taxpayers who need to look up that number.

When reviewing an electronic bill, confirm that the property description, AIN, tax year, installment information, and amount correspond to the intended property before submitting a payment. This is particularly important for owners who manage several properties or have similar addresses in their records.

Payment History Records

The secured property tax payment history search allows a taxpayer to enter an AIN and review payment information associated with secured real property taxes.

Payment history can help confirm whether a payment appears on the county record. It should not be confused with the amount currently due, since a payment record and a balance inquiry serve different purposes. Review both services when confirmation of payment and confirmation of the remaining balance are needed.

Property Tax Payment Methods

The Treasurer and Tax Collector offers several payment methods. The official property tax payment options page includes online eCheck, online credit or debit card, monthly automatic payments, mailed payments, telephone payments, and in-person payments.

Online and Automatic Payments

An online eCheck payment uses bank account information entered through the county payment system. Online credit and debit card payments are also available. Taxpayers should review all payment information before confirming a transaction, including the tax account, bank account or card details, and payment amount.

The county also offers monthly automatic payments. This option is separate from making a single online payment and should be reviewed according to the instructions provided by the Treasurer and Tax Collector.

Submitting an online payment with an incorrect routing number, account number, or card detail may cause the transaction to fail or be associated with an error. The county’s penalty cancellation guidance states that taxpayer entry errors in the online system are not accepted as a basis for canceling penalties.

Mail, Telephone, and In Person

Property tax payments may also be mailed, made by telephone, or submitted in person. A taxpayer choosing a mailed payment should follow the Treasurer and Tax Collector’s mailing instructions and allow for the county’s rules concerning recognized postmarks.

A private postage-meter date is not the same as a United States Postal Service cancellation mark. The county states that a postage-meter date only shows that postage was paid and does not establish when the item entered the United States Postal Service mail system.

Taxpayers using home banking or an online bill-payment service should recognize that the bank may mail a payment in an envelope without a United States Postal Service postmark. If the Treasurer and Tax Collector receives that payment after the delinquency date, the received date may be used to determine that the payment was late.

Avoiding Payment Mistakes

Several common errors can interfere with timely or accurate processing. Before sending or submitting a payment:

Confirm that the AIN, bill number, and tax year match the intended account.

Distinguish between secured and unsecured property taxes.

Verify the payment amount shown for the applicable tax period.

Review bank routing, bank account, debit card, or credit card information before authorizing an online transaction.

Do not assume that initiating a bank bill payment before the delinquency date means the county will consider it timely.

Do not rely on a private postage-meter date as proof of a timely mailing.

Review the payment record after processing when confirmation is needed.

Multi-Property Account Management

Owners responsible for multiple properties may use the Property Tax Management System. The system was developed to help taxpayers organize property information and related tax obligations through a personalized account.

Lists, Tracking, and Status

The system allows account holders to create and customize property lists. A single list may contain as many as 100 properties. Users may update existing lists and create additional lists when separate groupings are useful.

Stored information includes the Assessor’s Identification Number and Property Identification Number for each property. From the property lists, an account holder can initiate online payments and verify payment status.

The management system can reduce repetitive entry for owners handling many parcels, but the taxpayer should still verify each property and payment before authorizing a transaction. A stored property list does not eliminate the need to confirm the correct tax year, amount, and account.

Account Setup

Account creation begins by reviewing and agreeing to the system’s Terms of Use. The user then selects the Property Tax Management System account login and completes the setup process.

The Treasurer and Tax Collector provides a user guide for common account-creation and maintenance questions. Owners should follow the county’s account instructions rather than creating duplicate records when an existing account or property list already contains the needed information.

Installment Plan Eligibility

The Treasurer and Tax Collector offers specific installment plans for certain escaped assessments and defaulted taxes. The plans are not general financing options for every property tax bill. Eligibility depends on the type of tax, amount, property classification, length of default, and timing of the application.

The official property tax installment plan information explains the Four-Pay Plan and Five-Pay Plan.

Four-Pay Escape Assessments

The Four-Pay Plan applies to qualifying escape assessments. An escaped assessment is a correction to a property’s assessed value that the Assessor did not add to a prior-year Annual Secured Property Tax Bill. These bills generally result from a taxable event that was not included when the original assessment was prepared.

Under California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 4837.5, taxes due for an escaped assessment from a prior fiscal year may qualify for payment over four years without penalty when both of the following requirements are met:

The additional tax is more than $500.
The Four-Pay Plan is started before the delinquency date shown on the escaped assessment tax bill.

A taxpayer who waits until after the escaped assessment becomes delinquent may no longer meet the stated timing requirement. Review the bill type and delinquency date before beginning the application.

Five-Pay Redemption Plan

The Five-Pay Plan is an installment plan of redemption for certain defaulted property taxes. Eligible taxes may be paid over a five-year period.

The county identifies eligibility based on the type of property and how long it has been in default:

Vacant residential lots or nonresidential commercial property must be less than three years in default.

Residential or agricultural property must be less than five years in default.

Opening an eligible Five-Pay Plan prevents the property from being sold at a public auction while the plan remains applicable. The taxpayer must follow the county’s application and payment instructions and mail the completed materials to the Exceptions Processing address provided by the Treasurer and Tax Collector.

Current Annual Taxes

Current-year annual property taxes are not eligible for a county payment plan. The Four-Pay and Five-Pay programs should not be treated as alternatives for dividing a regular current annual property tax bill into installments beyond the payment structure already shown on the bill.

Before applying, confirm whether the bill is an escaped assessment, a defaulted tax account, or a current annual bill. Applying under the wrong category can delay resolution without changing the applicable delinquency rules.

Penalty Cancellation Limits

The California Revenue and Taxation Code authorizes the Treasurer and Tax Collector to cancel penalties only in limited circumstances. A taxpayer may submit a request, but submitting a form does not mean the penalty will be canceled.

The penalty cancellation request process requires the taxpayer to identify the statutory section believed to authorize cancellation and provide information about the affected bill.

Request Steps

The county’s process includes the following steps:

Review the county’s penalty cancellation information before completing the form.

Select the California Revenue and Taxation Code section believed to permit cancellation.

Complete the identifying information requested at the top of the form.

Select the bill type and bill year affected by the request.

Optionally provide a description of the request, limited to 500 characters including spaces, returns, and system characters.

Acknowledge that submitted documents constitute public records under the California Public Records Act.

After submission, the taxpayer receives an email confirmation with instructions for submitting supporting documentation when documentation is applicable. The county advises taxpayers to redact personally sensitive information because email is not encrypted or secure.

Common Reasons for Denial

The county identifies several circumstances that do not authorize penalty cancellation. Reviewing these examples before submitting a request can prevent reliance on a reason the Treasurer and Tax Collector has stated it will deny.

Payment history

A positive payment history is not a basis for cancellation. The county states that the Revenue and Taxation Code does not authorize consideration of a taxpayer’s prior positive or negative payment history when deciding whether a penalty may be canceled.

Home banking and bill pay

A request will be denied when a home-banking or online bill-payment service was initiated before the delinquency date but the county received the payment afterward. Because the envelopes used by these services may lack a United States Postal Service postmark, the county relies on the received date.

Postage and mailing claims

A private postage-meter date does not qualify as a United States Postal Service cancellation mark. The county also denies requests based only on a taxpayer’s statement that the payment was mailed early enough to arrive before the delinquency date.

The determining evidence is not the taxpayer’s expected delivery time. The Revenue and Taxation Code rules described by the county rely on the applicable postal cancellation mark or the county’s received date.

Financial circumstances

Financial hardship that prevented payment before the delinquency date is not identified by the county as an authorized reason for canceling a penalty. The Treasurer and Tax Collector states that the Revenue and Taxation Code does not provide for cancellation on that basis.

Missing tax bills

Non-receipt of a property tax bill does not provide a basis for penalty cancellation. Property owners should use the county’s balance and electronic bill services when a mailed bill has not been received rather than assuming that payment requirements are suspended.

New ownership confusion

Not understanding the property tax process after purchasing a home is also identified as a reason the county will deny. Property tax information is commonly addressed during the escrow process, and unfamiliarity with the system does not create authority to cancel a penalty.

Online entry errors

Incorrect information entered by the taxpayer during an online payment does not qualify. Examples include an incorrect bank account number, an incorrect routing number, or failure to validate credit or debit card information accurately.

Assessed Value Disputes

A taxpayer who believes the assessed value is incorrect should distinguish that issue from the amount shown as unpaid. The Assessor establishes the value, while the Treasurer and Tax Collector bills and collects taxes calculated from the extended Assessment Roll.

The county’s assessed value contest information provides access to assessment appeal preparation materials, hearing information, assessment appeal rules, and public education resources.

Filing Periods

Assessment appeal deadlines depend on the type of assessment:

Regular assessment appeals may be filed from July 2 through November 30.

Supplemental, adjusted, escape, and roll-correction appeals must be filed within 60 days after the mailing date shown on the Notice of Assessed Value Change or the applicable tax bill.

Misfortune and calamity reassessment appeals must be filed within six months of the mailing date on the Assessor’s Proposed Reassessment Notice for property damaged by misfortune or calamity.

The relevant date is tied to the type of assessment and, in some cases, the mailing date of a county notice. Taxpayers should identify the document being challenged before selecting an appeal filing period.

Preparing for an Appeal

County resources include information about preparing for an assessment appeal hearing, the applicable appeal rules, residential property assessment appeals, and the hearing process.

An appeal should address the assessed value rather than unrelated payment circumstances. A payment dispute, delinquency question, or request to cancel a penalty should continue through the Treasurer and Tax Collector even when an assessment appeal is also being pursued.

Property Record Tools

AIN and Address Searches

The Los Angeles County Assessor Portal provides basic, legal, and map search options. Property owners may search by AIN or address to locate assessment-related property information.

An Assessor search helps identify the property record and AIN, but it is not the same as viewing the current property tax balance or confirming that a payment was received. Taxpayers should move from the Assessor’s property record to the appropriate Treasurer and Tax Collector service when the task involves billing or collection.

Supplemental Tax Estimates

The Assessor provides a supplemental tax estimator for taxpayers reviewing potential supplemental tax effects. An estimate is different from an issued tax bill and should not be used as a substitute for the official amount shown through the county’s billing and balance systems.

Supplemental assessments may also have separate appeal timing. The county states that supplemental assessment appeals must be filed within 60 days after the mailing date on the applicable Notice of Assessed Value Change or supplemental assessment tax bill.

Office Selection by Issue

Property tax questions should be directed according to the function involved:

Assessor: Assessed value, exemptions, property characteristics, ownership records, AIN searches, property data, and supplemental assessment information.

Auditor-Controller: Direct assessments, application of the general tax levy, voter-approved or bonded indebtedness rates, and extension of the Assessment Roll.

Treasurer and Tax Collector: Tax bills, amounts due, payments, payment history, delinquent taxes, installment plans, and penalty cancellation requests.

Unsecured Property Tax Office: Delinquent unsecured tax information that is available only by telephone or in person.

Assessment Appeals Board: Formal challenges to assessed property values during the applicable filing period.

Departments and Offices

Los Angeles County Assessor’s Public Service Section
500 West Temple Street, Room 225
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 974-3211
(888) 807-2111

Los Angeles County Auditor-Controller Property Tax Services Division
500 West Temple Street, Room 153
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 974-8368
(888) 807-2111

Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector
225 North Hill Street, First Floor Lobby
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 974-2111
(888) 807-2111

Unsecured Property Tax Office
225 North Hill Street, First Floor, Room 122
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 893-7935

Los Angeles County Assessment Appeals Board
500 West Temple Street, Room B4
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 974-1471
(888) 807-2111

Property Tax FAQs

Can disaster damage reduce my property tax assessment?

Property owners whose homes or businesses were damaged by a natural disaster may qualify for property tax relief through the Los Angeles County Assessor. The relief process is not automatic. Owners generally must submit a misfortune and calamity claim so the Assessor can review the damage and determine whether a temporary reassessment is appropriate. The Assessor’s online services also allow applicants who have already filed to check a claim’s status by entering the property address or Assessor’s Identification Number. Review the county’s current disaster notices through the Los Angeles County Property Tax Portal, especially after wildfires or other declared emergencies.

When can I request a decline-in-value review?

The Assessor will accept decline-in-value applications for the 2026–2027 tax year from July 2 through November 30, 2026. This review is intended for owners who believe their property’s market value on the applicable valuation date was lower than its assessed value. A decline-in-value application is handled by the Assessor and is different from filing a formal assessment appeal. Owners should retain recent sales information, appraisals, photographs, or other evidence that supports the requested value reduction. Formal appeal preparation materials are available on the county’s property value contesting page.

How do I correct inaccurate property details?

Owners who find incorrect building, land, or property-characteristic information in Assessor records may submit an online Property Data Change Request using Form ASSR-129. Examples may include an inaccurate square footage figure, incorrect building details, or outdated land information. Correcting an Assessor record does not necessarily produce an immediate tax adjustment, because the office must review the request and determine whether the change affects the assessed value. Before filing, owners can verify the current record by searching the Los Angeles County Assessor Portal by address or AIN.

Can I receive alerts about possible property fraud?

The Assessor offers a Homeowner Alert Service that allows property owners to register an email address for notifications about potential fraudulent activity involving their property records. Enrollment does not replace regular review of assessment notices, ownership records, or tax bills, but it can provide an additional warning when suspicious record activity is detected.