The Sacramento County property tax calendar, and what an unpaid bill turns into

Sacramento County mailed 493,740 secured property tax bills in October, and every one of them runs on the same few dates. Miss either of the first two and you owe a 10 percent penalty on that half. Miss June 30 and the bill turns into a defaulted tax, which grows by 1.5 percent a month until it is paid.

Two-story brick storefronts with balconies and flags in Old Sacramento — Storefronts in the Old Sacramento Historic District. Photo: Roc0ast3r, Wikimedia Commons, CC0, cropped.

I worked the public counter at a California county tax office for sixteen years. The question I heard most was some version of "how bad is it?" This site is my long answer, starting with the dates on the bills that just went out.

The dates on the 2026-27 bill

The county's tax dates page lists the yearly cycle, and its October 2026 notice gives this year's exact cutoffs.

Date	What happens
Jan. 1, 2026	Lien date. The value on this date sets the 2026-27 bill, and the tax attaches to the property as a lien.
Feb. 15, 2026	Last day to file the homeowners' exemption and get the full $7,000 off your assessed value.
July 1, 2026	The fiscal year starts. This bill covers July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027.
July 2 to Nov. 30, 2026	Window to file an assessment appeal on the annual bill with the Clerk of the Board.
October 2026	Secured bills mailed.
Nov. 1, 2026	First installment due.
Dec. 10, 2026, 5 p.m.	Last chance to pay the first installment without the 10 percent penalty.
Feb. 1, 2027	Second installment due.
April 12, 2027, 5 p.m.	Last chance for the second installment. April 10 falls on a Saturday, so the deadline moves to Monday. After this, 10 percent plus a cost.
June 30, 2027	Last day to pay the 2026-27 bill without redemption penalties. Anything unpaid becomes defaulted.
July 1, 2027	A $15 redemption fee is added and penalties of 1.5 percent a month begin.

The exemption and appeal dates come from the Assessor's calendar. When any of these deadlines lands on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, it moves to the next business day.

What a missed installment costs

Take a $5,000 annual bill, paid in two $2,500 halves. Pay the first half on Dec. 11 and you owe $2,750. The second half gets the same 10 percent plus a flat cost per bill. The county's Secured Taxes page lists that cost as $15, and its April 2025 reminder said $20, so check the figure on your own bill.

Ten percent stings, but it lands once per half and stops there. The penalty that keeps going starts in July.

June 30 is the date that changes the bill

If any part of the 2026-27 bill is unpaid at the end of June 30, 2027, the county treats it as defaulted, and its page on defaulted taxes spells out what follows. A one-time $15 redemption fee goes on, and starting July 1 the tax portion picks up a redemption penalty of 1.5 percent a month. That is 18 percent a year, and it keeps running until the bill is paid.

After five years in default the property can be sold at the county's tax sale. Sacramento normally holds that auction online, starting the last Monday in February. Until 5 p.m. on the last business day before the sale, the owner can still pay everything and keep the house. California has no extended right of redemption after a tax sale, so that deadline is final.

If paying it all at once isn't possible, most defaulted bills qualify for a five-year installment plan, which can be started any time up to 5 p.m. on the last business day of June in the final year before the property can be sold. The terms are in my article on the default timeline.

Small mistakes I saw every year

Paying the first half and forgetting the second. The county mails no reminder for it.
Mailing on the deadline with a postage-meter date. The county goes by the postmark, and business meter dates are not accepted.
Sending part of an installment. Partial payments are returned.
Buying a house and waiting for a bill. New owners are not mailed one, so the annual bill may still carry the seller's name.
Assuming the lender pays everything. Supplemental bills go to the owner, not the mortgage company.

When the numbers have gotten away from you

If you are behind, get the exact amount first. The Tax Collector's secured unit answers at (916) 874-6622, weekdays 9 to 4, and the online lookup needs your 14-digit parcel number. With that figure in hand you can pay, set up the five-year plan, or sell before the county can. An owner who sells pays the defaulted taxes out of the sale proceeds through escrow, the same as any other lien. Some list with an agent. Others ask a local investor for a cash offer on a Sacramento house; Lorris Home Buyers is one Sacramento company that buys houses as-is for cash. Whichever way you go, have the county's redemption figure in writing so you can check any number you are handed against it.

I am not an attorney or a tax adviser. If a notice of power to sell has arrived, call the Tax-Defaulted Land Unit at (916) 874-6621 the same week, and talk to a lawyer or legal aid office if you think the bill is wrong.

April 12, 2027 is the date I would put on the refrigerator. The second half is the one people forget, and missing it costs the same 10 percent plus the cost.

Sacramento County tax default timeline, from penalty to auctionHow an unpaid Sacramento County property tax bill grows: 10% penalties, default on June 30, 1.5% a month, the five-year plan, and the tax sale.Property tax prorations at closing in CaliforniaHow escrow splits a California property tax bill between buyer and seller, what happens to unpaid or defaulted taxes, and why buyers get supplemental bills.Prop 19 and an inherited house in Sacramento CountyUnder Prop 19 an heir keeps a parent's low property tax only by moving in within a year. The value cap, the forms, family farms and what a sale changes.

Denise Arroyo worked the public counter at a California county tax office for sixteen years, answering questions about penalties, defaulted bills and parcel numbers. She writes the explanations she used to give across the counter. She is not an attorney or tax adviser.