Check your online property tax statement to prevent liens and protect your credit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Shari Freidenrich January 12, 2016 (714) 834-7625, Treasurer@ttc.ocgov.com

DO YOU OWE ANY PROPERTY TAXES? CHECK THE ONLINE PROPERTY TAX STATEMENT TO PREVENT A LIEN ON YOUR PROPERTY OR PERSONAL CREDIT!

Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector Shari L. Freidenrich encourages all property taxpayers to visit ocgov.com/octaxbill to take advantage of multiple resources for current or previous owners of real property, boats, aircraft, or business property and equipment.

The online information by parcel identifies any current outstanding property tax balances, copies of current and prior year property tax bills, a link to a Google-type GIS map, information on Mello-Roos assessments, penalty cancellation request forms, change of address forms, and information on PACE programs offered by some local cities. The site also provides same-day credit payment options with no convenience fee plus an emailed detailed receipt for your records (can also be printed), as well as copies of the inserts sent with property tax bills.

The website also provides an up-to-date online property tax statement page for all secured and unsecured property, including any outstanding balances plus any delinquencies, penalties or fees. The most common way to view the online statement page is to input either your seven-digit Assessor Parcel Number (APN), or property address (for secured property and possessory interest property) or for unsecured property taxes, input your TC Reference # for business property/equipment, CF # for boats, or N # for aircraft. These special reference numbers are available on the annual property tax bill mailed to you, or you can call a customer service representative to obtain the number at (714) 834-3411.

In September, the Treasurer mailed more than 850,000 secured property tax bills. Of those, 10,221 had a prior year’s property tax unpaid. The tax bills with delinquencies were printed in RED this year to denote that a past-due balance existed and each included an explanatory note also in RED. Supplemental property tax bills that result from a change of ownership or increased assessed value due to property improvements are also available to view or print online. Supplemental property tax bills are prepared by fiscal year; therefore, taxpayers may receive more than one supplemental bill and are responsible for paying all of them (generally these are not included in impound accounts and not paid by mortgage companies).

The website provides copies of all property tax bills that can be printed or viewed online. In 2015, a Google-type GIS map was provided that offers aerial views of properties with key property tax bill information and also includes the school, community college, and supervisor district for each parcel. This can be accessed either by clicking on the map icon at the online property tax parcel screen or by inputting the APN or address at ocgov.com/octaxmap. Another recent addition was information on Mello Roos assessments that includes the maturity date of the Mello Roos bond (ocgov.com/melloroos) and an information sheet on the Property Assessment Clean Energy (PACE) program with important information on this program relating to the property tax assessments that can be accessed under FAQs.

We also encourage all property owners to sign up for a secured property tax reminder by going to ocgov.com/taxreminder to register your email or, to sign up for an unsecured property tax reminder by going to ocgov.com/unsecured reminder. You will then receive an email when the respective property tax bills are mailed and a reminder 10 days and one day prior to the last timely payment date.