The 2024-25 unsecured O.C. Property Tax Bill payment is due today

Santa Ana, Calif. – Orange County Treasurer Shari L. Freidenrich announced that the payment deadline for the 79,184 unsecured property tax bills totaling over $332 million is September 3. These bills were mailed to the owner of the property as of January 1, 2024 and are available online at octreasurer.com/octaxbill.

These fiscal year 2024-25 Unsecured Property Tax bills include taxes on business property, leased equipment, boats and aircraft. Treasurer Freidenrich recommends that taxpayers pay online on the Orange County Treasurer’s secure website at octreasurer.com/octaxbill. There is no service fee to pay online by eCheck through a bank account, and taxpayers can pay online until midnight on September 3 to receive same-day credit as well as a receipt, which can be emailed and printed.

In-person payments can be made at the County Service Center located at 601 N. Ross Street in Santa Ana until 5 P.M. on September 3. Payments can also be dropped off 24 hours a day in the Payment Depository Box located on Ross Street and will be treated as timely received so long as they are deposited by midnight on September 3. Unsecured property tax bills not paid by the due date will be charged a 10 percent penalty plus a $75 collection fee. Taxpayers who pay by mail must have a U.S. Postal Service date stamp of September 3 or earlier. If you submit your payment through the mail, it is recommended that you have the envelope hand cancelled by the USPS, as many local post offices no longer postmark mail. Visit octreasurer.com/postmarks for more information to ensure your mailed property tax payments are timely received.

“Current State law designates the owner of record as of January 1, 2024 as the responsible party for the FY 2024-25 unsecured property tax bill, even if the unsecured property has been sold or otherwise disposed of after January 1,” said Treasurer Freidenrich. “Unlike secured property taxes, unsecured property taxes are not prorated by time of ownership.” The new owner of unsecured property after January 1, 2024 is not responsible for paying the property taxes on the personal property purchased until the new lien date of January 1, 2025. Treasurer Freidenrich encourages taxpayers to sign up for electronic unsecured property tax payment reminders at octreasurer.com/unsecuredreminders.

Taxpayers can view prior tax bills and their statement online to see if any current or delinquent unsecured property taxes are owed by going to octreasurer.com/octaxbill under the Unsecured Property Tax Bill section in the middle of the page. You can search by business name, tax collector reference number (TC Ref), CF-Number, N-Number, or the tax year and assessment number.

The FY 2024-25 unsecured property tax bills include assessments for 41,892 businesses, 13,800 boat and aircraft owners and 11,495 leased equipment owners. Taxpayers are reminded that the low value exemption for business equipment, boats, aircraft and leased equipment has been increased over the last several years from $3,000 to $10,000 by the Orange County Board of Supervisors after requests from the Treasurer and Assessor. This change has resulted in a decrease of over 46,000 unsecured property tax bills, lowering tax burdens on small businesses and taxpayers since it was approved.