Bay Area Property Tax Appeal Deadlines by County
By Danielle Cui · August 8, 2026
Almost every article about California property tax appeals tells you the deadline is September 15. For most of the state, that's wrong — and if you believe it, you may think you've missed a window that's actually still open.
Two deadlines, not one
Under Revenue & Taxation Code §1603, the regular appeal filing period opens July 2 in every county. When it closes depends on a choice each county assessor makes annually: if the assessor mails assessment notices to every owner on the secured roll by August 1, the period ends September 15. If not, it's extended to November 30.
Counties must certify that election each year, and only a small minority pick the earlier date. In recent assessment years, just 11 of California's 58 counties closed on September 15: Alameda, Alpine, Inyo, Kings, Mono, Placer, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, Sierra, and Ventura. The other 47 — including Los Angeles — run through November 30.
The Bay Area, county by county
| County | Regular filing period closes | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | September 15 | $120 filing fee |
| Alameda (Oakland, Berkeley, Fremont) | September 15 | |
| Santa Clara (San Jose, Palo Alto) | September 15 | |
| San Mateo | November 30 | |
| Contra Costa | November 30 | |
| Marin | November 30 | |
| Napa | November 30 | |
| Sonoma | November 30 | |
| Solano | November 30 |
The pattern worth noticing: the three counties where the Bay Area's expensive housing is concentrated are all on the early deadline. If you own in San Francisco, Oakland, or San Jose, you have the least time, not the most.
Confirm it — don't take a table's word for it
Two reasons to verify before you rely on any date, including this one:
- The election is annual. A county on November 30 this year can move to September 15 next year. The Clerk of the Assessment Appeals Board certifies the date and reports it to the State Board of Equalization.
- Weekends and holidays push it. When the statutory date lands on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, you get until the next business day. In 2024 that turned the two dates into September 16 and December 2.
Your assessment notice and your county's Clerk of the Board website are the authoritative sources.
Deadlines that ignore all of this
The July 2 window only governs regular assessments — the annual value on the roll. Two common situations run on their own clocks:
- Supplemental assessments (from a purchase or new construction): 60 days from the mailing date on the supplemental notice.
- Escape assessments (value the assessor missed and added later): also 60 days from the notice.
Those 60-day windows can open and close at any point in the year, which means a supplemental notice arriving in February has nothing to do with the July–September period. See I just bought my home — can I appeal?
What to do with the time you have
The deadline is for the application, not for the finished argument — you can file and continue building your evidence before the hearing. But the application asks for your opinion of value, and that number is hard to raise later, so it's worth grounding in real comparable sales before you submit. (How to choose comps that hold up.)
CompFinder pulls recent sales near the January 1 valuation date for San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose and assembles the comparison — useful when your deadline is the September one and you're starting in August.
Frequently asked questions
Is the California property tax appeal deadline September 15 or November 30?
It depends on your county. The filing period opens July 2 everywhere. It closes September 15 in counties whose assessor mails assessment notices to all owners by August 1, and November 30 in counties that don't. In recent years only 11 of 58 counties used September 15 — including San Francisco, Alameda, and Santa Clara.
What is the property tax appeal deadline in San Mateo or Contra Costa County?
Both counties use the extended period, closing November 30. Marin, Napa, Sonoma, and Solano do as well. Confirm the current year's date with your county's Clerk of the Assessment Appeals Board, since the election is made annually.
What happens if the deadline falls on a weekend?
You get until the next business day. In the 2024 assessment year, for example, the two deadlines became September 16 and December 2 because the statutory dates fell on weekends.
Does the July 2 to September 15 window apply to supplemental assessments?
No. Supplemental and escape assessments must be appealed within 60 days of the date the notice was mailed, regardless of where that falls in the calendar year.
Is there a fee to file a property tax appeal in the Bay Area?
It varies by county. San Francisco charges a $120 non-refundable filing fee; several counties charge a smaller processing fee, and some charge nothing. Check your county's application before filing.