Behind on property taxes in Kern County: penalties, the five-year clock, and your options
Unpaid property taxes in California do not lead to a quick sale, but the penalties are steep and the clock does run out. Here is how tax default works in Kern County and what you can do before it gets expensive.
Property taxes are the bill that is easiest to fall behind on, because nothing happens right away. There is no monthly statement and nobody calls. In California the consequences build slowly and then arrive all at once. This guide covers how it works in Kern County.
It is general information, not legal advice or tax advice. The Kern County Treasurer and Tax Collector can give you the exact amount owed on your parcel.
The yearly schedule
Kern County bills property taxes in two installments each fiscal year.
- The first installment is due in the fall and becomes late after December 10.
- The second installment is due in the winter and becomes late after April 10.
Miss either date and a 10 percent penalty is added to that installment, plus a small cost on the second one.
When a property becomes "tax-defaulted"
If any tax is still unpaid at the end of the fiscal year on June 30, the property becomes tax-defaulted. Two things change at that point:
- A redemption fee is added.
- A redemption penalty starts running at 1.5 percent per month, which is 18 percent a year, on the unpaid tax.
That rate is why a modest tax bill becomes a large one. Two or three years of default can add half again to what was originally owed.
The five-year clock
In California, the county generally cannot sell a home for back taxes until it has been tax-defaulted for five years. Once that time has passed, the tax collector has what is called the power to sell, and the property can be put into a tax sale auction.
Two things to know about that clock:
- It can be shorter. For some properties, including certain non-residential parcels and properties with a recorded nuisance abatement lien, the period can be three years. If the county or a city has cleaned up or boarded up your property and billed it to the tax roll, do not assume you have five years. Here is how code cases turn into tax liens.
- You can stop it right up to the end. You can redeem the property by paying everything owed until the close of business on the last business day before the sale. After that, the right to redeem is gone.
Before a sale, the tax collector has to send notice to the owner and to anyone with a recorded interest in the property. Those notices go to the mailing address on file. If the owner has moved or passed away, they may never be seen. That is how families lose inherited houses without knowing a sale was coming.
What happens at a tax sale
Kern County sells tax-defaulted properties at public auction, and in recent years those auctions have been run online. The opening bid is usually the taxes, penalties and costs owed. The winning bidder gets the property.
If the property sells for more than what was owed, the extra is called excess proceeds. The former owner and lienholders can file a claim for it with the county, and there is a deadline to do so. You do not need to pay anyone a percentage to file that claim.
Your options, in order of cost
Pay it off. Ask the tax collector for a redemption amount good through a specific date. If you can pay it, that ends the matter.
Ask for an installment plan. California allows a tax-defaulted owner to redeem over time, typically with a down payment of about 20 percent of the amount owed and the rest spread over up to five years, as long as current taxes are also paid on time. Missing a payment can cancel the plan. Ask the tax collector's office whether your parcel qualifies and what the deadline to start is.
Check for exemptions and postponement. Seniors, blind and disabled homeowners with limited income may qualify for the state's property tax postponement program, which defers current-year taxes. The homeowner's exemption and disabled veteran's exemption lower the bill going forward. They do not erase what is already owed, but they slow the bleeding.
If there is a mortgage, expect the lender to step in. Most loans allow the lender to pay delinquent taxes and add them to what you owe, often with an escrow account from then on. That keeps the county from selling the house, but it raises your payment and can put the loan into default. What a Notice of Default means and what you can do.
Sell before the penalties eat the equity. When you sell, back taxes are paid out of the sale price at closing, so you do not need the cash up front. If the house has equity and you cannot bring the taxes current, selling keeps what is left. Waiting adds 18 percent a year to the tax bill and ends with the county setting the price.
A quick way to see where you stand
- Look up the parcel on the Kern County Treasurer and Tax Collector's website, or call with the parcel number from an old tax bill.
- Write down the total to redeem and the year the property first went into default.
- Add any mortgage payoff and other liens.
- Compare that to what the house would sell for as it sits.
If the gap is healthy, you have time and choices. If it is shrinking, act while there is still something to protect.
How we help owners with back taxes
We buy houses across Kern County for cash, including properties that are years behind on taxes. We look up the redemption amount before we make an offer, show you what would be paid to the county and what would be left for you, and close through a local escrow company that pays the tax collector directly.
If an installment plan or a postponement would let you keep the house, that is usually the better outcome, and we will tell you so. To see a number, send us the address or try the offer estimator, which has a line for back taxes and liens.