Marin Center. In the days leading up to the official Bay Area shelter-in-place order in March, the Mill Valley Chamber feverishly hunted for every form of relief for Mill Valley businesses amidst the Covid-19 outbreak.
That included a ban on evictions related to income loss due to COVID-19, all manner of loans and grants (including the new PPP), timely webinars and unemployment benefit tutorials.
But one form of relief proved to be a tough nut to crack: property tax relief, i.e., the County of Marin providing a way for people to pay their property taxes late but avoid paying the late fees and penalties associated with doing so.
At the time, Roy Given, the County of Marin's director of finance, said he was unable to waive lates fees and penalties prior to the April 10th property tax filing deadline. But he did allow that COVID-19 and its horrific economic impacts will be a consideration for those applying for a Penalty Waiver with the Tax Collector.
For the 2020-21 property tax cycle, Marin County homeowners and commercial property owners directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic will have until May 5, 2021 to apply for extra time to pay their property taxes without a penalty.
Given mailed Marin County’s 91,184 tax bills on Sept. 25. The 2020-2021 tax roll amounted to $1.22 billion, up 5.73% over the previous year, according to the Marin Independent Journal.
Property tax bills are normally payable in two installments – at least half due Nov. 1 that must be paid before Dec. 10 to avoid a penalty. The remainder of the bill must be paid by April 10, 2021.
Due to an executive order issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom in March, homeowners and small businesses may be eligible for late penalty forgiveness if they meet certain conditions.
Taxpayers seeking an exemption from penalties must demonstrate to the tax collector that they have “suffered economic hardship and/or an inability to tender payment of taxes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, or any local, state or federal response to COVID-19” for the request to be approved.
Penalty cancellation requests must be submitted with tax payment, penalty payment, and interest by May 5, 2021. If the application is approved, the penalties and interest paid will be returned to the taxpayer.
Parameters for the penalty cancellation program were set by Newsom’s order and since then guidelines have been provided by the state Controller’s Office.
Under the current rules, owners of rental properties can apply for penalty waivers if they hold an active county business license and meet small business standards for average annual receipts or number of employees.
Property taxes accounted for nearly 36% of Marin County’s revenue in fiscal year 2019-20 and also helped fund local schools and special districts. Marin County is more dependent on property tax than ever since state funding, which relies heavily on sales tax revenue, is threatened by COVID-19, according to the IJ.
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That included a ban on evictions related to income loss due to COVID-19, all manner of loans and grants (including the new PPP), timely webinars and unemployment benefit tutorials.
But one form of relief proved to be a tough nut to crack: property tax relief, i.e., the County of Marin providing a way for people to pay their property taxes late but avoid paying the late fees and penalties associated with doing so.
At the time, Roy Given, the County of Marin's director of finance, said he was unable to waive lates fees and penalties prior to the April 10th property tax filing deadline. But he did allow that COVID-19 and its horrific economic impacts will be a consideration for those applying for a Penalty Waiver with the Tax Collector.
For the 2020-21 property tax cycle, Marin County homeowners and commercial property owners directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic will have until May 5, 2021 to apply for extra time to pay their property taxes without a penalty.
Given mailed Marin County’s 91,184 tax bills on Sept. 25. The 2020-2021 tax roll amounted to $1.22 billion, up 5.73% over the previous year, according to the Marin Independent Journal.
Property tax bills are normally payable in two installments – at least half due Nov. 1 that must be paid before Dec. 10 to avoid a penalty. The remainder of the bill must be paid by April 10, 2021.
Due to an executive order issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom in March, homeowners and small businesses may be eligible for late penalty forgiveness if they meet certain conditions.
Taxpayers seeking an exemption from penalties must demonstrate to the tax collector that they have “suffered economic hardship and/or an inability to tender payment of taxes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, or any local, state or federal response to COVID-19” for the request to be approved.
Penalty cancellation requests must be submitted with tax payment, penalty payment, and interest by May 5, 2021. If the application is approved, the penalties and interest paid will be returned to the taxpayer.
Parameters for the penalty cancellation program were set by Newsom’s order and since then guidelines have been provided by the state Controller’s Office.
Under the current rules, owners of rental properties can apply for penalty waivers if they hold an active county business license and meet small business standards for average annual receipts or number of employees.
Property taxes accounted for nearly 36% of Marin County’s revenue in fiscal year 2019-20 and also helped fund local schools and special districts. Marin County is more dependent on property tax than ever since state funding, which relies heavily on sales tax revenue, is threatened by COVID-19, according to the IJ.
MORE INFO.