Dues and Don’ts for Last-Minute Property Taxpayers

Today is the deadline for Orange County residents to mail, drop off or phone in their property tax payments or face a harsh 10% late fee.

The county tax collector’s office in Santa Ana will extend office hours to handle the expected crush of procrastinators, and, for just the second time, last-minute customers can also pay via an after-hours drop box or with credit card via phone.

Most residents pay by mail, and all payments postmarked by today will be considered on time, according to John M.W. Moorlach, county treasurer-tax collector.

“If they don’t get the postmark, if it comes in with a postmark that says [April] 11th, there’s no argument or appeal--it’s late and the penalty is 10%,” Moorlach said. “It’s very brutal, but it’s the state code.”

When it comes to paying on time, Orange County residents are among the most diligent in the state, and this year a full 98% are expected to ante up by the deadline, Moorlach said.

Last year, only 2.6% of the county’s property owners let the deadline pass without paying, the lowest unpaid percentage in a dozen years, Moorlach said. Orange County property tax revenue totaled more than $1.86 billion last year and accounted for about 9% of the statewide total, Moorlach said.

Every year, the deadline brings a flood of people to the collector’s office at 12 Civic Center Plaza, according to Gary Cowan, assistant tax collector. Extra staff members will be on hand today to handle the crowds--which peak at lunch hour and after 3 p.m.--and an expected 1,600 phone calls.

The office, just off Ross Street and next to the Santa Ana City Hall, will be open an extra hour today, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, call (714) 834-3411 or visit the Orange County site on the World Wide Web at https://www.oc.ca.gov

Latecomers can drop their payment envelopes into a drop box before midnight and also escape late fees, Moorlach said.

Property owners can pay with certain credit cards--Master Card, Discover, Private Issue or Bravo--but only if they have previously filled out a special form with the collector’s office, Moorlach said. Also, a 2% processing fee is added to credit card payments.

“The person has to weigh that--the 2% charge is less than the 10% late fee, so it might be an option that people want to use,” Moorlach said.

Some taxpayers submit bad checks each year, perhaps hoping to dodge late fees, Moorlach said. Instead, when the check is returned by the bank, the property owner is assessed the 10% late fee plus a $30 returned check charge.

There are no appeals or extensions on property tax payments, Moorlach said. Property owners can apply for a payment plan to spread the charges over a period of time, but anyone who waited until today to apply for that arrangement would have late fees tacked on to the debt.

“Today, it’s all or nothing,” Moorlach said. “Those arrangements should have been made in the months leading up to now.”

Property owners can appeal the assessments that determine the amount of taxes they owe, according to Darlene Bloom, clerk of the Orange County Board of Supervisors. The county has two years to answer those appeals, and there is a backlog of about 50,000 pending appeals being worked, Bloom said.

Appeals for the most recent assessments, which will decide taxes owed next year, should be made between July 2 and Sept. 15, Bloom said. Call (714) 834-3453 for more information.

The assessment appeal process cannot delay or affect today’s deadline, however, Moorlach said.

“It’s too late for any of that,” he said. “We’re trying as much as we can to be helpful, but we’re not arguing with people. Today is the day to pay up.”

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Measuring Up

Orange County property owners are pretty good about paying taxes, having just a 3.7% delinquency rate during the last five fiscal years. In fact, 1995-96’s rate was the lowest recorded in a dozen years. Local compliance compares well with other similar-sized counties throughout the state:

Amount Collected (thousands)

1991-92: $1,715,668

1992-93: $1,822,853

1993-94: $1,847,096

1994-95: $1,867,522

1995-96: $1,865,722

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Delinquency Rate

1991-92: 4.35%

1992-93: 4.38%

1993-94: 3.38%

1994-95: 3.63%

1995-96: 2.57%

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1995-96 Delinquency Comparison

County: Unpaid

Alameda: 2.8%

Los Angeles: 4.7%

Orange: 2.6%

San Diego: 2.8%

Santa Clara: 1.5%

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Assessment Appeals

Although assessment appeals for last year may still be filed, it appears 1996 will be the third consecutive year they decline:

1996: 32,281*

1995: 34,663

1994: 43,697

1993: 51,586

1992: 15,153

1991: 13,300

* Appeals still open

Source: Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector

Researched by GEOFF BOUCHER / Los Angeles Times