Property tax in El Dorado County, California
In El Dorado County, the property tax bill comes from the El Dorado County Treasurer-Tax Collector. The 2026-2027 bill is paid in 2 installments, and the next one is due November 1, 2026. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from El Dorado County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in El Dorado County, California is $4,753 a year, which is about 0.7% of the county's median home value of $679,900. That effective rate is about the same as the typical California county (0.7%) and lower than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.
Who sends the property tax bill in El Dorado County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the El Dorado County Treasurer-Tax Collector. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the El Dorado County Assessor, which is who to ask if the value looks wrong. For how to look up and pay the bill, go to the county's own payment information.
The Assessor sets the value and the Treasurer-Tax Collector sends the bill and takes the payment; they are separate offices. Bills are mailed by November 1, and both installments may be paid at once when the first is due. Credit and debit card payments carry a processor fee of 2.45% with a $3.95 minimum. The county's payment page lists no fee for eChecks at this time, but another county page says fees apply, so check before paying. The county also offers an optional monthly payment plan through an outside vendor. Mailed payments go to El Dorado County Tax Collector, P.O. Box 678002, Placerville, CA 95667-8002, and the office at 360 Fair Lane, Placerville takes payments in person and has payment drop bins.
When are property taxes due in El Dorado County?
For the 2026-2027 bill, El Dorado County splits the bill into 2 payments, the first due November 1, 2026 and the last February 1, 2027. A first installment not paid by December 10, 2026 gets a 10% penalty. A second installment not paid by April 12, 2027 gets a 10% penalty plus a cost, which the county lists as $38. Taxes still unpaid at the end of the fiscal year on June 30 go into default, which adds a penalty of 1.5% a month and a $15 redemption fee. The county says eCheck payments can take up to 10 days to process and that state law does not allow it to cancel a penalty because of a late postmark, a website problem or an eCheck delay.
| Payment | Due | Note |
|---|---|---|
| First installment | November 1, 2026 | The county lists November 1 as the due date, but no penalty applies until after 5 p.m. on December 10, 2026 (a Thursday), the last day to pay without penalty. Payments on the county's website count if made by midnight that day, payments in person must be made by 5 p.m., and a mailed payment must carry a U.S. Postal Service postmark dated on or before that day. The county warns that metered mail, Forever stamps and some other postage may not get a postmark, so if you mail near the deadline, have the post office counter date stamp the envelope or buy a certificate of mailing. State law sets these dates for every California county. |
| Second installment | February 1, 2027 | The county lists February 1 as the due date. The last day to pay without penalty is normally April 10, but April 10, 2027 is a Saturday, and both state law and the county move the deadline to 5 p.m. on the next business day, Monday, April 12, 2027. The same online, in-person and postmark rules apply. |
From El Dorado County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. If a date falls on a weekend or holiday, the county's own rules on the next business day apply.
Estimate the property tax on a home in El Dorado County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at El Dorado County's average effective rate of 0.7% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $4,759 / year
Property tax in El Dorado County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $4,753 |
| Median home value | $679,900 |
| Effective tax rate | 0.7% |
| Typical California county rate | 0.7% |
| National median county rate | 0.81% |
Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.
How does El Dorado County compare in California?
Among California's 58 counties, El Dorado County has the 25th highest effective property-tax rate: 24 rank higher and 33 rank lower. That is near the middle for California. Nationally, it ranks 1876th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every California county ranked.
How much do homeowners in El Dorado County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across El Dorado County's 58,844 owner-occupied homes, 69.6% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 81.7% pay at least $2,000, and 4.4% pay under $800. Another 3.1% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 2,561 | 4.4% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 3,213 | 5.5% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 3,192 | 5.4% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 7,143 | 12.1% |
| $3,000 or more | 40,936 | 69.6% |
| No property tax paid | 1,799 | 3.1% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $5,194 and owners without one pay $3,687. Owners who have paid off a home have usually held it longer, and in states that cap how fast an existing owner's assessment can rise, long-held homes carry lower assessed values. Census table B25103.
How does the El Dorado County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $4,753 is about 3.7% of the median income of El Dorado County homeowner households, $128,985 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 77.2% of El Dorado County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.
Have property taxes gone up in El Dorado County?
Yes. The median bill went from $3,475 in 2015-2019 to $4,753 in 2020-2024, a 36.8% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 47.5%, from $460,900 to $679,900. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.
Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.
Property tax in counties next to El Dorado County
El Dorado County borders 5 counties, 1 of them across the state line.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Placer County, CA | 0.84% | $5,812 | $688,100 |
| Alpine County, CA | 0.77% | $4,530 | $590,200 |
| Sacramento County, CA | 0.73% | $3,921 | $534,200 |
| Amador County, CA | 0.71% | $3,172 | $449,800 |
| El Dorado County, CA (this county) | 0.7% | $4,753 | $679,900 |
| Douglas County, NV | 0.45% | $2,750 | $615,400 |
How is a home assessed in El Dorado County?
California sets the assessment rules and El Dorado County applies them. How California assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in El Dorado County?
Yes. California's Homeowners' Exemption takes $7,000 off the assessed value of an owner-occupied home. File form BOE-266 with the county assessor by February 15 for the full exemption. That is the California rule, and it applies in El Dorado County. California's exemptions and relief programs in full.
El Dorado County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the California ones (checked September 23, 2026).
How to appeal your El Dorado County property assessment
In El Dorado County you appeal to the El Dorado County Assessment Appeals Board (filed with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors). The deadline: For the regular annual assessment, the application must be received or postmarked between July 2 and 5 p.m. on November 30; for 2026 the window runs from July 2 to Monday, November 30, 2026. An appeal of a supplemental assessment must be received within 60 days of the date printed on the tax bill. Each application carries a $40 nonrefundable processing fee, paid by cash or check. The Assessor also offers an informal decline-in-value review, but that is not an appeal and does not replace filing one. How to file. Checked September 23, 2026 against the official appeal rules.
How California's appeal process works, including the next level if the first one turns you down.
California rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the California page.
Work out your own numbers
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How much house can I afford?
Your income, debts and down payment against the 28/36 rule lenders actually use, with El Dorado County's tax rate to hand.
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Mortgage calculator
Monthly payment with principal, interest, tax and insurance, plus what an extra payment saves you.
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California income tax
Brackets, standard deduction and what California actually taxes.
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Sales tax in El Dorado County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for El Dorado County, California: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.