Property tax in San Francisco County, California
In San Francisco County, the property tax bill comes from the Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector. The Fiscal Year 2026-27 bill is paid in 2 installments, and the next one is due December 10, 2026. You can look up and pay the bill on the county's own payment page. Taken from San Francisco County's own pages, checked September 23, 2026.
The median property tax bill in San Francisco County, California is $9,862 a year, which is about 0.71% of the county's median home value of $1,394,500. That effective rate is higher than 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 San Francisco County, and how do you pay it?
The bill comes from the Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector. The value it is based on is set by a separate office, the Office of the Assessor-Recorder, 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.
San Francisco is a combined city and county, so there is no separate city property tax bill. Bills are mailed in October. After a purchase or new construction the Assessor-Recorder issues a supplemental bill on top of the regular one, and a supplemental bill mailed between November and June has its own, earlier deadlines printed on it. Owners 65 or older can ask the San Francisco Unified School District, not the City, to exempt them from the school parcel taxes on the bill; the City College and Bay Restoration Authority parcel taxes have no senior exemption. The Postal Service now postmarks mail on the day it is first processed, not the day it is collected, so the Treasurer suggests asking for a manual postmark at a post office counter near the deadline. Paying online by electronic check is free; card payments carry a 2.25% fee.
When are property taxes due in San Francisco County?
For the Fiscal Year 2026-27 bill, San Francisco County splits the bill into 2 payments, the first due December 10, 2026 and the last April 10, 2027. A 10% penalty is added to a first installment still unpaid after 5:00 p.m. on December 10, and a 10% penalty plus a delinquency cost of up to $55 to a second installment still unpaid after its deadline. Taxes still unpaid on June 30 become tax-defaulted, which adds 1.5% a month (18% a year) plus a one-time redemption fee, and property that stays in default for five years or more can be sold by the Tax Collector.
| Payment | Due | Note |
|---|---|---|
| First installment | December 10, 2026 | Last day to pay without penalty: 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 10, 2026. State law makes the first half due November 1, but it is not late until after 5:00 p.m. on December 10. You may pay the whole year's tax by this deadline instead of in two parts. A mailed payment must be received or carry a U.S. Postal Service postmark by the deadline. |
| Second installment | April 10, 2027 | Last day to pay without penalty: 5:00 p.m. on Monday, April 12, 2027. State law makes the second half due February 1 and late after 5:00 p.m. on April 10, but when April 10 falls on a weekend or holiday the deadline moves to 5:00 p.m. on the next business day, and April 10, 2027 is a Saturday. The Treasurer had not yet posted the 2027 date when we checked. |
From San Francisco County's published schedule, checked September 23, 2026. The county had not posted a calendar labeled for this cycle when we checked, so these dates come from state law and the county's standing schedule; the date on your bill is the one that binds you.
Estimate the property tax on a home in San Francisco County
Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at San Francisco County's average effective rate of 0.71% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.
Estimated property tax: $9,901 / year
Property tax in San Francisco County at a glance
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Median annual property tax | $9,862 |
| Median home value | $1,394,500 |
| Effective tax rate | 0.71% |
| 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 San Francisco County compare in California?
Among California's 58 counties, San Francisco County has the 23rd highest effective property-tax rate: 22 rank higher and 35 rank lower. That is on the higher side for California. Nationally, it ranks 1837th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every California county ranked.
How much do homeowners in San Francisco County actually pay?
The median is only the middle bill. Across San Francisco County's 139,057 owner-occupied homes, 84% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 88.4% pay at least $2,000, and 2.3% pay under $800. Another 2.7% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.
| Annual bill | Homes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $800 | 3,146 | 2.3% |
| $800 to $1,499 | 5,370 | 3.9% |
| $1,500 to $1,999 | 3,885 | 2.8% |
| $2,000 to $2,999 | 6,167 | 4.4% |
| $3,000 or more | 116,803 | 84% |
| No property tax paid | 3,686 | 2.7% |
Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $10,000+ and owners without one pay $5,996. At least one of those medians hits the Census cap, so the gap between them cannot be measured here. Census table B25103.
How does the San Francisco County property tax bill compare with local incomes?
The median property tax bill of $9,862 is about 5.2% of the median income of San Francisco County homeowner households, $190,856 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 38.2% of San Francisco 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 San Francisco County?
Yes. The median bill went from $7,001 in 2015-2019 to $9,862 in 2020-2024, a 40.9% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 27%, from $1,097,800 to $1,394,500. Bills rose faster than values, which usually means local rates went up or an exemption shrank.
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 San Francisco County
San Francisco County borders 4 counties.
| County | Effective rate | Median bill | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contra Costa County, CA | 0.83% | $7,156 | $866,800 |
| Alameda County, CA | 0.78% | $8,474 | $1,090,100 |
| San Francisco County, CA (this county) | 0.71% | $9,862 | $1,394,500 |
| Marin County, CA | at least 0.66% | $10,000+ | $1,507,300 |
| San Mateo County, CA | 0.61% | $9,519 | $1,559,600 |
How is a home assessed in San Francisco County?
California sets the assessment rules and San Francisco County applies them. How California assesses and reappraises homes.
Is there a homestead exemption in San Francisco 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 San Francisco County. California's exemptions and relief programs in full.
San Francisco County does not add relief programs of its own beyond the California ones (checked September 23, 2026).
How to appeal your San Francisco County property assessment
In San Francisco County you appeal to the San Francisco Assessment Appeals Board. The deadline: Regular appeals are filed from July 2 through September 15 each year; the window for 2026-27 closed on September 15, 2026, late applications are not accepted, and the next window runs July 2 to September 15, 2027. Each application carries a nonrefundable $120 processing fee. An appeal of a supplemental or escape assessment must be filed within 60 days of that notice or bill. Owners of single-family homes, condominiums, townhouses, live-work lofts and co-op units can also ask the Assessor-Recorder for a free informal decline-in-value review from January 2 to March 31. 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 San Francisco 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 San Francisco County
The other local tax: combined state and local rate for this county.
Sources
- Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for San Francisco 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.