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Avoid Penalties by Understanding Postmarks

Property tax payments must be received or postmarked by the United States Post Office by the delinquency date to avoid penalties. If a payment is received after the delinquency date, with no postmark, the payment is considered late and penalties will be imposed, in accordance with State law. The 1st installment will be imposed a 10% penalty and the 2nd installment will be imposed a 10% penalty and a cost.

POSTMARKS are imprints on letters, flats, and parcels that show the name of the United States Postal Service (USPS) office that accepted custody of the mail, along with the state, the zip code, and the date of mailing. The postmark is generally applied, either by machine or by hand, with cancellation bars to indicate that the postage cannot be reused.

Taxpayers who send their payments by mail are cautioned that the USPS only postmarks certain mail depending on the type of postage used, and may not postmark mail on the same day deposited by a taxpayer.

Postage that is postmarked:

STANDARD POSTAGE STAMPS: Stamps purchased and affixed to mail as evidence of the payment of postage. 

Postage that is not postmarked:

  • METERED MAIL: Mail on which postage is printed directly on an envelope or label by a postage machine licensed by the USPS. Many private companies use these types of postage machines.
     
  • PRE-CANCELED STAMP: Stamps sold through a private vendor, such as stamps.com®.
     
  • AUTOMATED POSTAL CENTER (APC) STAMPS: Stamps, with or without a date, purchased from machines located within a USPS lobby.
     
  • PERMIT IMPRINT: Pre-sorted mail used by bill pay services, such as online home banking. 

If you use these types of postage, the USPS will not postmark your mail. You will be charged a 10% penalty and a cost, if applicable, if we do not receive your mailed payment by the delinquency date.

Other options:

Purchase and complete a CERTIFICATE OF MAILING from the USPS, which is a receipt that provides evidence of the date that your mail was presented to the USPS for mailing. It can only be purchased at the time of mailing through the USPS. The USPS charges a fee for this service.

Purchase a POSTAGE VALIDATED IMPRINT (PVI) Label from a USPS retail counter or window. The PVI is applied to a piece of mail by personnel at the retail counter or window when postage has been paid to mail that item. The item is retained in USPS custody and is not handed back to the customer. The date printed on the PVI label is the date of mailing.

SAVE MONEY! SAVE TIME! PAY ONLINE!

Pay online for free using your checking account. To make a payment now, go to Online Payments.

There is no need to write a check, hunt for stamps, or travel to a mailbox. You do not have to worry about mail delays or post office closures.

  • There is no charge for electronic check payments.
     
  • You may also pay online by using a credit or debit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express). However, there are convenience fees when paying by credit or debit card. Current convenience fees for both Credit and Debit card transactions can be seen by visiting our online payment site.
     
  • Electronic payments can be made 24/7 - Payments are accepted up until 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on the delinquency date.