Reading Your Tax Bill

Your annual tax bill provides the following information pertinent to payment of your property taxes:

The type of bill you are receiving.
The owner of record as of January 1.
The property location and description.
The amount and type of exemption, if applicable.
The assessed value of the property.
A breakdown of the types of taxes being collected, including the general tax levy (the constitutional "1%" levy), locally voted special taxes, and city or district direct assessments.
The amount of taxes due on the first and second installments, as well as the total taxes due.

Ownership Changes Backlog

Due to an extraordinary number of ownership changes, the Sonoma County Assessor’s Office is experiencing a significant backlog processing these changes. If you received a tax bill for a property you no longer own, please write “sold” on the bill and return it to our office. Should you need additional assistance please reach out to our office at (707) 565-2281 or taxcollector@sonoma-county.org.

Bill Type

When reading your bill the first thing you will need to note is what type of bill you are receiving. You will see this on the top of the page in the title section. The bill will state one of the three following:

Important Messages

Each bill contains an “Important Messages” box in the top right corner. In this section you will find notes from the assessor. These notes generally provide additional explanation for the bill. If the messages box reads "Prior year delinquent taxes exist on this property", this is an indication that there are prior-year delinquent or unpaid taxes, which are not included in your bill. See our section on Delinquent Property Taxes in the FAQs for more information.

County Values and Taxes

The middle section of the bill contains the values and rates used to compute the property tax bill and is broken down into 2 sections, listed below. These sections provide detailed information on values including Land and Improvements, itemized tax rates by agency and any applicable direct charges. This section makes up the overall tax rate for the parcel.

County Values, Exemptions and Taxes
Voter Approved Taxes/ Taxing Agency Direct Charges & Special Assessments
- School Bond Information- Outstanding Principal and Maturtity Dates

Payment Stubs

On the bottom of the bill are detachable payment stubs. For Secured and Supplemental bills you will find 2, one for each installment, and for unsecured bills you will find 1 stub. Each stub lists the amount due for each installment, the date payment is due and the total amount due including penalty if the payment is received after the delinquent date. These stubs should be submitted with your payment.

If you have any additional questions about the contents of your tax bill, please contact the Tax Collector’s Office at 707-565-2281. Any questions about values or assessments should be directed towards the Assessor’s Office at 707-565-1888.