- quote -

Ah, yes...
Warning: Dates in calendar may be closer than they appear.

Actually I paid quite early this time, and was hoping for
(and found!) some clarification for next time.

Scott S.

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Scott S. wrote:

- quote -

In case you haven't checked your calendar lately, your
question was posted on Dec 14, too late to meet either "due
date".

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Scott S. wrote:

- quote -

The only date that matters is the date and time you become
subject to penalties, late fees, etc. Use 12/10.

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Scott S. wrote:

- quote -

It's really due Dec. 10. And it only needs to be postmarked
on Dec. 10, they don't have to actually receive it by Dec.
10 (which is the case for many other bills). I don't know
why they say it's due on Nov. 1, probably just to encourage
people to get it in earlier.

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"Scott S." <ss.mtm[at]seligman.net> wrote:

- quote -

Not an expert on this, just a payer for many years, but
could it be that the first date represents the starting date
of the period legally covered by the tax -- if you're the
property owner beyond that date, you *owe* the tax to the
county -- and the second the end of the grace period allowed
for actually paying it?

Given the sizable penalty, I usually shoot for something
halfway in between, and try not to miss making the payment.

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2005) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

"Scott S." <ss.mtm[at]seligman.net> wrote:

- quote -

No downside that I know of. I have been paying 1/2 CA
property tax just before Dec 10 and the other 1/2 just
before Apr 10 for 35 years. I see no reason to give the
County an interest free loan (even if it is for only a
month).

--
-Ernie-

"There are only two kinds of computer users -- those who have
suffered a catastrophic hard drive failure, and those who will."
Have you done your backup today?

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"Scott S." <ss.mtm[at]seligman.net> wrote:

- quote -

this is similar to most mortgage payments that are typically
due on the first and late on the fifteenth. you have a 14
day grace period to make the payment without incurring a
penalty. you can pay anytime prior to the date defined for
late payment penalties to kick in. it's really up to you as
a cashflow issue. if you're money is sitting in an
interest-earning account then it behooves you to make the
payment later rather than sooner, if it's a non-interest
earning account, it's more a matter of cashflow than
anything else. as the date doesn't cross a year-end,
there's no difference in when you get the deduction for
federal purposes.

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My county tax collector's web site says this of property tax
payments:

The first installment is due and payable on November 1.
However, you have until 5 p.m. on December 10 to make
your payment before a 10% penalty...

Many people seem to interpret this as being pretty much
equivalent to: it's due on December 10. Indeed when I check
my online "account" with the tax collector, it refers to
December 10 (actually the following Monday) as the "Due
Date", and doesn't even mention November 1.

So, which date should I be paying attention to? Is there
any downside to using the later date, or any reason to use
the earlier one?

Thanks,
Scott S.

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2005) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >