Santa Clara County property tax rate by city
The Controller-Treasurer's 2025-26 tax rate book runs to 246 pages and 816 tax rate areas (TRAs). The table shows the most common total rate in each city, with Zillow's September 2026 typical value and the tax that rate implies on that value after the $7,000 homeowners' exemption. Rates for 2026-27 bills, mailed this fall, were not in the book we read.
| City (common TRA) | 2025-26 rate | Zillow typical value, Sept 2026 | Tax at typical value* |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose, San Jose Unified (017-090) | 1.20400% | $1,353,869 | $16,216 |
| Santa Clara (007-000) | 1.17860% | $1,642,638 | $19,278 |
| Sunnyvale, Sunnyvale ESD (009-002) | 1.16910% | $2,007,452 | $23,387 |
| Mountain View, MV Whisman (005-000) | 1.15600% | $1,929,681 | $22,226 |
| Palo Alto, PAUSD (006-001) | 1.19745% | $3,592,240 | $42,931 |
| Cupertino (013-001) | 1.15970% | $2,957,922 | $34,222 |
| Milpitas (012-001) | 1.13500% | $1,385,691 | $15,648 |
| Campbell, Cambrian (010-001) | 1.18710% | $1,837,614 | $21,731 |
| Los Gatos (003-000) | 1.14200% | $2,597,611 | $29,585 |
| Saratoga (015-012) | 1.14280% | $3,974,406 | $45,340 |
| Los Altos (011-001) | 1.14910% | $4,591,005 | $52,675 |
| Morgan Hill (004-000) | 1.12580% | $1,316,319 | $14,740 |
| Gilroy (002-000) | 1.21470% | $1,044,931 | $12,608 |
*Typical value less $7,000, times the 2025-26 rate. Parcel taxes and service charges are extra.
The countywide layers in every Santa Clara County rate
Every TRA starts with the 1% levy plus three countywide items: a county retirement levy of 0.03880%, the 2008 Valley Medical Center bond at 0.00520% and the 2016 county housing bond at 0.00560%. That puts the floor near 1.0496% before any school, college or city bond. Some TRAs add the county library at 0.00240%, and Valley Water's State Water Project levy of 0.00390% is listed separately.
City bonds that push some rates higher
The book lists general obligation bonds for San Jose (0.01970%), Santa Clara's 2024 bond (0.02870%), Campbell's 2018 bond (0.01700%), Gilroy's 2008 bond (0.01250%), Palo Alto's 2008 bond (0.00745%) and Saratoga's 2000 bond (0.00360%). Gilroy's single 1.21470% rate covers all four of its TRAs; Morgan Hill's 1.12580% covers all twelve.
San Jose and other cities by tax rate area
Inside San Jose the rate depends on which elementary and high school districts serve the parcel. These San Jose TRAs from the 2025-26 book show the spread.
| San Jose TRA | School district | 2025-26 rate | Tax per $100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 017-079 | Morgan Hill Unified | 1.14310% | $1,143.10 |
| 017-113 | Santa Clara Unified | 1.16960% | $1,169.60 |
| 017-090 | San Jose Unified | 1.20400% | $1,204.00 |
| 017-017 | Campbell Union | 1.21330% | $1,213.30 |
| 017-051 | Oak Grove | 1.23200% | $1,232.00 |
| 017-016 | Franklin-McKinley | 1.25750% | $1,257.50 |
| 017-001 | Alum Rock | 1.27500% | $1,275.00 |
| 017-163 | Highest San Jose TRA | 1.31220% | $1,312.20 |
Rate ranges inside other Santa Clara County cities
- Santa Clara: 1.17270% to 1.22230%.
- Sunnyvale and Mountain View: 1.14670% to 1.16910%.
- Palo Alto: 1.14785% to 1.19745%.
- Cupertino: 1.13090% to 1.16560%.
- Milpitas: 1.13500%, or 1.22140% in the part served by Berryessa schools.
- Campbell: 1.18710% to 1.23740%; the Campbell Elementary TRA 010-005 is 1.21300%.
- Los Gatos: 1.12850% to 1.24090%. Saratoga: 1.13450% to 1.22540%. Los Altos: 1.14710% to 1.16170%.
Finding your TRA in Santa Clara County
Your TRA appears on your bill and in the Department of Tax and Collections (DTAC) online record. Look it up in the rate book to see each bond. The Assessor's own example uses a typical rate of 1.1488%: $1,000,000 less the $7,000 exemption gives $11,407.58.
Worked example: a Santa Clara County bill under Prop 13
Prop 13 sets the assessed value at the price you pay and caps yearly increases at 2%. This example uses Zillow's September 2026 typical county value of $1,562,682 for an owner-occupied home in San Jose TRA 017-090.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Purchase price = assessed value | $1,562,682 |
| Less homeowners' exemption | -$7,000 |
| Net taxable value | $1,555,682 |
| 1% general levy | $15,556.82 |
| County, school, college and city debt (0.20400%) | $3,173.59 |
| Ad valorem tax at 1.20400% | $18,730.41 |
| Valley Water and school parcel taxes, garbage and sewer | Depends on the parcel |
Year two on the same San Jose home
With the full 2% factor, the assessed value becomes $1,593,936, and the ad valorem tax after the exemption, at the same rate, about $19,107. The debt portion is recalculated every year.
The same price in other Santa Clara County cities
On the same $1,555,682 net value, 2025-26 tax would be about $19,835 in San Jose's Alum Rock TRA, $18,897 in Gilroy, $18,629 in Palo Alto, $18,335 in Santa Clara, $18,187 in Sunnyvale, $17,984 in Mountain View, $17,657 in Milpitas and $17,514 in Morgan Hill. That is a spread of about $2,320 a year on one price. Our California property tax guide covers the Prop 13 rules.
Santa Clara County property tax exemptions
Homeowners' exemption in Santa Clara County
The $7,000 homeowners' exemption saves about $84 a year at San Jose's 1.204% rate. The Assessor mails a claim to new owners; if none arrives by January 15, call (408) 299-6460. File by February 15 for the full exemption; a late claim is accepted until December 10. The Assessor's information booklet warns that recording a new deed, including a transfer into a living trust, ends the exemption, so file again after any deed change.
Disabled veterans' exemption in Santa Clara County
Veterans rated 100% disabled from a service-connected injury and certain unmarried surviving spouses qualify, with the same February 15 deadline. The Board of Equalization sets the amounts: $180,671 of assessed value for the basic exemption and $271,009 for the low-income exemption for the 2026 lien date, with an $81,131 income limit. From the 2027 lien date, a new state law, SB 296, replaces those amounts with an exemption of half the assessed value, up to $500,000, or the full value up to $1,000,000 for households under the $83,474 income limit; confirm with the Assessor before you rely on it. At 1.204%, the basic amount is worth about $2,175 a year. The Assessor granted 1,277 of these exemptions in 2025-26.
Senior exemptions from school parcel taxes
Many school parcel taxes offer an exemption for owners 65 and older. DTAC's parcel tax exemptions page explains that you claim it from each school district, not from the county.
Prop 19 transfers in Santa Clara County
Prop 19 lets owners 55 and older, severely disabled owners and disaster victims move their assessed value to a replacement home anywhere in California, and limits the parent-child exclusion to a family home the child lives in. Read our Prop 19 guide for the rules. The Santa Clara County Assessor's Prop 19 page has an assessment estimator and other resources.
Inherited homes in Santa Clara County
The Assessor's 2025-26 annual report sets out the steps: file a death statement within 150 days, have the heir move in and file the homeowners' exemption within one year, and file the Prop 19 claim (form BOE-19-P for parent-child) within three years. The homeowners' exemption is a condition of the exclusion. In Santa Clara County, where a parent's decades-old value may be a small fraction of market value, missing a step can multiply the bill. Questions go to the change in ownership line at (408) 299-5540.
Supplemental bills after buying in Santa Clara County
A change of ownership or completed new construction triggers a supplemental assessment for the change in value, prorated to June 30. The Assessor sends a notice first, which you can appeal within 60 days, and DTAC then sends a bill that is due when issued. It is separate from the regular bill and usually not paid through your lender's impound account. The Assessor's website has a Supplemental Tax Estimator.
Santa Clara County supplemental bill example
Say the seller's taxable value was $700,000 and you buy the San Jose home above for $1,562,682 on January 1, 2027. The supplemental value is $862,682. The supplemental tax starts February 1, the first of the next month, leaving five months of the fiscal year, so the first supplemental bill at 1.204% is about $862,682 x 1.204% x 5/12 = $4,328. The second, for 2027-28, would be about $10,387. In a county where long-held homes often sell at several times their assessed value, this is one of the largest costs buyers forget to budget.
Parcel taxes and special charges on Santa Clara County bills
Below the ad valorem rate, most Santa Clara County bills carry flat parcel taxes approved by voters. Mello-Roos districts are less common here than in newer inland counties; ask the seller for the last bill, and see our Mello-Roos guide if a CFD appears.
Valley Water's Safe, Clean Water special tax
Valley Water's staff report for 2025-26 recommended $80.40 per single-family parcel up to a quarter acre, up from $78.29, and $39.15 per condominium or townhouse unit.
School parcel taxes by district
DTAC lists school parcel taxes including Palo Alto Unified Measure O, Fremont Union High Measure M, Campbell Union High Measure O, Milpitas Unified Measures E and Q, Los Gatos-Saratoga High Measure A, Mountain View Whisman Measure AA, Sunnyvale Measure Y, Los Altos Measures H and A, Franklin-McKinley Measures HH, K and W, Evergreen Measure EE, Berryessa Measure A, Alum Rock Measure I, Oak Grove Measure C, Cambrian Measures A and H, Saratoga Measure A, Moreland Measure U and Union Measure B. Amounts vary by district.
Other regional and city charges
Bills also carry the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority's Measure AA tax, the North County Library Authority tax in Los Altos, and, in San Jose, garbage and sewer service charges.
Paying Santa Clara County property tax: due dates and fees
DTAC mails secured bills in October. The first installment is due November 1 and becomes delinquent after December 10. The second is due February 1 and becomes delinquent after April 10. When a delinquent date falls on a weekend or county holiday it moves to the next business day, so the 2026-27 second installment deadline is Monday, April 12, 2027. A late installment adds a 10% penalty, and taxes still unpaid on July 1 add a 1.5% monthly redemption penalty. Unsecured taxes are delinquent after August 31.
Ways to pay the Department of Tax and Collections
- Online: by APN or address on DTAC's payment site. eCheck is free; cards cost 2.22% (minimum $1.49). The site is down every third weekend from Saturday 8 a.m. to Sunday 5 p.m.
- App: the SCC DTAC app for iOS and Android, which also allows partial payments on secured bills.
- Mail: payable to SCC DTAC; the USPS postmark counts as the payment date.
- In person: 110 West Tasman Drive, San Jose. Phone (408) 808-7900.
Email bills and returned payments
Sign up for e-bills and email reminders through DTAC's property tax email notification account, using your APN and the PIN printed on the June notice of assessed value. A returned payment costs $85.
Appealing a Santa Clara County assessment
Free decline-in-value review at the Santa Clara County Assessor
If your home's market value on January 1 fell below its assessed value, request an informal review between July 1 and August 1, online through the Assessor's decline-in-value request or by contacting Real Property at (408) 299-5300. It is free.
Formal appeal to the Santa Clara County Assessment Appeals Board
Santa Clara County uses the earlier of the two filing windows state law allows: regular appeals must be filed between July 2 and September 15, through the Clerk of the Board at 70 West Hedding Street, San Jose. Supplemental, escape and roll correction notices allow 60 days. Local news reported in February 2026 that the Board of Supervisors adopted a non-refundable filing fee of $290 for homes and condos; confirm the current fee with the Clerk before filing. The board received 5,491 appeals in 2024-25.
Santa Clara County's roll
The Assessor's July 2025 release put the 2025-26 roll at $725.7 billion, up 4.15%, the slowest growth since 2012. The office is at 130 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, (408) 299-5500.