San Jose property tax starts at 1.14940% of assessed value for an address in San Jose Unified territory, not the 1% base rate and not the 1.3% figure that circulates widely. On the city’s July 2026 median sale price of about $1.4 million, that comes to about $16,084 a year, or roughly $1,340 a month.
Your assessed value is what those percentages apply to, and on a purchase it resets to what you pay. The seller’s current bill tells you almost nothing about yours.
What you actually pay from there depends on which bonds your tax rate area carries, on the price you pay rather than the price the seller paid, and on a supplemental bill that arrives after closing and catches most first-time buyers here.
Key Takeaways
- San Jose property tax starts at 1.14940% of assessed value in San Jose Unified territory: California’s 1.00000 base levy, Santa Clara County’s 0.03880 retirement levy, and three San Jose Unified bonds totaling 0.11060.
- On the July 2026 median sale price of about $1.4 million, that is an estimated $16,084 a year. At the top of the county range, about 1.24%, it is $17,351.
- The widely repeated “around 1.3%” is not a Santa Clara County ad valorem rate. Budgeting off it overstates the annual bill on a median-priced home by $2,107, or $176 a month.
- Your assessed value resets to your purchase price when you buy, which is why changes in ownership contributed 56% of Santa Clara County’s assessment roll growth for 2025-26.
- A supplemental bill arrives separately after closing, often months later, and it is usually not paid from your impound account, the escrow account your lender uses to pay taxes and insurance.
Where These Figures Come From
| Figure | Source | Refreshes |
|---|---|---|
| The 1.00000 base levy, the 0.03880 retirement levy, San Jose Unified bond rates, and county tax rate area totals | County of Santa Clara Controller-Treasurer, Compilation of Tax Rates, FY 2025-26 | Each fiscal year |
| Median sale price, $1,399,299 | Redfin, San Jose CA, July 2026, retrieved September 2, 2026 | Monthly |
| Assessment roll growth and the change-in-ownership share | Office of the Assessor, 2025-26 roll, lien date January 1, 2025 | At roll close each summer |
| Proposition 13 rules and the 2% cap | California State Board of Equalization | On statute change |
Every rate component in this post comes from the County of Santa Clara’s Compilation of Tax Rates for FY 2025-26, and every dollar figure is calculated from those rates and the sourced median sale price. Flat special assessments stay outside every percentage quoted here, because they are billed as dollars per parcel and do not scale with value. Folding them into a rate is the mistake that produces the 1.3% figure, and it is covered below.
How Much Are Property Taxes in San Jose?
Between 1.14940% and about 1.24% of assessed value, depending on your tax rate area.
California’s Proposition 13 sets a base levy of 1.00000 per $100 of assessed value. Santa Clara County adds a countywide retirement levy of 0.03880 that appears in every tax rate area. On top of that sit voter-approved bonds, and in San Jose Unified territory those are three:
| Component | Rate |
|---|---|
| Proposition 13 base levy | 1.00000 |
| Santa Clara County retirement levy | 0.03880 |
| San Jose Unified 2002 bond | 0.03500 |
| San Jose Unified 2012 bond | 0.01560 |
| San Jose Unified 2024 bond | 0.06000 |
| Total | 1.14940 |
A specific tax rate area can add community college, city, or special district debt above that. Total rate area rates across Santa Clara County reach about 1.24%, per the county’s Compilation of Tax Rates for 2025-26.
Applied to San Jose’s July 2026 median sale price of $1,399,299, the estimated annual and monthly amounts are:
| Rate | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 1.00000, the Proposition 13 base alone | $13,993 | $1,166 |
| 1.14940, a San Jose Unified address | $16,084 | $1,340 |
| About 1.24%, the top of the county range | $17,351 | $1,446 |
The spread between the base levy and the top of the county range is about $280 a month on the median, and where you land depends on the bonds in your tax rate area. Different districts within the city carry different bonds, and our high schools guide covers how the district lines that decide your bonds are drawn.
About That 1.3% Figure
You will see “around 1.3%” quoted for San Jose property tax in a lot of places, including in an earlier version of this guide. It is not a Santa Clara County ad valorem rate, and no tax rate area in the county reaches it.
Budgeting off 1.3% overstates the annual bill on a median-priced San Jose home by $2,107, which is $176 a month. On a pre-approval, $176 a month of phantom expense is real purchasing power.
The figure survives because it describes something else. A property tax bill has two halves. Ad valorem charges are percentages of assessed value: the base levy and every bond rate. Flat charges and special assessments are dollar amounts per parcel: school parcel taxes, sanitation, vector control, some city services. They do not scale with value.
So a parcel’s all-in effective rate, meaning the total bill divided by assessed value, is always higher than its tax rate area rate. How much higher depends on the price, because the flat portion is fixed:
| Assessed value | Flat charges needed to reach a 1.3% all-in effective rate |
|---|---|
| $1,399,299 | $2,107 |
| $800,000 | $1,205 |
| $500,000 | $753 |
About $750 of flat charges is enough to put a $500,000 condo at 1.3% all-in. Reaching that same all-in rate on a house at about $1.4 million would take $2,107 of them. That is why 1.3% can be true of a specific lower-priced parcel’s total bill and wrong as a rate for the city.
Use the rate for your tax rate area to estimate the ad valorem portion, then add the flat charges from the actual prior-year bill for the parcel.
Why Your Bill Will Not Match the Seller’s
Your assessed value resets to your purchase price. Proposition 13 then caps annual increases at the lesser of 2% or the change in the California Consumer Price Index, until the property changes hands or undergoes new construction.
At the 2% ceiling, that cap compounds slowly. Over ten years an assessed value can grow at most 21.9%, and over twenty years at most 48.6%. A home assessed at $100 twenty years ago is assessed at no more than $148.59 today, no matter what happened to its market value in between.
The county’s own roll data shows the size of the gap that produces. For 2025-26, changes in ownership contributed 56% of Santa Clara County’s total assessment roll growth. Sales, rather than the inflation factor or new construction, are the largest single source of new assessed value in this county.
So the tax figure on a listing was set by the seller’s purchase price, possibly decades ago. Build your own figure from your own offer price. Our Santa Clara County property tax guide covers the Proposition 13, Proposition 8, and Proposition 19 rules in full, including base year value transfers for owners 55 and older.
When Are San Jose Property Taxes Due?
The first installment is due November 1 and the second is due February 1. Secured property taxes in Santa Clara County arrive on one bill and are paid in those two installments.
| Installment | Due | Delinquent after | Late penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | November 1 | December 10 | 10% of the installment |
| Second | February 1 | April 10 | 10% plus a cost charge |
If a delinquency date falls on a weekend or holiday, it moves to the next business day.
The county accepts payment online through the Department of Tax and Collections, where you can also look up the current bill and the assessed value for any parcel. If your loan carries an impound account, your servicer pays both installments and it is worth confirming each posted.
The Supplemental Bill
When ownership changes, the assessor issues a supplemental assessment covering the difference between the prior assessed value and your new one, prorated for the remaining months of the fiscal year.
It arrives separately from the regular bill, often several months after closing, and it is usually not paid from your impound account. That combination is what makes it the most common surprise for first-time buyers in this county: the escrow account you set up at closing was funded against the regular bill, and the supplemental shows up outside it.
A supplemental bill does not mean something went wrong. It means the reassessment caught up to your purchase, and it is a one-time charge before the regular bill reflects your value. Set money aside for it at closing rather than after it arrives.
How San Jose Property Tax Affects Your Mortgage
Property taxes are part of your housing payment for qualifying purposes, so the figure changes how much you can borrow.
A lender totals principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and any HOA dues, then compares that to your gross monthly income to get your debt-to-income ratio, the share of your gross income that goes to housing and your other monthly debts. At about $1,340 a month on a median-priced San Jose home, property tax is a large share of that total, and it scales with the purchase price rather than staying flat.
Use your offer price, not the listing’s tax figure. A pre-approval built on the seller’s bill overstates what you can afford, and the correction comes later, when your loan is underwritten.
Use the tax rate area rate, not a national default. National defaults run below what San Jose Unified territory charges, and the gap compounds against a seven-figure purchase price.
Budget the supplemental bill separately, since your impound account usually will not cover it.
Our cost of living guide puts property tax next to the rest of a San Jose homeowner’s monthly costs, and our median home price report tracks where local prices sit each month.
What This Means for Different Buyers
If you’re buying your first San Jose home. Compute the tax figure from your offer price at 1.14940% for a San Jose Unified address, confirm the tax rate area rate once you have an address, and set money aside for the supplemental bill. Our neighborhood guide shows which San Jose neighborhoods fit your budget.
If you’re buying a condo or a lower-priced property. Flat special assessments make up a larger share of your total bill, so your all-in effective rate is higher than the tax rate area rate suggests. Pull the actual prior-year bill for the specific parcel rather than scaling a single-family figure down. Our condo buying guide covers what else changes on a condo purchase.
If you already own in San Jose. Your assessed value grows by no more than 2% a year and is likely well below market. Moving resets it to today’s price, so run the new tax figure before deciding whether to move or renovate.
View mortgage rates for
October 19, 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
How much are property taxes in San Jose?
San Jose property taxes start at 1.14940% of assessed value in San Jose Unified territory, which is California’s 1.00000 Proposition 13 base levy plus Santa Clara County’s 0.03880 retirement levy plus three San Jose Unified bonds totaling 0.11060. Total tax rate area rates across the county reach about 1.24%. On the July 2026 median sale price of about $1.4 million, San Jose property tax is about $16,084 to $17,351 a year, or roughly $1,340 to $1,446 a month, before flat special assessments.
Is the San Jose property tax rate 1.3%?
No. No Santa Clara County tax rate area reaches 1.3% as an ad valorem rate. The figure describes an all-in effective rate, meaning a total bill including flat special assessments divided by assessed value, which runs higher than the tax rate area rate and higher still on lower-priced parcels. Budgeting off 1.3% overstates the annual bill on a median-priced San Jose home by about $2,107.
When are property taxes due in San Jose?
San Jose property taxes are billed by Santa Clara County in two installments. The first is due November 1 and becomes delinquent after December 10. The second is due February 1 and becomes delinquent after April 10. A late first installment carries a 10% penalty and a late second installment carries 10% plus a cost charge.
Why is my San Jose property tax bill higher than the seller’s was?
Assessed value resets to your purchase price when ownership changes, while Proposition 13 caps annual increases at 2% for as long as an owner holds the property. A home held for twenty years has an assessed value no more than 48.6% above where it started, regardless of market value. Changes in ownership contributed 56% of Santa Clara County’s 2025-26 assessment roll growth for this reason.
What is a supplemental property tax bill in San Jose?
A supplemental property tax bill covers the difference between the prior assessed value and your new one after a change of ownership or new construction, prorated for the remaining months of the fiscal year. It arrives separately from the regular bill, often several months after closing, and it is usually not paid from an impound account, so budget for it separately.
How do I look up my San Jose property tax bill?
The Santa Clara County Department of Tax and Collections publishes bills and assessed values by parcel and accepts payment online. The bill lists the tax rate, area rate, and every flat special assessment as separate line items, which is the only way to get the exact all-in figure for a specific property.
Is there a cap on San Jose property tax increases?
Yes. Proposition 13 limits annual increases in assessed value to the lesser of 2% or the change in the California Consumer Price Index, unless the property changes ownership or undergoes new construction. The cap applies to assessed value rather than to the tax rate, and a sale or major addition triggers a reassessment at current market value.
Ready to Build the Real Tax Figure Into Your Budget?
At the current median, San Jose property tax is about $16,084 a year in San Jose Unified territory, and budgeting at 1.3% instead would cost you $176 a month of purchasing power. Getting it right at pre-approval is what keeps your price range from changing later in the process.
Contact JVM Lending for a free rate quote and a fully underwritten pre-approval at (855) 855-4491 or hello@jvmlending.com, or start with our San Jose mortgage lender page.
JVM Lending is not a tax professional or an attorney. Property tax rules have conditions and filing deadlines specific to your situation, so consult a qualified professional before relying on them, and we’re happy to refer you to one.
Sources
- County of Santa Clara Controller-Treasurer Department, Compilation of Tax Rates and Assessed Valuations, FY 2025-26.
- Office of the Assessor, County of Santa Clara, 2025-26 assessment roll, lien date January 1, 2025.
- Santa Clara County Department of Tax and Collections.
- California State Board of Equalization.
- Redfin San Jose housing market data, July 2026, retrieved September 2, 2026.
