Property tax in Beverly Hills starts at the one-percent base rate set by the California Constitution and lands, once voter-approved bonds and assessments are added, at roughly 1.1 to 1.3 percent of your property’s assessed value. The bill comes from the Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector, arrives once a year with two installments, and is calculated on an assessed value the county controls under Proposition 13 rules, not on what your home would sell for today.
What Makes Up the Rate
The one-percent base comes from Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, passed as Proposition 13.1Justia. California Constitution Article XIII A Section 1 – Tax Limitation That piece is uniform statewide. What varies is the stack of voter-approved school bonds, infrastructure levies, and county service charges layered on top.
Every parcel sits inside a tax rate area, a zone defined by the specific combination of local agencies and school districts that cover that location.2State Board of Equalization. Tax Area Services Section Two homes on the same Beverly Hills block can fall into different tax rate areas and end up with slightly different totals. Your bill lists the tax rate area number and itemizes every charge.
Below the percentage-based taxes, you’ll see flat-dollar line items: the Measure B parcel tax for Los Angeles County trauma and emergency medical services, plus local charges for refuse and sewer. Those don’t move with your assessed value.
Why Assessed Value Matters More Than Market Value
The tax is calculated on assessed value, and in Beverly Hills that number is often nowhere near what the home would sell for. When you buy or complete new construction, the assessor sets a base year value equal to the purchase price or construction cost.3California State Board of Equalization. California State Board of Equalization – Taxpayers’ Rights Advocate Office From there, it can rise by no more than two percent a year, regardless of what the market does.
The gap this creates is the single biggest reason two neighbors pay wildly different tax bills. A homeowner who bought in the 1990s might have an assessed value of $600,000 on a home now worth $4 million. Someone buying the identical house next door owes tax on the full purchase price. If you’re buying, budget from the price you’re paying, not from the current owner’s bill.
The cap works only in one direction. If market values fall below your factored base year value, the assessor is required to temporarily reduce your assessed value to the lower figure. This is a Proposition 8 reduction.3California State Board of Equalization. California State Board of Equalization – Taxpayers’ Rights Advocate Office The reduction is reviewed each year, and while it’s in place your assessed value can climb by more than two percent as it recovers toward the factored base. Once it catches up, the normal two-percent cap resumes.
The Supplemental Bill After You Buy
New owners are regularly caught off guard by a second bill that arrives separately from the annual one. When a property changes hands or new construction finishes, the assessor issues a supplemental assessment for the difference between the old and new values as of the event date.4California State Board of Equalization. Supplemental Assessment
The supplemental tax is prorated across the months left in the fiscal year, which runs July 1 through June 30. Close in October, and the bill covers nine months. Close in March, and it covers three. Depending on when the reassessment is processed, you may actually receive two supplemental bills: one for the current fiscal year and one for the next.4California State Board of Equalization. Supplemental Assessment If the new value comes in lower than the old one, you get a refund instead.
Payment Deadlines
Your annual secured bill is split into two installments. The first is due November 1 and becomes delinquent at 5 p.m. on December 10. The second is due February 1 and becomes delinquent at 5 p.m. on April 10.5California Legislative Information. California Code RTC 2617 When a deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, it shifts to the next business day.6Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector. Press Release – Annual Secured Property Tax Bills
Payment requires your ten-digit Assessor’s Identification Number, which is printed on the bill. Lost the paper? Look it up on the LA County Property Tax Portal.7Los Angeles County Property Tax Portal. Annual Secured Property Tax Information Statement
Electronic check payments through the county portal are free. Credit and debit cards carry a 2.22 percent service fee with a $1.49 minimum.8Treasurer and Tax Collector. Payment Options On a $15,000 installment, that fee adds $333, so eCheck is worth the extra minute of entering routing and account numbers.
If you mail your payment, the envelope has to bear a United States Postal Service postmark dated on or before the delinquency date. State law recognizes only the post office cancellation mark as proof of timely mailing.9California Legislative Information. California Code RTC 2512 – Medium of Payment A private postage meter stamp won’t save you if the payment arrives late.
What Late Payments Cost
Penalties escalate in stages, and the numbers get serious fast.
- Miss the December 10 first-installment deadline and a flat 10 percent penalty is added to the unpaid amount.5California Legislative Information. California Code RTC 2617
- Miss the April 10 second-installment deadline and it’s 10 percent plus a $10 administrative cost.10Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector. Notice of Delinquency
- If any tax is still unpaid at 5 p.m. on June 30, the property is declared tax-defaulted on July 1. Redemption penalties then accrue at 1.5 percent per month on the unpaid balance, which is 18 percent per year.11California State Board of Equalization. Property Tax Calendar12California State Controller. County Tax Collectors’ Reference Manual – Chapter 5000
- After five years of default, the tax collector can sell the property at public auction. For nonresidential commercial property, that clock runs three years.
Current-year taxes cannot be put on a formal payment plan. But if your property has already gone into default and is residential or agricultural, you may qualify for a Five-Year Installment Plan of Redemption that clears the defaulted amount over time and stops an auction.13Treasurer and Tax Collector. Property Tax Installment Plans It’s only available while the default is under five years old.
Exemptions and Relief
Homeowners’ Exemption
If the Beverly Hills property is your primary residence, the California homeowners’ exemption knocks $7,000 off your assessed value.14Justia. California Constitution Article XIII Section 3 – Taxation At the one-percent base rate, that’s about $70 a year in savings.15California State Board of Equalization. Information Sheet – Homeowners’ Exemption Small money in this market, but file it once with the LA County Assessor and it stays in effect until you move.
Property Tax Postponement
California will defer property tax payments for qualifying homeowners. You have to be a senior, blind, or have a disability, with household income of $55,181 or less and at least 40 percent equity in the home.16California State Controller. Property Tax Postponement The state pays the taxes; the deferred amount becomes a lien repaid when the home is sold. The filing window opens each October and closes in early February.
Proposition 19: Moving or Inheriting
Proposition 19 took effect in April 2021 and changed two things Beverly Hills owners care about: portable tax bases for some homeowners, and tighter rules on parent-to-child transfers.
Taking Your Assessed Value to a New Home
If you’re 55 or older, severely disabled, or a victim of a wildfire or natural disaster, you can transfer your current assessed value to a replacement home anywhere in California, up to three times. The replacement has to be purchased or built within two years of the sale. Buy something of equal or lesser value and your old assessed value transfers straight across; buy something more expensive and the difference in market values gets added on. The “equal or lesser” test slides with timing: 100 percent of the original sale price if you buy first, 105 percent within the first year after selling, 110 percent in the second year.17California State Board of Equalization. Proposition 19
Inheriting a Family Home
Proposition 19 narrowed the old parent-to-child exclusion sharply. A child who inherits now has to use the property as their principal residence and file for the homeowners’ exemption within one year of the transfer.18California State Board of Equalization. Proposition 19 Fact Sheet Don’t move in, and the home gets reassessed to current market value.
Even when the child moves in, the shield is capped. The exclusion covers the property’s existing taxable value plus $1,044,586 for transfers between February 16, 2025 and February 15, 2027.18California State Board of Equalization. Proposition 19 Fact Sheet Any market value above that combined figure gets added to the new assessed value. In Beverly Hills, where inherited homes often sit well above the cap, this can push the tax bill up substantially even with the child in residence.
Appealing Your Assessed Value
If you think your assessed value is higher than what the property is currently worth, you can request a decline-in-value review from the LA County Assessor. The filing window runs July 2 through November 30 each year.19Los Angeles County Assessor. Decline in Value If November 30 lands on a weekend or holiday, a postmark on the next business day still counts.
The evidence that carries weight is comparable sales data: similar properties in your area that recently sold for less than your assessed value.20California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Assessment Appeals Frequently Asked Questions You can pull that from the assessor’s website, real estate agents, or title companies. Send it to the assessor early. In many cases the assessor will adjust the value based on the data alone, without a formal hearing.
If the informal review doesn’t get you where you want to be, you can file a formal appeal with the Assessment Appeals Board during the same July 2 through November 30 window.19Los Angeles County Assessor. Decline in Value Anything you plan to rely on has to be presented formally at the hearing.