By Paarth Shah, REALTOR® · August 10, 2026 · The Peninsula (San Mateo County)
Most Peninsula homeowners go looking for their tax bill only when something is off: escrow just closed, the lender changed servicers, or the paper bill never arrived. The county process is straightforward once you know which office handles what.
Start with the Tax Collector. San Mateo County's view and pay portal is at county-taxes.net/ca-sanmateo/services/property-tax, linked from the Tax Collector's home page at smcgov.org/tax. No login is required to look up a bill. Search by property address or by Assessor's Parcel Number (APN). The APN gives the cleanest match, especially on streets with similar addresses or on properties that span more than one parcel.
Don't know your APN? Three reliable places to find it: the top of a prior tax bill, your closing documents or title report, or the Assessor's Property Maps portal, reachable from the ACRE Assessor Maps page at smcacre.gov/assessor/assessor-maps. In that portal you can find parcels by address or by APN and download the Assessor's map for free.
Once you are in the Tax Collector portal, you can see the current secured bill, whether each installment shows as paid or unpaid, and prior bills for the same parcel. Save or print the PDF. That printout is usually what a lender, a CPA, or a buyer's agent is actually asking for.
Watch the calendar. Secured bills are mailed by November 1. The first installment is due November 1 and is delinquent after 5:00 p.m. on December 10. The second is due February 1 and is delinquent after 5:00 p.m. on April 10. A late installment carries a 10% penalty, and the April 10 installment adds a $40 cost. If a delinquent date falls on a weekend or holiday, it moves to the next business day.
Two bill types sit outside the annual secured bill. Supplemental bills follow a change in ownership or new construction and arrive on their own schedule, which is why new owners sometimes assume they have paid in full when they have not. Unsecured bills cover business equipment, boats, and aircraft; most are mailed before July 31 and are due by August 31. Check these separately rather than assuming the secured bill covers them.
Need a duplicate bill? Call the Tax Collector at 866-220-0308 or visit 555 County Center, 1st Floor, Redwood City. You can also print one from the online system.
On payment: e-check is free online. Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal carry a 2.35% service fee with a $1.95 minimum, charged by the processor rather than the county. Confirm at payment time.
If you are buying, selling, or reconciling what an impound account actually paid, I am glad to walk through your parcel with you. Reach me at paarth@brokerbela.com.
Use the San Mateo County Tax Collector's online property tax portal at county-taxes.net/ca-sanmateo/services/property-tax and search by property address or Assessor's Parcel Number; no login is required. You can view the current bill, installment payment status, and prior bills, or call 866-220-0308 for a duplicate bill.
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This is general market commentary, not financial, investment, or legal advice; figures are as of publication and can change. Verify specifics, including any school assignments, ratings, or boundaries, independently. Bela Realty & Investments is committed to Equal Housing Opportunity and does not steer clients toward or away from any neighborhood on the basis of a protected characteristic.