Unclaimed Property Tax Refunds

Property tax refunds generally result from reassessment of property.

Once the Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk or the Assessment Appeals Board makes the decision to reduce the assessed value of a property, the Auditor-Controller adjusts the assessed value on the Assessor's roll which is used to calculate the property tax bill. A refund is made if the taxpayer had paid the tax based on the old assessed value. On average, refunds or claims for refunds forms are mailed out within fourteen days of receipt of roll change request received from the Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk's Office.

The Treasurer-Tax Collector's Office makes all reasonable and diligent efforts to notify tax payers of their refund. Nevertheless, refunds may remain unclaimed for some of the following reasons:

  • Refunds are returned as undeliverable by the postal service
  • Refund checks are not cashed by the recipient
  • Death of the recipient

The Treasurer-Tax Collector's primary goal is to return tax overpayments to their rightful owners. The Treasurer-Tax Collector has a duty to release funds only to the rightful payee. In this regards, we ask the payees to provide documentation to validate their refund. Payees may claim their monies directly from the Treasurer-Tax Collector's office without any service charges or fees.

If you have determined that a property tax refund belongs to you or your business, please complete the Unclaimed Property Tax Refunds Form and provide proof of payment.

The completed claim(s) and required information should be mailed to the Treasurer-Tax Collector's Office at:

ATTN: Accounting Section
San Joaquin County Treasurer-Tax Collector
P.O. Box 2169
Stockton, CA 95201-2169

Note
Please note that it may take up to 90 days to process your claim, and if approved, approximately 30 additional days for you to receive payment.

If the property tax refund is payable to a company that has since been acquired by (or merged with) another company, the acquiring company must provide legal evidence of such acquisition (or merger). If the payee utilizes a third-party agent (such as an asset recovery company) to file a claim, a notarized assignment document must be submitted to the Treasurer-Tax Collector's Office and signed by the same person who signed the affidavit(s).