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California · County guide

Santa Barbara County, California property tax appeals

A Santa Barbara County property tax appeal starts with the Santa Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board. The next deadline is Nov 30, 2026 for the Santa Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board. The filing fee is $65 per parcel or appraisal unit.

This season

Next deadline
Nov 30, 2026
Open now
Santa Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board

Opens Jul 2, 2026Closes Nov 30, 2026

Source: Letter To Assessors No. 2026/023: County Assessment Appeals Filing Period for 2026 (BOE, June 2, 2026)Last checked

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Enter the address or parcel number from your notice. This county has not published this year's values yet, so we estimate yours from last year's roll (shown as an estimate) unless you enter the value on your notice. You decide and file yourself.

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Filing fee
$65 per parcel or appraisal unit
Where to file first
Santa Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board
Office address
105 E. Anapamu Street, Room 407, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 · 805-568-2247
Our coverage
Free check available
  • Independent guide — not affiliated with Santa Barbara County or any government agency.
Last updated
October 1, 2026
Sources last checked
October 1, 2026
Status
Verified guide

How we verify facts

When and where do I file a Santa Barbara County property tax appeal?

Who hears a Santa Barbara County appeal?

One stage. We are not affiliated with this office.

Who hears it: Santa Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board

Filing: appeal

Open now

Where is the Santa Barbara County office?

Santa Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board[2]

Address
105 E. Anapamu Street, Room 407, Santa Barbara, CA 93101

We are not affiliated with this office. Hours can change, so call before you visit.

Which Santa Barbara County filing windows are coming up?

Santa Barbara County filing windows
ClosesAreaWho hears itStatus
Nov 30, 2026CountywideSanta Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board · Official source · Last checked Sep 29, 2026Open now

When were past Santa Barbara County deadlines?

Past Santa Barbara County filing windows
Tax yearWindowOffice
2025Closed December 1, 2025Santa Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board
2024Closed December 2, 2024Santa Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board
2023Closed November 30, 2023Santa Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board

When is the deadline to appeal a property tax assessment in Santa Barbara County?

The soonest deadline we list: Santa Barbara County, Santa Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board — Closes November 30, 2026.

When a filing counts as on timeSanta Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board
Santa Barbara County accepts a regular assessment appeal application if it is postmarked by midnight on November 30.[1]
Deadline detailSanta Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board · Filing period
Santa Barbara County accepts 2026-27 regular appeal applications from July 2 through November 30, 2026.[2]

Who decides a property tax appeal in Santa Barbara County?

Santa Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board: In Santa Barbara County a taxpayer files a Property Tax Assessment Appeal, heard by the County Assessment Appeals Board appointed by the Board of Supervisors.

What the appeal is calledSanta Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board
In Santa Barbara County a taxpayer files a Property Tax Assessment Appeal, heard by the County Assessment Appeals Board appointed by the Board of Supervisors.[2]

How do I file a property tax appeal in Santa Barbara County?

Santa Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board: In Santa Barbara County you can e-file the appeal online, or mail or hand-deliver the application with the fee to the Clerk of the Board (105 E. Anapamu St., Room 407). Santa Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board: Santa Barbara County posts the Assessment Appeals Application, an Authorization of Agent form, filing instructions and the Appeals Board's local rules.

How to fileSanta Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board
In Santa Barbara County you can e-file the appeal online, or mail or hand-deliver the application with the fee to the Clerk of the Board (105 E. Anapamu St., Room 407).[2]
FormsSanta Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board
Santa Barbara County posts the Assessment Appeals Application, an Authorization of Agent form, filing instructions and the Appeals Board's local rules.[2]
Filing feeSanta Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board
Santa Barbara County charges a $65 non-refundable processing fee per parcel ($1,000 if assessed over $30 million).[2]
Who may fileSanta Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board
In Santa Barbara County a spouse, parent, child or California attorney may represent the owner at the hearing; anyone else needs a signed agent's authorization.[3]
Informal reviewSanta Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board
In Santa Barbara County you can ask the Assessor for an informal decline-in-value review from July 1 to November 15.[4]
HearingsSanta Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board
In a Santa Barbara County hearing on an owner-occupied single-family home, the Assessor carries the burden of proof and presents first; the decision is usually mailed after closed deliberation.[3]

Upcoming appeal deadlines in every county we track

What evidence counts in Santa Barbara County, and can the value go up?

What evidence can I use in Santa Barbara County?

Santa Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board: Santa Barbara County's hearing guide says only evidence presented at the hearing counts, and an opinion of value can rest on comparable sales, income or cost. Santa Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board · Copies: At a Santa Barbara County appeal hearing the owner should bring the original and six copies of each document to be presented.

Evidence acceptedSanta Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board
Santa Barbara County's hearing guide says only evidence presented at the hearing counts, and an opinion of value can rest on comparable sales, income or cost.[3]
Evidence ruleSanta Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board · Copies
At a Santa Barbara County appeal hearing the owner should bring the original and six copies of each document to be presented.[3]
Evidence ruleSanta Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board · Exchange
A Santa Barbara County appellant may start a formal exchange of information with the Assessor under Revenue and Taxation Code section 1606.[3]
Evidence not acceptedSanta Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board
Santa Barbara County's appeals board will not consider sales more than 90 days after the valuation date, taxes paid, other properties' assessments or board decisions, or the owner's age, health or finances.[3]

Which exemptions can lower my bill without an appeal?

Santa Barbara County owners living in the home on January 1 can apply for a $7,000 exemption from the assessed value.

Homeowner exemption
Santa Barbara County owners living in the home on January 1 can apply for a $7,000 exemption from the assessed value.[5]

Which California rules apply in Santa Barbara County?

These rules are the same in every California county. Each link opens the rule on the California page.

What do Santa Barbara County property taxes and assessments look like?

Figures from public records and the Census, each with its source. They describe the county's homes as a group, not the value of any one home.

How much could a lower assessment save on Santa Barbara County property taxes?

Tax rate used: 1.068% of assessed value (county average, fiscal 2024-25).

How much could a lower assessment save on Santa Barbara County property taxes?
ExampleTax saved
$10,000 less assessed value$107 a year
10% less on a home assessed at $238,383 (the county's 25th percentile)$255 a year
10% less on a home assessed at $411,194 (the county's median)$439 a year
10% less on a home assessed at $737,137 (the county's 75th percentile)$787 a year

These are examples: the tax rate times a lower assessed value. Exemptions, credits, caps and phase-ins can make the real change smaller. This is not a prediction for any home. Rate source: BOE Annual Report 2024-25, Table 14: average tax rate by county (Property Tax Allocations, BOE Open Data Portal).

What do homeowners in Santa Barbara County pay in property tax?

The median owner-occupied home in Santa Barbara County was worth $790,700, and the median property tax its owners paid was $5,103 a year, according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

Median home value
$790,700
Margin of error ±$17,571.
Median property tax paid per year
$5,103
Margin of error ±$149.
Median tax as a share of median value
0.65%
A ratio of two medians, not a tax rate. Your own bill depends on your assessment and local levies.
Owner-occupied homes
78,344
Margin of error ±1,317.

These are survey estimates of what owners reported about their own homes. They are not assessed values, not tax rates, and not an opinion of what any home is worth.

They cannot tell you whether your own assessment is fair. That takes a comparison with similar homes, which we offer only in counties we have researched.

From the county's assessment and appeal records

Homes in the county's assessment records
95,292
Median assessed value
$411,194
Middle half of assessed values
$238,383 to $737,137

Source: The county's open assessment data, aggregated by us (tax year 2022 final values). Our calculation from public records; not an opinion of any home's value.

How Santa Barbara County home assessments are spread

Assessed values of 95,292 homes in the property classes our free check covers (RES, 100, 130, 150, 160 and 36 more), tax year 2022 final values. Half are between $238,383 and $737,137; the median is $411,194. The last bar holds everything above it.Source: Assessment records from the county's open data (tax year 2022 final values), retrieved Sep 27, 2026; our calculation.

Median home value: Santa Barbara County compared

  1. Santa Barbara County$790,700
  2. Typical California county$481,100
  3. Typical US county$185,300

Santa Barbara County $790,700; Typical California county $481,100; Typical US county $185,300

Census survey medians for owner-occupied homes. "Typical" is the middle county of the 58 in California and of all US counties.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25077.

Median property tax paid: Santa Barbara County compared

  1. Santa Barbara County$5,103
  2. Typical California county$3,294
  3. Typical US county$1,619

Santa Barbara County $5,103 a year; Typical California county $3,294 a year; Typical US county $1,619 a year

Census survey medians for owner-occupied homes. "Typical" is the middle county of the 58 in California and of all US counties.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25103.

Median home assessment by map book

  1. Map book 011$3,540,900
  2. Map book 007$2,871,627
  3. Map book 063$2,754,000
  4. Map book 155$2,449,992
  5. Map book 009$1,876,356
  6. Map book 021$1,505,948
  7. Map book 019$1,354,784
  8. Map book 013$1,263,603
  9. Map book 125$248,352
  10. Map book 085$247,542
  11. Map book 087$236,880
  12. Map book 123$205,819
  13. Map book 119$194,369
  14. Map book 091$188,437
  15. Map book 115$146,260
  16. Map book 149$104,164

The 8 highest and 8 lowest of 74.

Median assessed value by map book: highest Map book 011 ($3,540,900), lowest Map book 149 ($104,164).

Median assessed value of homes in the property classes our free check covers (RES, 100, 130, 150, 160 and 36 more) for each map book with at least 50 such homes, tax year 2022 final values.Source: Assessment records from the county's open data (tax year 2022 final values), retrieved Sep 27, 2026; our calculation.

Santa Barbara County filing windows on a calendar

  1. Santa Barbara County Assessment Appeals BoardNov 30, 2026 · Open now

The dashed line marks today.

Santa Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board: Nov 30, 2026

Each bar is a filing window from its opening day to its last day. Forecasts show the expected closing range and are not official dates.Source: the official calendars and rules cited in the sources list below.

How often is property reassessed in Santa Barbara County?

Santa Barbara County's appeal application instructions explain that the base year is the year the property changed ownership or new construction was completed. Santa Barbara County reviews market value as of January 1 each year.

Reassessment cycle
Santa Barbara County's appeal application instructions explain that the base year is the year the property changed ownership or new construction was completed.[6]
Valuation date
Santa Barbara County reviews market value as of January 1 each year.[5]
Level of assessmentDecline in value
In Santa Barbara County the Assessor compares the factored base-year value with the January 1 market value and enrolls the lesser.[5]

Homes in Santa Barbara County

From the Census Bureau's American Community Survey: how old the homes are, what kind they are, what owners say they are worth and the property taxes they pay. These figures describe all homes together, not any one home.

Median year built
1974
All housing units, owned and rented
Single-family houses, detached or attached
64%
of 160,592 housing units
Owned homes with a mortgage or similar loan
63%
of 78,344 owner-occupied homes

Home values reported by owners

  1. Less than $50,0003%
  2. $50,000 to $99,9991%
  3. $100,000 to $199,9992%
  4. $200,000 to $299,9992%
  5. $300,000 to $399,9996%
  6. $400,000 to $499,99910%
  7. $500,000 to $749,99923%
  8. $750,000 to $999,99912%
  9. $1,000,000 to $1,999,99923%
  10. $2,000,000 or more16%

Home values reported by owners in Santa Barbara County: Less than $50,000 3%; $50,000 to $99,999 1%; $100,000 to $199,999 2%; $200,000 to $299,999 2%; $300,000 to $399,999 6%; $400,000 to $499,999 10%; $500,000 to $749,999 23%; $750,000 to $999,999 12%; $1,000,000 to $1,999,999 23%; $2,000,000 or more 16%.

Share of owner-occupied homes in each value range. Owners give this value in the survey; it is not the assessed value.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2020–2024 5-year estimates, table B25075.

Property taxes owners pay a year

  1. No real estate taxes5%
  2. Less than $8006%
  3. $800 to $1,4996%
  4. $1,500 to $1,9995%
  5. $2,000 to $2,99910%
  6. $3,000 or more68%

Property taxes owners pay a year in Santa Barbara County: No real estate taxes 5%; Less than $800 6%; $800 to $1,499 6%; $1,500 to $1,999 5%; $2,000 to $2,999 10%; $3,000 or more 68%.

Share of owner-occupied homes by the real estate taxes paid in a year, with or without a mortgage.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2020–2024 5-year estimates, table B25102.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (2020–2024 5-year estimates, tables B25075, B25102, B25035, B25024 and B25081), retrieved Oct 1, 2026. Survey estimates have a margin of error.

More questions about Santa Barbara County property tax appeals

When is the Santa Barbara County property tax appeal deadline?

The Santa Barbara County Assessment Appeals Board window closes November 30, 2026.[7][8]

Is there a fee to file a property tax appeal in Santa Barbara County?

Santa Barbara County charges a $65 non-refundable processing fee per parcel ($1,000 if assessed over $30 million).[2]

Where do I file an assessment appeal in Santa Barbara County?

In Santa Barbara County you can e-file the appeal online, or mail or hand-deliver the application with the fee to the Clerk of the Board (105 E. Anapamu St., Room 407).[2]

Can my assessed value go up if I appeal in Santa Barbara County?

The same California rule applies in every county.[8] Read the California rule

Property tax guides for Santa Barbara County homeowners

Counties next to Santa Barbara County

California property tax appeals: all counties

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Where do these facts come from?

  1. [1]Assessment Appeals Board, County of Santa Barbara: How to File an Application for Changed Assessment (PDF)Official guide or FAQ · last checked Oct 1, 2026
  2. [2]Assessment Appeals | Santa Barbara County, CA - Official WebsiteOfficial guide or FAQ · last checked Sep 29, 2026
  3. [3]How to Prepare for Your Assessment Appeal Hearing: An Informational Guide for Santa Barbara County Property Owners and Authorized Agents (Assessment Appeals Board, County of Santa Barbara, PDF)Official notice, form, calendar or rules · last checked Sep 30, 2026
  4. [4]Proposition 8 (Decline in Value) | Santa Barbara County, CA - Official WebsiteOfficial guide or FAQ · last checked Sep 27, 2026
  5. [5]Property Tax Savings & Exemptions | County of Santa Barbara AssessorOfficial guide or FAQ · last checked Sep 29, 2026
  6. [6]Assessment Appeal Application BOE-305-AH with Santa Barbara County submission protocols (PDF)Official notice, form, calendar or rules · last checked Oct 1, 2026
  7. [7]Letter To Assessors No. 2026/023: County Assessment Appeals Filing Period for 2026 (BOE, June 2, 2026)Official notice, form, calendar or rules · last checked Sep 25, 2026
  8. [8]Publication 30: Residential Property Assessment Appeals (California State Board of Equalization, February 2020)Official guide or FAQ · last checked Sep 30, 2026
  9. [9]Letter To Assessors No. 2025/020: County Assessment Appeals Filing Period for 2025 (BOE, July 7, 2025)Official notice, form, calendar or rules · last checked Oct 1, 2026
  10. [10]Letter To Assessors No. 2024/022: County Assessment Appeals Filing Period for 2024 (BOE, June 25, 2024)Official notice, form, calendar or rules · last checked Oct 1, 2026
  11. [11]Letter To Assessors No. 2023/023: County Assessment Appeals Filing Period for 2023 (BOE, June 22, 2023)Official notice, form, calendar or rules · last checked Oct 1, 2026
  12. 12.County open data: sbco assessmentsRetrieved Sep 27, 2026; aggregated by us for the charts above.
  13. 13.County open data: sbco assessmentsRetrieved Sep 27, 2026; aggregated by us for the charts above.
  14. 14.U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates, table B25077: Median value (dollars), owner-occupied housing units — Santa Barbara County, California
  15. 15.U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates, table B25103: Median real estate taxes paid, owner-occupied housing units — Santa Barbara County, California
  16. 16.U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates, table B25003: Tenure (owner- and renter-occupied housing units) — Santa Barbara County, California

Data credits: Census ACS (public domain) · Census county adjacency (public domain)

Not affiliated with Santa Barbara County or any government agency. Not legal advice. Not an appraisal.

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