In addition to the TOTAL amount of taxes selected for payment, a Service Fee may be assessed depending on the type of payment selected: e-check, credit card or debit card. The service fee for credit and debit card based payments is 2.50% of the transaction amount with a minimum charge of $3.50. There is no Service Fee for payments made via E-check; however, E-checks processed and rejected for any reason will be subject to the County standard returned check fee of up to $85. By consenting with the processing of an Electronic Check transaction, you are authorizing the Tax Collector to debit your account for a one-time payment which may be processed as early as today.
Why do I have to pay a service fee?
Merchants that consumers purchase goods and services from are charged a service fee when the consumer uses a credit card. Merchants pass that fee along to the consumer by raising prices on the goods and services purchased in order to cover the additional cost that is incurred from the credit card company. The county does not include a service fee in your printed property tax bill. If you elect to pay by credit card, the county needs to recover the service fee that will be charged by the credit card company in order to offset the cost of providing the service. Section 2511.1.d of the Revenue and Taxation code states "The county may impose a fee for the use of a credit card sufficient in amount to provide for the recovery of fees or discounts paid by the county under paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) and all other costs incurred by the county in providing for payment by credit. Fees imposed under this subdivision shall be approved by the board of supervisors."