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Welcome to the Inyo County Treasurer-Tax Collector’s website. As we continue to recover from the long-term public health crisis, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of our constituents for their patience, understanding, and support throughout the pandemic.
We have just completed and mailed the 2024-2025 Unsecured Tax Bills, which are due August 31, 2024. We are currently preparing for the 2024-2025 Secured Annual Property Tax Bills that will be mailed out in October of 2024.
Our services continue to be available to the public in our Independence office. We also encourage you to use our online payment options, which can be found below. A friendly reminder, all of these local taxes provide critical support to the local hospitals, law enforcement, public health, fire response, and so much more. Should you need penalty relief consideration, please complete the Penalty Waiver Form and return to our office. For those who qualify, there is the Property Tax Postponement Program offered by the State Controller's office. All information regarding Property Tax Postponement can be found on the California State Controller's website, linked below.
We love our community and our work, and I encourage you to contact my office with any questions or need for assistance.
In Solidarity, Alisha McMurtrie, Inyo County Treasurer-Tax Collector.
Treasurer-Tax Collector Street Address168 N. Edwards Street
Independence , CA 93526
United States
P.O. Drawer O
Independence , CA 93526
United States
The California Revenue and Taxation Code (R&TC) grants the Treasurer and Tax Collector the authority to cancel penalties in limited circumstances. Below are examples of requests that the Tax Collector will deny if submitted for penalty cancellation review.
1. Requests that the Tax Collector consider the taxpayer's payment history.
The Tax Collector will deny a request to cancel a penalty based on a taxpayer's request to consider the taxpayer's positive payment history. The R&TC does not grant the Tax Collector the authority to consider a taxpayer's payment history, whether positive or negative, in determining whether or not to cancel a penalty.
2. Requests related to home banking or online bill payments.
The Tax Collector will deny a request to cancel a penalty related to a home banking or online bill payment that a taxpayer initiated prior to the delinquency date, which the Tax Collector received after the delinquency date. The reason for this is that the United States Postal Service does not postmark the envelopes used to remit payments from home banking and online bill payment services. In the absence of a postmark, the Tax Collector only considers the received date in determining if the payment is late and if the penalty applies. In the Annual Secured Property Tax Bill Insert the Tax Collector recommends to taxpayers that they not use this service for the reason stated above. Finally, some banks provide a disclosure on their online bill pay websites urging users not to use the service when making federal, state or local tax payments of any kind.
3. Requests related to use of a postage meter date on a payment envelope.
4. Requests related to a taxpayer assertion that the taxpayer mailed the payment prior to the delinquency date with sufficient time for the United States Postal Service to deliver the payment prior to the delinquency date.
The Tax Collector will deny a request to cancel a penalty based on an assertion that the taxpayer mailed the payment “early enough” to allow the United States Postal Service sufficient time to deliver the payment prior to the delinquency date. The reason for this is that the R&TC states that the remittance will be deemed received on the date shown by the post office cancellation mark stamped on the envelope.
5. Requests related to the financial circumstances of the taxpayer, which prevented the taxpayer from paying the amount due prior to the delinquency date.
The Tax Collector will deny a request to cancel a penalty based on the financial circumstances of a taxpayer, which prevented the taxpayer from paying the amount due prior to the delinquency date. Under the R&TC, there is no provision to cancel penalties due to financial circumstances that prevented a timely payment.
6. Requests related to the non-receipt of property tax bill.
The Tax Collector will deny a request to cancel a penalty based on non-receipt of a property tax bill. Under the R&TC, there is no provision to cancel penalties imposed for failure to receive a tax bill.
7. Requests related to new home ownership and not understanding the property tax process.
The Tax Collector will deny a request to cancel a penalty based on a taxpayer not understanding the property tax process. The reason for this is that most real estate transactions occur through an escrow process where property tax information is provided.
8. Requests related to taxpayer errors submitting a payment through our online payment system.
The Tax Collector will deny a request to cancel a penalty based on the taxpayer submitting incorrect information while submitting an online payment through the Treasurer and Tax Collector’s online payment system. The reason for this is that taxpayers agree to Terms of Use and Terms of Payment that place the responsibility with the taxpayer to enter correct account information. Examples of taxpayer online payment errors include, but are not limited to, taxpayer input of an incorrect account or routing number in an eCommerce transaction or failure to accurately validate credit/debit card information.
Having read the information above and wish to proceed with your request for penalty cancellation, please click the link below to the form. Remember to complete, sign and include all applicable supporting documentation.
