Butte Property Tax: Rates, Deadlines & Appeals (2026)

For the 2026/27 regular assessment roll, Butte County homeowners have until Monday, November 30, 2026 to file a formal property tax assessment appeal. File the county’s 2026-27 Assessment Appeal Application (BOE-305-AH) with the Clerk of the Assessment Appeals Board, 25 County Center Drive, Suite 200, Oroville, CA 95965, with the $40 nonrefundable processing fee.

How assessments work in Butte County

Butte County is in California’s Proposition 13 system. The Assessor generally starts with market value when you buy the property or finish new construction, then the taxable value normally cannot rise by more than 2% per year unless there is another reassessable event. For the current cycle, the roll is the 2026/2027 secured roll and the key valuation date is the January 1, 2026 lien date for a regular “decline in value” appeal.

Locally, the Butte County Assessor identifies taxable property, establishes taxable value, completes the assessment roll, and applies legal exemptions. The Assessor does not set the tax rate or collect the bill. After values are set, the Auditor-Controller applies the general 1% levy plus voter-approved debt rates and direct charges; the Treasurer-Tax Collector then bills and collects.

The county’s own appeal page sets the regular filing period as July 2 through November 30. California’s statewide rule is July 2 through September 15 when counties mail value notices to all secured-roll real-property taxpayers by August 1; otherwise it extends to November 30. For Butte County, use November 30, 2026 for a 2026/27 regular-roll appeal. Supplemental assessments, roll changes, escape assessments, and calamity reassessments have separate deadlines—often 60 days from notice for supplemental/escape/roll-change matters and six months for calamity reassessments.

Whether you should appeal

Appeal only if you can support a lower taxable value with evidence as of the correct date. For most homeowners, that means comparable sales near January 1, 2026—Butte County says to use sales close to the lien date and not more than 90 days after it. Comparable properties should be similar in location, age, size, condition, zoning, and amenities. Listings can help explain the market when sales are scarce, but completed sales are stronger.

Good Butte County appeal candidates include: a 2024 or 2025 purchase followed by market softening by January 1, 2026; an assessed value above recent comparable sales in your neighborhood; factual errors in the Assessor’s record, such as square footage, condition, or property characteristics; or damage from fire, flood, or other misfortune where you first request reassessment from the Assessor.

Do not appeal because a neighbor’s assessment is lower, because the bill is unaffordable, or because you dislike the tax rate. The Assessment Appeals Board cannot change tax rates, grant exemptions, remove Tax Collector late-payment penalties, or decide general tax policy.

Butte County does publish workload data, but not outcome statistics. The 2025 State Board of Equalization assessment-practices survey reported 109 appeals filed in 2022/23, 96 in 2021/22, 102 in 2020/21, 129 in 2019/20, and 97 in 2018/19. I did not find an official Butte County success rate, median reduction, or residential-only reduction table, so do not rely on anyone promising a typical percentage cut.

A realistic savings example: assume a Chico-area property in TRA 002-001 is assessed at $450,000, but three comparable sales support $410,000 as of January 1, 2026. The reduction request is $40,000. Butte County’s 2026 multi-rate tax report shows TRA 002-001 at a net rate of 1.150619%. Potential annual percentage-tax savings: $40,000 × 0.01150619 = $460.25. Subtract the $40 filing fee, and first-year net savings would be about $420, before considering any fixed direct charges that usually do not change when assessed value changes.

Step-by-step how to file

1. Check your current value. Use Butte County’s parcel/assessed value lookup or your 2026/27 tax roll value notice. Confirm land value, improvement value, total assessed value, and any exemption amount.

2. Try the informal route first if time allows. Butte County points owners with a valuation disagreement to the Assessor’s Application for Appraisal Review. For residential property, this goes to the Assessor, 25 County Center Drive, Suite 100, Oroville, CA 95965, phone 530-552-3800. This is not a formal appeal and does not replace the November 30 deadline.

3. Use the correct formal form. File Assessment Appeal Application, BOE-305-AH, specifically the county’s 2026-27 Assessment Appeal Application. For a normal homeowner market-value appeal, select Regular Assessment – Value as of January 1 of the current year and usually Decline in Value.

4. Enter your opinion of value. The form warns that if you do not state your opinion of value, the application can be rejected. Put the Assessor’s value in Column A and your requested value in Column B. Do not attach all hearing evidence to the application unless the form specifically asks for a notice or bill for your appeal type.

5. Pay the fee. The current 2026/27 Butte form says a $40 nonrefundable processing fee must be paid at filing. It also lists Written Findings of Facts at $192 per parcel if requested before the hearing; call the Clerk before paying for findings because the older web page shows a different legacy amount.

6. Submit to the Clerk. The application says to return it to: Clerk of the Assessment Appeals Board, 25 County Center Drive, Suite 200, Oroville, CA 95965. The Clerk of the Board’s office is open Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Butte’s official appeal materials show mailing/returning the paper form and filing with the Clerk; I did not find an official online portal or email-filing instruction for assessment appeals. Do not confuse the tax-payment portal with an appeal-filing portal.

What happens after

Your appeal is heard by the Butte County Assessment Appeals Board, an independent body that resolves disputes between taxpayers and the Assessor over locally assessed property values. Butte County also says it has a Hearing Officer. The county describes the board as a three-member citizen board appointed by the Board of Supervisors.

The Clerk mails a hearing notice 45 days before the hearing date. Several cases may be scheduled at 9:00 a.m., so plan for the morning rather than assuming a precise time slot. Your presence is required unless you qualify for an excused absence due to health or absence from the county and appoint an authorized agent. Nonappearance can result in denial, unless you have signed and returned an Assessor-initiated stipulation before the hearing.

At the hearing, you and the Assessor’s staff present evidence. Bring seven copies of exhibits such as comparable-sale sheets, photos, maps, repair estimates, appraisals, or condition evidence. Written reports from other people may be rejected unless that person is present for cross-examination. You may request an exchange of information with the Assessor when you file or up to 30 days before the hearing; after that, hearing evidence is limited to what was exchanged.

The board may decrease, increase, or leave unchanged the assessment. It has up to two years from a timely complete filing to hear and decide the case unless you and the board agree to extend. Keep paying your tax bills on time while the appeal is pending; if you win, the county adjusts the account or issues a proportionate refund.

Local tips

Check exemptions before you spend time on an appeal. Butte County’s Homeowners’ Exemption can reduce the annual bill by about $70 if you own and occupy the home as your principal residence on January 1. Homeowners’ exemptions do not automatically transfer when you move, so file again for the new home. Totally disabled veterans, certain surviving spouses, and qualifying institutional properties should also review exemptions. Butte County also increased its low-value property tax exemption threshold to $5,000 in 2026, meaning no bill is sent for secured or unsecured property at or below that assessed value, subject to statutory limits.

For fire, flood, or other misfortune, use the Assessor’s calamity reassessment process first. A calamity appeal is generally only after you request reassessment and receive the Assessor’s notice.

Finally, separate percentage taxes from fixed direct charges. A successful value appeal reduces ad valorem taxes, not necessarily parcel charges, assessments, or flat fees. Use your tax bill’s tax-rate area and the county’s 2026 multi-rate report for your own savings estimate.

Butte County Property Tax Rate

No single countywide millage/effective rate is published for Butte County; California's general property tax rate is 1% of assessed value plus local voter-approved debt, and Butte County's official tax-rate-area schedule applies parcel-specific rates by Tax Rate Area.

Source: https://www.buttecounty.ca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/16517/Multi-Rate-Taxes-2025-2026?bidId=; https://www.boe.ca.gov/proptaxes/pdf/pub29.pdf

When Are Property Taxes Due in Butte County?

Annual secured property taxes are paid in two installments: first installment due November 1 and delinquent after December 10; second installment due February 1 and delinquent after April 10. For 2026/2027 secured taxes, the county states the first installment is due November 1, 2026 and delinquent if not paid by December 10, 2026. Unsecured property taxes are due August 31. Regular secured taxes are billed in two installments. For defaulted taxes on an installment plan, the annual 20% plus interest payment and any current/supplemental taxes are due by April 10.

This is not the same as the assessment appeal deadline above. The appeal deadline is your window to contest your assessed value; the payment due date is when the resulting tax bill must be paid. Missing one does not affect the other, but missing either has real consequences — one forfeits your right to appeal for the year, the other can trigger penalties and interest.

Source: https://www.buttecounty.ca.gov/955/Property-Tax-Due-Dates; https://www.buttecounty.ca.gov/960/Property-Taxes

Property Tax Exemptions in Butte County

• Homeowners' Exemption — Homeowners who own and occupy the home as their principal place of residence on January 1; for a newly built or acquired home not already on the annual tax roll, the owner must occupy it within 90 days of completion or change in ownership.. Butte County states this exemption reduces the annual tax bill by about $70; the California BOE describes it as a $7,000 reduction in taxable value for a qualifying owner-occupied home. Yes, application required; the exemption is not automatically transferred when you move, so a new application is needed for a new property. Apply by For the full exemption, BOE states first-time filing is due no later than February 15; for a supplemental assessment, Butte County says apply within 30 days of receiving the Notice of Supplemental Assessment.. (Source: https://www.buttecounty.net/224/Exemptions; https://www.boe.ca.gov/proptaxes/homeowners_exemption.htm)
• Disabled Veterans' Property Tax Exemption — A qualifying disabled veteran whose principal residence is the property, including a veteran rated 100% disabled or compensated at the 100% rate due to unemployability, blind in both eyes, or with loss of use of more than one limb due to military service; certain unmarried surviving spouses may also qualify.. For lien date 2026, the basic exemption is $180,671; the low-income exemption is $271,009 for households at or below the $81,131 income limit. The exemption does not apply to direct levies or special taxes. Yes. Basic exemption requires filing and, once granted, remains in effect until terminated; the low-income exemption requires annual filing. Apply by For the low-income exemption, file by 5 p.m. February 15 for the full exemption; other filing deadlines vary by event, such as disability rating, establishing residency, death of the veteran, or supplemental assessment notice.. (Source: https://www.buttecounty.net/224/Exemptions; https://www.boe.ca.gov/proptaxes/pdf/lta25014.pdf; https://www.capropeforms.org/forms/butte/BOE-261-G/pdf/2026)
• Veterans' Exemption — Qualified veterans, certain persons currently serving, unmarried surviving spouses, or parents of a deceased veteran meeting service requirements, if the claimant lived in California on the January 1 lien date and owns limited property: no more than $5,000 if single or $10,000 if married.. Exempts property value up to $4,000. Yes, file a claim each year with the county assessor where the property is located. Apply by February 15 to receive the full 100% exemption for property owned on the January 1 lien date.. (Source: https://boe.ca.gov/proptaxes/veterans_exemption.htm)

How to Look Up Your Property Record in Butte County

You can look up your property's official record at https://www.buttecounty.ca.gov/240/Parcel-Search-Assessed-Value-Lookup. Butte County's official Parcel Search page links to the online parcel search tool and states it shows APN, property status, situs address, abbreviated legal description, land value, improvement value, exemption amount, and total assessed value for the current secured roll.