General Information

The Assessor determines the net assessed value of each property in the County and delivers an assessment roll to the Auditor by July 1 of each year. The Auditor then calculates the property's tax liability by multiplying the appropriate ad valorem (based on value) property tax rate by the net assessed value. Since the passage of Proposition 13, individual taxing jurisdictions no longer establish their own ad valorem property tax rate (tax rate). Instead, the State Constitution limits the tax rate to 1% general taxes plus any voter-approved general obligation debt service (G/O bonds). G/O bonds are often commonly thought of as "school bonds"; however, not all G/O bonds in El Dorado County are for schools. Public Utility Districts, Irrigation Districts, and Community Service Districts currently have G/O bonds in El Dorado County. G/O bonds are generally passed by 2/3 of the registered voters within the taxing jurisdiction. Following the passage of Proposition 39 in November 2000, certain school G/O bonds have been passed by 55% of the registered voters within the respective school's boundaries.

Fundamentals for Debt Service of each General Obligation Bond in El Dorado County

The reports below include the tax rates for the current year by Tax Rate Area (TRA).

In addition, some taxing jurisdictions may place non-ad valorem (non-value based) direct charges on the tax bills. These direct charges are based on criteria other than value and do NOT have a "tax rate". More information regarding the direct charges.

Historical Perspective

Prior to the passage of Proposition 13, tax rates were established independently by each taxing jurisdiction. The taxing jurisdictions forwarded their tax rates to the Auditor to apply to the properties within their respective taxing jurisdictions. The sum total of the tax rates for a property was unlimited by the State Constitution. The Auditor has these tax rates for 1966/67 through 1977/78. Following the passage of Proposition 13 (base year 1978/79) through 1980/81, the tax rate was limited to 4% instead of 1% (because the assessed valuation of property at that time was calculated at ¼ of the market value instead of 100% of market value). Tax rates are available by Tax Rate Area (TRA) for each year back to 1966/67. To obtain any years not published on this website, please contact the Property Tax Division at (530) 621-5470.