Property Taxes

How Much Are Property Taxes in San Jose, CA? Rates and Bills on Homes Sold in 2026

Updated November 7, 2026

By Vinura Abeysundara

Head of Growth at TurboHome

Reviewed by:

Vinura Abeysundara

Head of Growth at TurboHome

Kevin Kretzmer

Head Agent, California · CalDRE #01997822

Property tax in San Jose runs about 1.15% of what you pay for the home (1.1494%, FY2025-26, San Jose Unified School District territory). On the $1,363,000 median home sold in San Jose from May through October 2026, that is $15,666 a year, or $1,306 a month, before the $7,000 homeowners' exemption. Under Proposition 13 your bill is set by your purchase price, not by what the seller was paying, so the figure on the listing is usually too low. Below: the bill on the median home in 8 San Jose neighborhoods, by price tier and by home type, and how the supplemental bill works.

TurboHome Market Analysis · San Jose, CA · Closings May to October 2026 · Published November 2026

Key findings

Median bill: $15,666 a year ($1,306 a month) on the $1,363,000 median home, at 1.1494% (FY2025-26, San Jose Unified School District territory).
Highest and lowest neighborhood: Willow Glen pays the most in our table, $24,310 a year on a $2,115,000 median home; The Villages (age-restricted community) pays the least, $8,620 on $750,000.
Price tiers: the median bill runs from $5,201 a year in the under $500,000 tier (median $452,500) to $28,333 in the $2,000,000 and up tier (median $2,465,000).
Year over year: the median sale price fell 3.0%, from $1,405,328 to $1,363,000, so the tax on the median home went from $16,153 to $15,666.
Listing caution: Proposition 13 resets the assessed value to your purchase price, so the seller's bill on the listing is usually too low for you.

What the median San Jose home pays

Property tax on the median San Jose home, May to October 2026, data table
Measure	Figure
Closings analyzed, May to October 2026	1,694
Median sale price	$1,363,000
Tax on the median home	$15,666 a year, $1,306 a month
Home at the 25th percentile	$920,000: $10,574 a year
Home at the 75th percentile	$1,859,062: $21,368 a year
Rate used	1.1494% (FY2025-26, San Jose Unified School District territory)

The rate is a 1% base under Proposition 13 plus the voter-approved bonds for the city, schools and other local agencies in the home's tax rate area. Parcel taxes, Mello-Roos special taxes and direct assessments are charged as flat amounts on top, so they are not in the percentage.

Rate source: JVM Lending's San Jose property tax guide, citing Santa Clara County's FY2025-26 Compilation of Tax Rates: 1.14940% in San Jose Unified territory (1.00000 base, 0.03880 county retirement levy, San Jose Unified bonds 0.03500, 0.01560 and 0.06000), with Santa Clara County tax rate areas topping out near 1.24% (read November 7, 2026).

The California homeowners' exemption removes $7,000 of assessed value for an owner-occupied home, worth about $70 a year (California State Board of Equalization, read November 7, 2026).

Property tax by price point in San Jose

The 1.1494% rate applied to the purchase price. Each figure is the first full-year bill before the $7,000 homeowners' exemption.

Annual tax. Every figure is in the table below.

Property tax by purchase price in San Jose, data table
Purchase price	Annual tax	Monthly
$500,000	$5,747	$479
$750,000	$8,620	$718
$1,000,000	$11,494	$958
$1,500,000	$17,241	$1,437
$2,000,000	$22,988	$1,916

Most lenders collect property tax monthly with the mortgage payment, hold it in an escrow account and pay the county when the bill is due. The monthly column is roughly what tax adds to the payment on top of principal, interest and insurance, so on a $1,000,000 home in San Jose plan on about $958 a month for tax alone.

Property tax by home type

Property tax by home type in San Jose, May to October 2026, data table
Home type	Closings	Median sale price	Tax on the median home	Monthly
Single family	1,172	$1,650,000	$18,965	$1,580
Townhouse	189	$955,000	$10,977	$915
Condo	333	$630,000	$7,241	$603

A condo in San Jose sold for a median $630,000 and carries about $7,241 a year, against $18,965 on the $1,650,000 median single family home. Every type pays the same rate, so the gap in tax is the gap in price.

Property tax by price tier (what actually sold)

Property tax by price tier in San Jose, May to October 2026, data table
Price tier	Closings	Median sale price	Tax on the median home	Monthly
Under $500,000	68	$452,500	$5,201	$433
$500,000 to $750,000	197	$620,000	$7,126	$594
$750,000 to $1,000,000	232	$880,000	$10,115	$843
$1,000,000 to $1,500,000	461	$1,255,000	$14,425	$1,202
$1,500,000 to $2,000,000	374	$1,712,500	$19,683	$1,640
$2,000,000 and up	362	$2,465,000	$28,333	$2,361

These tiers group the homes that actually sold in our feed by sale price, so the closings column shows where the San Jose market traded.

Property tax by neighborhood in San Jose

The 8 neighborhoods below are the largest neighborhoods by closings, sorted by median sale price, each with at least 20 closings in our feed.

Tax on the median home. Every figure is in the table below.

Property tax by neighborhood in San Jose, May to October 2026, data table
Neighborhood	Closings	Median sale price	Tax on the median home	Monthly
Willow Glen	109	$2,115,000	$24,310	$2,026
Shasta Hanchett Park	20	$1,962,500	$22,557	$1,880
Willow Glen South / Lincoln Glen	38	$1,869,000	$21,482	$1,790
Doerr / Steindorf	28	$1,677,500	$19,281	$1,607
Communication Hill	26	$1,006,500	$11,569	$964
Alum Rock	21	$905,000	$10,402	$867
Downtown San Jose	90	$900,000	$10,345	$862
The Villages (age-restricted community)	55	$750,000	$8,620	$718

Willow Glen has the biggest bill in the table, $24,310 a year on a $2,115,000 median home. The Villages (age-restricted community) has the smallest, $8,620 a year on $750,000.

How San Jose compares with a year ago

San Jose, May to October 2025 vs May to October 2026, data table
Measure	May to October 2025	May to October 2026
Closings	1,576	1,694
Median sale price	$1,405,328	$1,363,000 (-3.0%)
Tax on the median home	$16,153	$15,666

The median sale price fell 3.0%. A buyer's bill moves with the price paid, while an existing owner's assessed value can rise at most 2% a year under Proposition 13.

Why your bill will not match the listing

Proposition 13 resets a home's assessed value to the purchase price when it sells and then limits increases to 2% a year. The seller's bill, often based on a value set decades ago, is not yours: budget from the price you pay.

The county issues a supplemental bill for the months between closing and the next regular bill. It is mailed separately and is usually not paid from escrow, and a second regular bill follows on the normal cycle, so in the first year you can see two bills close together.

The $7,000 homeowners' exemption, worth about $70 a year, must be claimed with the county assessor.

What is driving San Jose's property taxes (local commentary)

San Jose's 1.1494% rate in San Jose Unified territory is the lowest percentage in this series, but on a $1,363,000 median home it is still $15,666 a year, and a Willow Glen house at $2,115,000 runs $24,310. Parts of the city sit in other school districts whose bonds push the total toward 1.24%, so the same price can carry about $1,200 more a year across a district line. Condos at $630,000 ($7,241) and townhouses at $955,000 ($10,977) are where the bills get manageable; The Villages' $750,000 median applies to an age-restricted community. Citywide, the median price in our feed slipped 3.0% year over year, one of the few cases in this series where a buyer's first bill can come in a little below what the same home would have carried a year ago.

How to budget for property tax when buying in San Jose

Estimate from your price, not the listing. Multiply your purchase price by the rate on this page (1.1494%); on a $1,000,000 home that is $11,494 a year.
Divide by 12 and add it to the mortgage payment. Most lenders escrow property tax, so about $958 a month on that $1,000,000 home is part of the payment you qualify for.
Set aside the supplemental bill for the first year. It covers the months between closing and the next regular bill and is usually not paid from escrow.
Check the prior owner's full bill on the county portal. Look for parcel taxes, Mello-Roos and direct assessments that sit outside the percentage rate.
Compare two homes you like on tax, not just price. A district line can be worth over $1,000 a year.

Methodology

We looked at closings of single family homes, condos and townhouses, plus tenancies in common, in San Jose from our MLS feed, closed May 1 through October 31, 2026 (1,694 closings), compared with May through October 2025 (1,576 closings). The tax is the published total rate for the city's typical tax rate area, 1.1494% (FY2025-26, San Jose Unified School District territory), applied to the sale price. The rate runs from 1.1494% to 1.2400% across San Jose's tax rate areas. The actual rate depends on the tax rate area. Parcel taxes, Mello-Roos and direct assessments are not included, and bills are shown before the homeowners' exemption. Neighborhoods need at least 20 closings; figures are medians. The Villages is an age-restricted community, so its median reflects that market rather than San Jose as a whole. Published November 2026.

FAQ

How much is property tax in San Jose?

About 1.15% of the purchase price (1.1494%, FY2025-26, San Jose Unified School District territory). On the $1,363,000 median home sold in San Jose from May through October 2026, that is $15,666 a year, or $1,306 a month, before the $7,000 homeowners' exemption.

Which companies refund the buyer's agent commission in California?

TurboHome refunds the rest of the buyer-side commission to the buyer at closing in California, after its flat fee. For the other companies that offer refunds, see our dated roundup of companies that refund the buyer's agent commission in California.

Will my property tax be the same as the seller's?

No. Proposition 13 resets the assessed value to your purchase price when you buy, then limits increases to 2% a year. A seller who bought years ago is often paying on a much lower value, so budget from your price: $15,666 a year on the $1,363,000 median San Jose home.

What is a supplemental tax bill in San Jose?

After you buy, the county issues a supplemental bill for the months between closing and the next regular bill, based on your purchase price. It is mailed separately from the regular bill and is usually not paid from escrow, so set it aside yourself. A second regular bill follows on the normal cycle.

Which San Jose neighborhoods have the lowest property tax?

Among the 8 neighborhoods in our table, The Villages (age-restricted community) ($750,000 median, $8,620 a year) and Downtown San Jose ($900,000 median, $10,345 a year) have the smallest bills on the median home. Every row uses the same rate, so the smaller bills reflect lower prices.

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