Property Tax Postponement for Older, Blind or Disabled Homeowners
The state pays your property tax and takes a lien instead, at 5% simple interest. Funds are limited and it is first come, first served.
Verified August 18, 2026
What this benefit is
The State Controller pays your property tax to the county and records a lien on your home for what it paid.
You repay when you move, sell, refinance, or die without a qualifying survivor still living there. Simple interest runs at 5% a year.
What it's worth: The state pays your property tax; you repay later at 5% simple interest
- This is postponement, not forgiveness. A lien is recorded for the postponed amount and simple interest accrues at 5% a year.
- Repayment falls due when you move, sell, die without a qualifying survivor in residence, let taxes or senior liens go delinquent, or refinance or take a reverse mortgage.
Who is entitled to it
- A homeowner who is 62 or older, or blind, or disabled — any one of the three.
- Who owns and occupies the home as their principal residence, holds at least 40% equity, and has household income within the published limit.
- And who does not have a reverse mortgage.
Not sure whether that describes you?
Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.
The thing most people get wrong
Being eligible is not the same as being funded
The programme runs on a limited appropriation and approves on a first-come, first-served basis. The filing window opens on 1 October and closes on 10 February, and applications postmarked after 10 February are not accepted at all. Filing in October and filing in February are not equivalent acts. Keep paying the county while you wait — the Controller is explicit that it is not responsible for penalties the county charges on a pending application.
How to claim it
Deadline: February 10- 1File between 1 October and 10 February. Applications postmarked after 10 February are not accepted.
- 2File EARLY in the window. Funding is limited and approval is first come, first served — being eligible is not the same as being funded.
- 3Keep paying the county until you are approved. The Controller is not responsible for penalties the county charges while your application is pending.
- File with
- The California State Controller's Office
- Documents you will need
- ptp application · proof of blindness or disability · proof of income
- You must re-file every year
- You must reapply every year and show you still qualify. Proof of blindness or disability is required each year.
Common mistakes that cost people this benefit
- Treating it as an alternative to the Disabled Veterans' Exemption. They stack: the exemption cuts what is owed, postponement handles what is left.
- Taking a reverse mortgage without checking. It disqualifies you at the outset and triggers repayment if taken later.
- Forgetting to reapply. This is an annual application, and proof of blindness or disability is required every year.
Questions people ask
- What happens to my spouse if I die?
- Repayment is triggered by death only where there is no spouse, registered domestic partner, or other qualified individual who continues to live at the property. A surviving spouse in residence does not automatically trigger the debt.
Sources
- authority · published policyCalifornia State Controller's Office — Property Tax Postponement application package, fiscal year 2025–26
- operating · published policyCalifornia State Controller's Office — Property Tax Postponement
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.