Data updated August 27, 2026 · All 58 Counties
California Delinquent Tax List (Tax-Delinquent & Tax-Defaulted Properties)
As of August 27, 2026, California has 442,563 tax-delinquent properties on record across all 58 counties.
Property-tax delinquency is the quietest loud signal in county data: no foreclosure has been filed, nothing is public-facing — but the owner has stopped paying the one bill that never goes away. In California, five years of delinquency makes a property "tax-defaulted" — the state's official term — and eligible for the county tax sale. Owners on this list often have substantial equity and a problem that a sale solves.
How California's Numbers Are Moving
Change over the past week (since August 20), from Properant's daily snapshots of recorded county documents. The series grows every day.
Top California Counties
| # | County | Count | Share of Statewide |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles County | 62,858 | 14.2% |
| 2 | Kern County | 55,728 | 12.6% |
| 3 | Riverside County | 45,079 | 10.2% |
| 4 | San Bernardino County | 41,877 | 9.5% |
| 5 | San Diego County | 22,078 | 5.0% |
| 6 | Fresno County | 20,504 | 4.6% |
| 7 | Alameda County | 17,110 | 3.9% |
| 8 | Orange County | 13,743 | 3.1% |
| 9 | Lake County | 12,354 | 2.8% |
| 10 | Butte County | 12,183 | 2.8% |
| 11 | El Dorado County | 10,276 | 2.3% |
| 12 | Mendocino County | 9,232 | 2.1% |
| 13 | Santa Clara County | 8,356 | 1.9% |
| 14 | Modoc County | 8,235 | 1.9% |
| 15 | Sacramento County | 7,097 | 1.6% |
Every County, Counted
Top California Cities For Tax-Delinquent Properties
Every county page above lists its own cities.
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County and city lists people are reading right now, each one counted from recorded documents and refreshed daily.
How A Property Becomes Tax-Defaulted In California
California property taxes come due in two installments — delinquent after December 10 and April 10, and each missed installment picks up a 10% penalty. Anything still unpaid when the fiscal year closes on June 30 makes the property tax-defaulted on July 1, the state's official term, and from that day the balance compounds at 1.5% a month while the owner sits in a redemption period. Five years of default (three for some non-residential property) gives the county the power to sell the property at a tax-defaulted land sale under Chapter 7 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. Every step of that timeline shows up in county records, which is exactly what this list is counted from — so you can see where each owner stands on the clock, not just that they're behind.
Why Tax Delinquency Reads Differently With And Without A Mortgage
When a home carries a loan, the lender rarely lets property taxes slide: an impound account pays them automatically, or the servicer advances them to protect its lien. So sustained delinquency tells two different stories. On a mortgaged home it hints the loan itself may be strained — the servicer is done advancing, or the escrow collapsed. On a free-and-clear home it points straight at the owner: heirs holding a house they never wanted, absentee owners who stopped tending a distant asset, long-tenure owners whose attention or health changed. Those owners hold equity and face a bill that compounds monthly — which is why "tax-delinquent, no open loans, with equity" is one of the most productive stacked searches on this list.
Tax-Delinquent, Tax-Defaulted, Tax Sale — Which List Is Which
The phrases blur together in searches, but they're stages of one pipeline. Tax-delinquent covers every owner behind on property taxes, from one missed installment onward — the widest net and the earliest outreach window. Tax-defaulted is the official status after the July 1 rollover, when the redemption clock starts. And the tax sale (the county tax auction) is the end of the line: properties past the five-year mark that the county has scheduled for a tax-defaulted land sale. This page counts the whole pipeline statewide; the auctions themselves — dates, deposits, minimum bids, county by county — live on the Tax Auctions tracker.
California Tax Auctions — Every County’s Sale, Tracked →Are These Tax-Delinquent Properties For Sale?
Not listed for sale — and that's exactly why the list is valuable. A "tax delinquent properties for sale" search usually finds either county auction notices (the few properties already at the end of the pipeline) or stale directories. This list is the pipeline itself: owners who are behind on taxes today, most of whom haven't listed anything anywhere. They become purchases one of two ways. The direct way: reach the owner before the county's clock runs out — many hold serious equity, and a clean sale beats losing the property to a tax sale. The auction way: wait for the county's tax-defaulted land sale and bid with everyone else. The first path has less competition, better prices, and years more inventory — the second is where whatever's left ends up.
What's on Every Property Record
The list carries each property's delinquent amount and first delinquent year, payment activity, the owner's record and mailing address, every recorded loan, and true equity — so "behind on taxes with equity and no mortgage" is a two-filter search, statewide.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many tax-delinquent properties are there in California?
Properant tracks 442,563 tax-delinquent properties across California's 58 counties as of August 27, 2026, counted from recorded county documents with releases and cancellations removed.
Why are tax-delinquent owners considered motivated sellers?
Because delinquency compounds: penalties accrue, and after five years the county can sell the property at tax auction. Owners with equity but no cash flow — heirs, absentee owners, owners in life transitions — frequently prefer a clean sale over losing the property to the tax sale.
Does California sell tax liens on delinquent properties?
No — California is a tax deed state. Counties don’t sell tax lien certificates to investors; after five years of default they can sell the property itself at a tax-defaulted land sale. That makes this list useful twice: as a motivated-seller signal today, and as the pipeline that feeds the county tax auctions later.
Can I download the delinquent tax list (tax-delinquent & tax-defaulted properties)?
Yes. Inside Properant you can filter by county, city, equity, owner type, and every other signal, save the list, and export it — or upload your own list and let the platform match and enrich it. The trial is free and requires no credit card.
Build Your Delinquent Tax List (Tax-Delinquent & Tax-Defaulted Properties) in Minutes
This page is one slice of it. Properant connects every parcel in California to its owner, open loans, liens and foreclosure stage — then scores and skip-traces the ones worth calling.
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