Pima County property owners have until 5 p.m. on Monday, November 2 to pay the first half of their 2026 tax bill before it turns delinquent. The county said it would mail about 477,000 bills by the end of September. The usual cutoff is November 1, but this year that is a Sunday.
Once the date passes, the bill starts to carry interest at 16 percent a year. That is about 1.33 percent for each month the first half stays unpaid. On a $2,000 first half, a month of delay costs roughly $27.
What a late first half costs
The Pima County Treasurer’s property tax page lists the first half as due October 1 and delinquent after 5 p.m. on November 1. Because November 1 falls on a Sunday, the deadline moves to 5 p.m. on Monday, November 2. Payments must be timestamped by 5 p.m., and a mailed payment must be postmarked by that day.
Interest accrues at 16 percent a year, prorated monthly, the Treasurer says. An added penalty of $5 or 5 percent is listed for taxes unpaid into the following year. Taxes of $100 or less are due in full on October 1 and turn delinquent on the same November date.
Taxes that stay unpaid go to the Delinquent Tax Lien Sale in February. The sale is of the lien, not the property, and the buyer may foreclose after three years. Partial payments on a delinquent lien are not accepted once it has been sold.
People asking what happens if they miss November 2, and whether any relief exists, have two answers from the Treasurer’s help page. Partial payments are accepted until a lien certificate is sold, at least 10 percent of an installment and no less than $10, and only the unpaid portion becomes delinquent. Paying both halves by December 31 waives interest that built up after November 1.
What changed this year: Social Security and Medicare change every year, and nobody sends you a memo. The Retirement Money Brief breaks down what changed and what to do. Bonus when you subscribe: our Property Tax & Utility Relief Finder.
Get the Brief and the relief finder →
We may earn a commission from links on this page.
Why December 31 matters
The second half is due March 1, 2027, and turns delinquent on May 1. May 1 is a Saturday, so the county’s property tax page lists the postmark deadline as May 3, 2027. The same page lists the full payment date as December 31, 2026.
Here is how the December 31 date works in practice. An owner who pays the first half after November 2 owes interest back to November 1, unless both halves are paid by the end of the year, in which case the interest after November 1 is waived. The Treasurer’s page presents that as the way to clear a late first half without the interest.
The trade is plain. An owner who pays the second half early, by December 31 instead of March 1, avoids the interest that built up on a late first half. The cost is paying twice as much in one stretch.
Paying: online, by mail or in person
Online payments run through the Treasurer’s website, and eChecks cost $0.50 a transaction. Other online methods, including cards, carry a fee of 1.95 percent of the payment with a $1.95 minimum. The processor has trouble with the Safari browser and with VPNs, so the Treasurer suggests Chrome or Firefox with any VPN turned off.
Mailed payments go to the Pima County Treasurer, PO Box 29011, Phoenix, AZ 85038-9011, with the coupon and the state code, in a check, cashier’s check or money order. The office takes cash in person at 240 N. Stone Avenue in Tucson, where cards carry a 2 percent service fee. Bank wires go through the office at 520-724-8341.
The phone line is staffed weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Arizona time. The office will be closed on November 11, November 26 and 27, and December 25. An owner whose bill did not come with a coupon should look at the statement type, since bills with no coupons use the Taxpayer Information Statement.
Relief the county points to
The Treasurer’s help page also lists programs run by the Pima County Assessor’s Office. The Senior Valuation Protection Program freezes the taxable value of a qualifying senior’s primary residence, based on age and income. The Arizona Constitution provides exemptions for eligible widows, widowers, disabled persons and disabled veterans.
The Assessor takes questions about all of them at 520-724-8630. The help page does not describe a payment plan or a deferral, and says to contact the Treasurer for any options of that kind.
The help page also advises owners to check the Notice of Value, or call the Assessor, if they are unsure that the property’s classification is right, and to confirm their mailing address.
What an owner can still decide
For an owner who cannot pay all of the first half by November 2, the Treasurer’s page leaves a clear order of choices. Pay what is possible, at least 10 percent, so that only the rest goes delinquent. Then aim for December 31 to stop the interest. The lien sale in February is the line that has to be avoided.
Whether relief applies depends on the Assessor’s records, so the open question for a retired owner is whether their home is already in the senior valuation freeze or could be. That is a question for 520-724-8630, and the answer decides what the next bill looks like.
Paying Pima County’s first half by Monday, Nov. 2?
A first half that slips past Monday starts at 16 percent interest, and a bill left through the winter can end up in the February lien sale. The deadline moved to Monday only because November 1 is a Sunday.
The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit lays out the 5 kinds of property-tax relief, so an owner can see which ones act on a bill like this one. Its application log and renewal calendar keep each tax date and each relief filing in one place.
Plan your Pima tax dates and relief with the relief kit and calendar →
More Financial Reading
- 21 Ways to Stretch a $2,087 Social Security Check
- 15 Places to Find Your Share of the $4.25 Billion States Give Back
- 17 Medicare Money Moves Now That Part D Caps at $2,400
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
