How Much Are Property Taxes in Encinitas, and What Will a Buyer Actually Pay?

by Zach Arrington

Updated November 2026

For the 2026/27 tax year, most property in the City of Encinitas pays a total rate of 1.07187% of assessed value, while most of Cardiff by the Sea pays 1.05568%, according to the County of San Diego Auditor and Controller. On a home bought at $2,300,000, the October 2026 median single family sale price in ZIP 92024, that is about $24,653 a year before fixed charges such as sewer. What changes the number is the parcel's tax rate area and what you paid for the home, not the seller's tax history.

I am Zach Arrington, and I track this market closely as part of my work along the North County coastal corridor. In 2025 I helped buyers purchase a single family home in Cardiff, and Encinitas tax math comes up whenever a buyer here compares two homes. Below are the actual rates, what they come to at three prices, and how the median assessed value of an Encinitas single family parcel compares with what single family homes in the same ZIP sell for today.

What the Encinitas rate is made of

The rate is the 1% base levy under Proposition 13 plus about 0.056% to 0.072% of voter approved bonds and water district debt. The County groups parcels taxed by the same set of agencies into tax rate areas (TRAs). For 2026/27 it lists 431 TRAs in the City of Encinitas, and the elementary school bond is the main reason they differ.

Component	Main Encinitas rate (example: TRA 019079)	Cardiff rate (example: TRA 019006)
Proposition 13 base levy	1.00000%	1.00000%
Elementary school bonds	0.03388% (Encinitas Union, Prop P and Measure Z)	0.01769% (Cardiff, Measure GG)
San Dieguito Union High School District bonds (Prop AA)	0.01856%	0.01856%
MiraCosta College bonds (Measure MM)	0.01093%	0.01093%
Metropolitan Water District debt service	0.00850%	0.00850%
Total 2026/27	1.07187%	1.05568%
Total 2025/26	1.07534%	1.05702%

Here is every rate in the city, with the number of tax parcels on each one.

2026/27 total rate	What it carries	TRAs	Parcel records in the city
1.07187%	Encinitas Union bonds	330	18,594
1.05568%	Cardiff bonds	83	4,599
1.06337%	Encinitas Union bonds, no Metropolitan Water District debt rate	6	583
1.05951%	Solana Beach School District bonds (Measure JJ)	10	13
1.04718% and 1.02949%	Two single TRA outliers	2	0

How I built this: I pulled all 431 TRAs for the City of Encinitas from the County's Tax Rate by Tax Rate Area search for 2026/2027 and 2025/2026, added the fund rates for each, and grouped the totals. I then pulled all 23,789 parcel records the public SanGIS parcel layer hosted by SANDAG shows in Encinitas on November 2, 2026, and matched each record's TRA number to those groups. Condo units count as separate records.

The ZIP code will not tell you which rate applies

A 92007 address almost always means the Cardiff rate, but a 92024 address does not rule it out. Of 4,026 parcel records with a 92007 ZIP, 4,024 are on the Cardiff rate. But 411 records on the Cardiff rate have a 92024 ZIP. The difference is small, about $16 a year per $100,000 of assessed value, so it should not decide a purchase, but read the TRA on the actual bill when you build a monthly payment.

What a buyer would pay at three prices

The quick math is about $10,719 a year per $1 million of assessed value at the main Encinitas rate, and about $10,557 at the Cardiff rate. I use the purchase price as a stand in for the new assessed value.

Purchase price	Tax at 1.07187%	Tax at 1.05568%	Monthly at 1.07187%
$1,100,000 (92024 condo and townhome median, October 2026)	$11,791	$11,612	about $983
$2,300,000 (92024 single family median, October 2026)	$24,653	$24,281	about $2,054
$3,500,000	$37,515	$36,949	about $3,126

Those medians come from San Diego MLS market statistics. The single family figure rests on 25 closed sales, against $2,250,000 on 31 sales in October 2025, a 2.2% change. The condo figure rests on only 9 closed sales, too few to read a trend from one month. ZIP codes do not match neighborhood lines exactly, so treat these as ZIP level figures. The homeowners' exemption takes $7,000 off assessed value for a primary residence, which is worth about $75 a year at this rate.

Why the seller's bill is the wrong number

The median single family parcel in ZIP 92024 inside the City of Encinitas is assessed at $899,126, while the median single family sale there in October 2026 was $2,300,000. That is my own comparison, using the 12,003 City of Encinitas records in the SanGIS layer with a 92024 ZIP, land use code 11 (which I read as single family; the layer does not define it and calls its land use fields approximate), and an assessed value above zero. It compares all homes to the homes that happened to sell, so it gives a sense of scale, not a like for like figure. At 1.07187%, the first number is about $9,637 a year in ad valorem tax and the second is about $24,653, a gap of about $15,016.

The gap exists because of how Proposition 13 works. The County says it "generally requires reappraisal of property whenever a change in ownership occurs," and that assessed value can otherwise rise "up to 2% annually." More than half of those parcels, 6,726 of 12,003, are assessed below $1 million in a ZIP where the median sale is more than double that.

The reset also comes as a separate bill. The San Diego County Treasurer and Tax Collector calculates a supplemental bill from the change in value, prorated by the months left in the fiscal year, at the 1% rate, and these bills "are not sent to a lender for payment." As an example only: on a $2,300,000 purchase of a home assessed at $899,126, closing at the start of November, that method gives about $9,339 (the value difference, times 1%, times 8 of 12 months).

What is on the bill besides the rate

Fixed charges are added as flat amounts, and the County notes that special assessments "cannot be based on property value." Three to look for in Encinitas:

Sewer. The City says sewer service charges are billed on the annual property tax bill for its sanitary divisions. The Encinitas Sanitary Division's schedule for July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026 shows a median single family charge of $781.95 a year, mostly based on water use plus a fixed meter charge. That is the latest schedule I found. Cardiff has its own division and schedule, and the Leucadia Wastewater District handles collection for most of New Encinitas and Leucadia, so the charge varies by provider.
Encinitas Ranch. Private property owners in the Encinitas Ranch Community Facilities District repay its bonds through a special tax, with a maximum set each fiscal year. The City does not list a dollar amount on its page, so ask the administrator shown on the bill.
Landscape and lighting. The City's fiscal 2025/26 engineer's report sets assessments by zone, including $5.22 per benefit unit district wide, $100.00 in the Encinitas Ranch zone and $579.00 in the Wiro Park zone. A single family parcel counts as one benefit unit.

Where this applies and where it does not

These rates apply to parcels inside the City of Encinitas, including Cardiff by the Sea, Leucadia and Olivenhain, for the 2026/27 tax year. A 92024 mailing address can sit outside the city limits, where the TRA numbers differ and the rate may or may not match, so this table does not apply there. HOA dues are never part of these figures. Assessed values in the SanGIS layer reflect the roll data when I pulled it and can lag recent sales.

What I tell buyers before they write an offer

Budget from the price you are paying, not from the listing's tax history. Before writing an offer, I have buyers do three things: pull the parcel's current County bill to read its TRA and fixed charges, confirm any Encinitas Ranch special tax, and set aside cash for the supplemental bill. I connect clients with trusted professionals for the parts that depend on their situation.

What this means if you are selling

Expect buyers and their lenders to underwrite your home at their own tax number, not yours. At the 92024 single family median, County ad valorem tax alone is about $2,054 a month, and an owner assessed near the median would be paying well under half of that. Showing that number early heads off surprises in escrow. If you are thinking through a remodel first, my post on coastal development permits in Encinitas covers that side, and my Del Mar post walks through the main seller cost line items. The same tax method is in my Rancho Santa Fe post.

If you are weighing a purchase or sale in Encinitas or Cardiff, I am happy to walk through the numbers for a specific property. I'm Zach Arrington, Broker Associate with Real, and you can reach me at (619) 374-5339 or zach@zarealtygroup.com.

Frequently asked questions

What is the property tax rate in Encinitas for 2026/27?

The most common total rate is 1.07187% of assessed value, carried by 330 of the city's 431 tax rate areas. Most of Cardiff by the Sea pays 1.05568%. Fixed charges on the bill are extra.

How much property tax would I pay on a $1,000,000 home in Encinitas?

About $10,719 a year at the main Encinitas rate, or about $10,557 at the Cardiff rate, before fixed charges. A primary residence with the homeowners' exemption would pay about $75 less. Sewer and any special taxes are added on top.

Is property tax lower in Cardiff than in the rest of Encinitas?

Yes, slightly, for 2026/27. The Cardiff rate of 1.05568% is lower than 1.07187% because of the elementary school bond, a difference of about $162 a year per $1 million of assessed value. That is much smaller than the effect of when a home last sold.

Did Encinitas property tax rates go up this year?

The total rate fell slightly. The main rate went from 1.07534% in 2025/26 to 1.07187% in 2026/27, and the Cardiff rate went from 1.05702% to 1.05568%. The Metropolitan Water District piece rose from 0.00700% to 0.00850%, but the school and college bond rates dropped by more.

Will my taxes be based on what I pay or what the seller paid?

On what you pay. A change in ownership generally triggers reappraisal, so the seller's lower value does not carry over. After that, the County says assessed value can rise up to 2% a year.

Does my lender pay the supplemental tax bill?

No. The Tax Collector says supplemental bills are not sent to a lender, so the owner is responsible for paying them directly. Missing the delinquent date brings a 10% penalty.

Are sewer charges on the Encinitas property tax bill?

Yes, for the City's sanitary divisions, the City says sewer service charges are billed on the annual property tax bill. The amount depends mostly on water use, so it differs by home. Check the fixed charge lines on the parcel's current bill.

When are Encinitas property taxes due?

The Treasurer and Tax Collector lists the first installment as due November 1 and delinquent after December 10. The second is due February 1 and delinquent after April 10.

Zach Arrington, DRE 02135675, Real Broker, LLC
Call or text (619) 374-5339 · zach@zarealtygroup.com
This article is general information, not tax or legal advice. Confirm figures for a specific property with the County.