Empty Homes Tax (EHT)

Each person, subject to certain limited exceptions, that owns a Residential Unit at any time during the tax year in a structure that has three or more Residential Units must file a return unless that person is covered by the Homeowners’ Exemption Period for a Residential Unit for the entire year.

Homeowners’ Exemption Period is the period during which a Residential Unit is the principal place of residence of any owner and for which the owner validly has claimed either the homeowners’ property tax exemption or the disabled veterans’ exemption.

For purposes of the Empty Homes Tax, Residential Unit means a house, an apartment, a mobile home, a group of rooms, or a single room that is designed as separate living quarters, subject to limited exceptions.

It does not include units occupied or intended for occupancy primarily by travelers, vacationers, or other transient occupants.

A Residential Unit is considered vacant if it is unoccupied, uninhabited, or unused, for more than 182 days, whether consecutive or nonconsecutive, in a tax year.  There are several qualified Vacancy Exclusion Periods which can be excluded from your vacancy days:

• Lease Period:When the unit is leased to a tenant under a bona fide lease intended for occupancy (excluding leases to a co-owner or former co-owner, to a related person or affiliate of the owner, co-owner, or former co-owner, and to travelers, vacationers, or other transient occupants).
• Building Permit Application Period: During the application and approval process for the first building permit for repairs/construction for each Residential Unit (up to one year).
• Construction Period: One Year after the City issues the first building permit for repairs/construction for each Residential Unit.
• New Construction Period: One year after the City issues a certificate of final completion and occupancy for a Residential Unit in a newly built building or a newly added Residential Unit in an existing building.
• Disaster Period: Two years following severe damage to a Residential Unit from a catastrophic event that made the Residential Unit uninhabitable or unusable.
• Owner Death Period: For a co-owner or decedent’s estate, heirs, or beneficiaries, the period following the death of an owner who was the sole occupant of the Residential Unit, up to the longer of one year or the period during which the Residential Unit is subject to the authority of the probate court.
• Owner in Care Period: When all occupants that used the Residential Unit as their principal residence reside in certain care facilities.

For 2024, the tax on an owner for keeping a Residential Unit vacant is based on the square footage of the unit.

A person that owns any Residential Unit located in a building with two or fewer Residential Units is exempt from the Empty Homes Tax with respect to any Residential Unit located in that building.

Additionally, the Empty Homes Tax does not apply to a Residential Unit for any tax year for which the Commercial Vacancy Tax is imposed on that Residential Unit.

Any organization that is exempt from income taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, is exempt from the Empty Homes Tax.

Filing

Question: Do I need to file an Empty Homes Tax return if my property is my primary residence?
Answer: If you own a residential unit in a building with three or more units, filing is generally required. If the unit is your primary residence and you have a valid Homeowners’ Exemption for the entire tax year, you are not required to file or pay the Empty Homes Tax. However, if you receive a Notice to File from our office, you must respond. If you believe the notice was sent in error, the filing form will give you the option to tell us you are exempt. This is a simple process that generally takes less than five minutes.

Question: I received an Empty Homes Tax notice, but the property has been occupied. What should I do?
Answer:  If you own a property subject to the Empty Homes Tax, you will be required to file annually, even if you don’t have vacancies. Filing provides the information the City needs to calculate whether you owe the tax.

Question: I own a multi-unit property and occupy one of the units. Do I still need to file an Empty Homes Tax return?
Answer:  If you own a unit in a building with three or more residential units, you generally are required to file. This is regardless of whether any unit is vacant or occupied. View the Empty Homes Tax webinar to learn more.

Exemptions

Question: Where can I find the necessary forms and instructions to file for an exemption from the Empty Homes Tax? How do I notify the city if my property is exempt from the Empty Homes Tax?
Answer: The filing form will be available at sftreasurer.org/EmptyHomes in March 2025 and will give you an option to tell us that you are exempt. This is a simple process that generally takes less than five minutes.

Question: How can I apply for a Homeowners' Exemption? 
Answer: To apply for a Homeowners' Exemption: 

1. Visit sfassessor.org,
2. Click on the "Tax Savings" drop down menu,
3. Click on "Homeowners' Exemption" and
4. Locate the "Homeowners' Exemption Claim Form" under the "Forms/Attachments" tab

Return the completed form to the Office of the Assessor-Recorder by email, regular mail, or in-person. 

• Email: asrexemptionunit@sfgov.org
• Mail: City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B Goodlett Place, Room #190, San Francisco, CA 94102
• In-person: San Francisco City Hall, Room #190

Secondary Home

Question: Are second homes / pieds-a-terre’s subject to the Empty Homes Tax?
Answer: If the home is in a building with three or more units, the owner must file a return. If the home is kept vacant for more than 182 days in the tax year and no vacancy exclusion periods apply, the owner will owe the tax. For this tax, “vacant” is defined as unoccupied, uninhabited, or unused, for more than 182 days, whether consecutive or nonconsecutive, in a tax year.

Family

Question:If a home is used part-time throughout year by owner or family members (“related person”) who work in the city or for visiting local family members, does the Empty Homes Tax apply?  
Answer:If the home is in a building with three or more units, the owner must file a return. If the home is unoccupied, uninhabited, or unused for more than 182 days, consecutive or non-consecutive,  and no vacancy exclusion period applies, the owner will have to pay the Empty Homes Tax.  If a related person occupies, inhabits, or uses the home, the home is not vacant for those days.  

Question: My parents live in our condo full-time without a lease. Are we subject to the Empty Homes Tax?
Answer: If you have a related person (or any other person) living in your condo full-time, even without a lease, then you will not owe the tax, but you are still required to file.

Litigation

Question: I understand that there is a pending litigation that may invalidate the Empty Homes Tax. Can you comment on the litigation and what the potential outcomes may be?
Answer: We understand your concern about the pending litigation regarding the Empty Homes Tax. We are obligated to collect the tax as required by law, unless a court orders us to stop. If you’re interested in learning more about the details of the lawsuit, visit the San Francisco Superior Court website: Case Number: CGC-23-604600.

Mixed Use property

Question: The property is a mixed use building. There is one commercial unit on the ground floor and 10 residential units upstairs. Is this subject to the Empty Homes Tax?
Answer: The residential units are subject to the Empty Homes Tax, but not the commercial unit. Unless otherwise exempt from the tax, the owner(s) of the residential units must file a return and if any residential unit is vacant for more than 182 days in the tax year, the owner(s) of the unit will owe the tax.

Tenancy in Common

Question: If a unit is owned in a Tenancy in Common (TIC) apartment complex, would each of the unit owners be required to file separately or would the property manager file for the entire complex?
Answer: One filing is acceptable.

Question: If tax is owed for one or more of the units in a Tenancy in Common complex, who is responsible to pay the tax?
Answer: All co-owners are jointly and severally liable. All owners of a Tenancy in Common are common owners. If one of the units was found to owe the tax and failed to pay, all the owners would be held liable.

• August Empty Homes Tax Information Letter (Español)
• August Empty Homes Tax Information Letter (Filipino)

Article 29A: Empty Homes Tax