My city says my mortgage servicer did not pay my taxes

This notice

The paper is a city or county property-tax bill, delinquent tax notice, or similar tax-office letter. It says property taxes on your mortgaged home were not paid. You already send money for taxes through an escrow or impound account with your mortgage servicer.

This is not an escrow shortage or annual escrow analysis that only raises your monthly payment. That other paper is about projected escrow math. Use the CFPB page Why did my monthly mortgage payment go up or change? when the letter is only about a payment change.

This is also not force-placed homeowners insurance. Force-placed coverage is lender-placed hazard insurance. The tax bill comes from the tax office, not from an MS-3 insurance notice.

The CFPB page What should I do if I get a tax bill from the city or county saying that my mortgage servicer did not pay my taxes? says to contact your servicer immediately, send a notice of error with a copy of the bill, and contact your tax authority as soon as possible.

The related page What should I do if I’m having problems with my escrow or impound account? lists a notice from local government that property taxes have not been paid as a sign of an escrow problem. The page What is an escrow or impound account? explains that escrow is meant to pay taxes and insurance little by little each month.

Recent CFPB narratives describe delinquent tax notices after escrow transfers, missed tax installments, and wrong parcel payments. Company names in those stories vary. Use the tax-bill Ask page for the steps, not any one company’s phone script.

Official path

1. Save the city or county tax bill or delinquent notice, your latest mortgage statement, and any escrow analysis. Write the date you received the tax paper.

2. Call your mortgage servicer the same day. Ask whether escrow was supposed to pay this tax bill, whether a check was issued, and the notice-of-error mailing or portal address. Phone help can start the fix. The CFPB tax-bill page still wants the request in writing for stronger protections.

3. Send a written notice of error to the servicer’s error-resolution address. Attach a copy of the tax bill, not the original. Say the servicer did not pay the property taxes shown on that bill and ask the servicer to pay them from escrow or explain in writing why it did not. Use the CFPB page How do I dispute an error or request information about my mortgage? and Regulation X § 1024.35 Error resolution procedures.

4. Contact your city or county tax office the same day. Tell them you pay through mortgage escrow and you sent the servicer a notice of error. Ask how to prevent a tax lien while the servicer corrects the payment. Keep the tax office’s instructions.

5. Watch escrow rules if the servicer’s math also looks wrong. Regulation X § 1024.17 Escrow accounts covers how escrow accounts work. A shortage letter is a different paper from the unpaid tax bill.

6. Get free HUD-approved help if taxes stay unpaid or a lien threat grows. Use Find a Housing Counselor. The CFPB tax-bill page also points to the HOPE Hotline at (888) 995-HOPE (4673).

7. Submit a complaint at Submit a complaint if the servicer will not pay the taxes, will not answer the notice of error, or keeps giving conflicting escrow stories. Attach the tax bill, your error letter, and proof of delivery.

People in CFPB narratives often argue only on chat or phone and skip the written notice of error. The official pages win that conflict. Send the bill with the error letter, then complain if needed.

What people reported

Often helps

• Sending the county delinquent notice and a short notice of error the same day, then calling the tax office so the file shows the homeowner is fixing escrow disbursement.
• Asking the servicer for the check number, payee, and disbursement date for the tax installment in writing.

Often fails

• Assuming escrow “already paid it” and ignoring the tax bill until a lien letter arrives. Narratives still showed late tax interest and rushed payoffs when people waited.

Template

[DATE]

[MORTGAGE SERVICER NAME]
Notice of error / escrow tax payment
[NOTICE-OF-ERROR ADDRESS ON YOUR STATEMENT OR SERVICER SITE]

Re: Loan ending [LAST FOUR]; property taxes not paid

I am sending a notice of error under Regulation X. On [DATE] I received a [CITY/COUNTY] [TAX BILL / DELINQUENT TAX NOTICE] stating that property taxes for [PROPERTY ADDRESS] were not paid. Installment or tax year: [DETAILS ON THE BILL]. Amount shown: [AMOUNT IF LISTED].

I maintain an escrow or impound account for property taxes on this loan. Please confirm in writing whether escrow was required to pay this bill, whether any tax payment was issued (check number, payee, date, and amount), and when the servicer will pay the unpaid taxes or correct the error.

On [PHONE DATE] I called [NUMBER]. The reference number is [NUMBER]. I also contacted the tax office on [DATE].

Please send your written response to the address below. Enclosed is a copy of the tax bill, not the original.

[FULL NAME]
[ADDRESS]
[PHONE]
[EMAIL]

Enclosures: [TAX BILL COPY]

Stop here if…

• The only paper is an escrow shortage or analysis that raises your monthly payment, with no city or county unpaid-tax bill. Use the payment-increase Ask page and escrow problem page instead.
• The paper is force-placed or lender-placed hazard insurance. Use the force-placed insurance guide.
• You already sent a notice of error and the servicer never answered. Use the mortgage notice-of-error no-response guide after you still treat the unpaid tax bill as urgent with the tax office.
• You were served foreclosure or other court papers. Court deadlines are not the same as a tax bill or escrow letter.

FAQ

I pay into escrow. Why did the county still bill me?

An escrow or impound account is supposed to hold money so the servicer can pay property taxes for you. The CFPB tax-bill page says that if the city or county says the servicer did not pay, contact the servicer right away and send a notice of error with a copy of the bill. Paying into escrow does not always mean the tax office already received the money.

Is this the same as an escrow shortage or payment-increase letter?

No. An escrow analysis or shortage statement is about whether your escrow balance is projected short and how your monthly payment may change. The CFPB page on why a payment went up covers that path. This page is about a city or county tax bill or delinquent notice saying taxes were not paid.

Is this force-placed insurance?

No. Force-placed homeowners insurance is lender-placed hazard coverage when the servicer says your own policy lapsed. Use the force-placed guide and the CFPB force-placed Ask page for that paper. A property-tax bill from the city or county is a tax-office notice, not an MS-3 insurance letter.

What if the servicer ignores my notice of error?

Keep proof you sent it to the servicer’s notice-of-error address. Use the CFPB dispute-and-information page and Regulation X § 1024.35 for the written error path. If the servicer still does not fix the unpaid taxes, submit a CFPB complaint and talk with a HUD-approved housing counselor. The related no-response guide is for stalled notices of error; start with the tax bill and a new written error letter first.

Should I pay the tax office myself?

Tell the tax office you are working with the servicer, as the CFPB tax-bill page says. Ask the tax office what it needs to stop a lien while the servicer corrects the disbursement. Do not invent a deadline from this guide. Get the tax office’s instructions in writing when you can.