Los Angeles County Assessor

Property tax relief

The Los Angeles County Assessor announced that a property tax relief can be awarded to anyone whose property had fire damage of at least $10,000 due to the 2007 California wildfires. With this property tax relief, a taxpayer will not have to pay as much property taxes as before the fire damage hit. It will be up to the Los Angeles County Assessor’s office to reappraise your property to determine the reduction of its value and compute the degree of property tax relief you may be entitled to. However, to qualify for this 2007 property tax relief, you need to apply for it within 12 months from when fire damage hit your property, with the Application for Reassessment of Property Damaged or Destroyed by Misfortune or Calamity.

Property assessment

As a taxpayer on real property, you need to undergo a property assessment by the Los Angeles County Assessor to qualify for any temporary tax reduction (such as the 2007 property tax relief due to the California wildfires.) Once your property has been reconstructed, the Los Angeles County Assessor will conduct a new property assessment to see if you have to pay the same level of taxes you were paying prior to when the damage occurred, or if you should pay more property taxes (perhaps because your property has had improvements made that surpass that when your property was not yet hit by damage.) The Proposition 13 benefits of a taxpayer are retained. Anyone who is dissatisfied with the property assessment may contest it with the Assessment Appeals Board.