Disaster Relief
Disaster Relief
Under R & T Code §170
California law provides property tax relief for property owners whose property was damaged or destroyed due to a calamity. This property tax relief is available to owners of real property, business equipment and fixtures, and to owners of aircraft, boats or certain mobile homes.
To be eligible for this relief, the damage caused by the calamity must exceed $10,000 (market value) and must have been caused by a misfortune or calamity, not the fault of the property owner. To be considered, an application for reassessment must be submitted to the Assessor's Office within 12 months from the date the damage occurred.
Please complete and submit an application to the Assessor’s Office if you feel your property qualifies for a reassessment due to a recent calamity.
Please note that if you rebuild an equivalent structure in a timely manner, the property will retain its previous value for tax purposes.
Proposition 19 (operative April 1, 2021)
Claim for Transfer of Base Year Value to Replacement Primary Residence for Victims of Wildfire or Other Natural Disaster
Proposition 19 allows a homeowner, whose primary home is damaged by a wildfire or natural disaster, to transfer the base year value of that home to a new home that is acquired or newly constructed within two years of the sale of the original home. To qualify for relief, the damage to the original primary residence must be 50% or greater. The replacement home may be located anywhere in California and be of any value. If a replacement home is of greater market value than the damaged home just prior to damage, the difference in the full cash value between the replacement and original homes must be added to the transferred base year value of the original home.
