Property owners who suffer at least $10,000 in damage from this week’s firestorms — even if it’s just from smoke damage — are eligible to have property taxes deferred under a practice that has become almost routine after a long history of Southern California wildfires.
Normally, the second half of the tax bill would be due by April 10 for those who pay their taxes directly instead of including them with their monthly mortgage payment.
To get the deferrals, homeowners must file a “Misfortune or Calamity” application with the Los Angeles County Assessor’s Office.
“If you apply for the Misfortune or Calamity program, your property taxes can be deferred without penalty or interest,” L.A. County Assessor Jeff Prang said Thursday, Jan. 9. “We do encourage everybody to fill out those forms, which are available online at assessor.lacounty.gov.”
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However, Prang said that once the emergency workers give the OK, his staff will go to the fire areas and begin identifying properties that have been damaged or destroyed.
“We will adjust the assessments for them, with or without an application,” Prang said. “People shouldn’t be paying property taxes for a home that’s been destroyed.”
Assessments will drop to the land value only for homes destroyed by the fires, Prang said.
“They’re still liable for tax on the land, unfortunately. But the taxes can be deferred,” Prang said.
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Those lower assessments will remain in effect until the home is repaired or rebuilt.
In addition, home and building owners will retain their lower Property 13 assessments provided the new structure is “substantially equivalent” to the prior structure, according to the Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector’s Office. For bigger homes, however, the added square footage will be assessed at current market value, which usually is higher than the Proposition 13 value.
In past fires, the Tax Collector’s Office said refunds may be available for property owners who already paid the second installment of their taxes.
Those who pay their property taxes monthly along with their mortgage payments also should file a Misfortune or Calamity application to trigger property reassessments, the Tax Collector’s Office said. They then should contact their lender to discuss the procedures for making adjustments.
Applications also can be filed for personal property, like mobile homes, planes and boats, so long as there’s at least $10,000 in damage, the Tax Collector’s Office said.