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How to get property tax relief if your house burned in the fires – Jobsmaa.com

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If you lost your home or business in this month's wildfires, you could get significant relief on your property taxes now and in the future — whether you decide to rebuild or relocate.

You can reduce your debt payment immediately and delay the payment. Ultimately, you can retain the taxable value of your home before the fire, meaning lower taxes than if you were to build a new home or move somewhere else under normal circumstances.

Here's a guide on how you can get help and details on your options going forward:

The first step for any home or business owner with damages of $10,000 or more is to file a form with the Los Angeles County Assessor's Office. Form “Property Damaged or Destroyed by Misfortune or Disaster” or “ADS-820” and You can access it at this link. You have one year from the date of the disaster – January 2026 – to file the form.

What should I do now?

Once approved, the assessor's office will reappraise your property. If your home or business is destroyed, the tax will be levied only on the land. The reduced value remains in effect until the property is fully repaired, restored or reconstructed.

under Executive order signed by Governor Gavin NewsomYou can wait till April 2026 to file property taxes for this year without penalty. You can too Apply to the Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector Longer deferrals of up to four years should be sought.

What happens if I decide to rebuild my home?

If you rebuild your home the same way it was before — or if it's 20% bigger — you'll pay the same property tax as before.

California has a unique property tax system with Proposition 13 enacted in 1978. It caps property taxes at 1% of a home's taxable value, based on the year the home was purchased, and limits how much that taxable value can go up. Every year, even if the market value of a house increases.

Suppose a house destroyed by fire had a market value of $1-million this year and a taxable value of $600,000. In addition to the base 1% rate, the property owner would have paid about $6,600 in taxes due to voter-approved bonds.

If this homeowner rebuilds the home to roughly the same specifications — the same square footage, the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms — then the homeowner retains the existing $600,000 taxable value of the new home, and therefore the same tax bill. The benefit applies if the property owner wants to replace a 1940s farmhouse with a home built to today's fire code and other modern standards.

Homeowners can expand their footprint by up to 20% without triggering a higher valuation. For those who want to go beyond that, or change the use of their property by building an accessory dwelling unit, the addition to the market value will be assessed and the tax bill will increase accordingly.

What if I want to move instead?

There are several options to retain your previous property tax benefits if you move, including a more expensive home.

Let's tackle moving to a new home in LA County first. Unless the new home is 20% more than your previous market value, you fully maintain your previous taxable value.

See our example home with a market value of $1 million and a taxable value of $600,000. In this scenario, you could buy a $1.2-million home and your taxable value would still be $600,000.

Any additional market value of the newly purchased home will be added to your taxable value. If you bought a $1.3-million home, the taxable value would be $700,000, calculated by taking the existing $600,000 and adding an additional $100,000 above the allowable 20% increase.

If you want to move to another location in California, you can transfer your taxable value to a new home that is the same market value as the destroyed one. So using our example again, you can buy a $1-million home in Santa Barbara County and transfer your $600,000 taxable value to that property.

For more expensive home purchases outside of LA County, taxable values ​​are mixed. A $1.3 million home in Santa Barbara would result in a taxable value of $900,000. The tax savings here are significant compared to buying a new home otherwise. A homeowner with a taxable value of $900,000 pays about $9,900 in taxes a year, while someone with a taxable value of $1.3 million pays $14,300.

Disaster-hit LA homeowners may have a little more generous benefits Orange, San Diego, Ventura or 10 other counties have opted for the relevant property tax relief scheme.

You can only get property tax credit for rebuilding or moving, not both.

Where can I directly get help or learn more?

These rules have different eligibility deadlines and other nuances that may affect your specific situation. For that reason, it is best to contact the county assessor's office for assistance. The office is staffed by disaster centers on both the Westside (UCLA Research Park West, 10850 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles) and Eastside (Pasadena City College Community Education Center, 3035 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena).

Assessor Jeff Prong encourages affected homeowners to register theirs Damaged property form He said his office plans to ensure immediate relief to all eligible property owners.

“While it helps if they fill out forms that specifically tell them who they are and how to contact them, we're going to reassess the property whether they ask us or not,” Prang said.

Frank also warned homeowners not to fall prey to third-party scams that offer additional property tax relief for fees.

“There's nothing a company can do that you're going to get anything else if you do it yourself,” Prang said. “There's no reason for people to pay.”

Additional resources are available online at websites Assessor And State Board of Equality.

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