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SENIOR CITIZEN ASSISTANCE
PROPERTY TAX ASSISTANCE FOR SENIOR CITIZENS AND BLIND/DISABLED PERSONS:

The Senior Citizens Property Tax Assistance Law provides direct cash reimbursement by the state for part of the property taxes on the homes of qualified persons with total household incomes of $37,119 or less who are either: (1) 62 or older; (2) blind; or (3) disabled.

The filing period for claims for assistance runs from approximately July 1 through October 15. A claim form must be filed each year in order for the cash reimbursement to be received. Filing for property tax assistance will not reduce the amount of property taxes owed to the County Tax Collector nor will it result in a lien being placed on the property.

Forms and Information: Claim forms or information regarding the Property Tax Assistance Program may be obtained by telephoning the Franchise Tax Board toll free at 1-800-852-5711.

PROPERTY TAX POSTPONEMENT FOR SENIOR CITIZENS: 

On February 20, 2009, the Governor signed Chapter 4, Statutes of 2009, which immediately suspends the Senior Citizens’ Property Tax Deferral Program. This legislation prohibits the filing of claims for property tax postponement and prohibits the State Controller from accepting claims filed after February 20, 2009. As a result of the program suspension, the State Controller will no longer accept claims for property tax postponement pending modification or repeal of this new law. However, the State Controller’s Office will continue processing claims postmarked prior to February 20, 2009.

EXCLUSIONS AND EXEMPTIONS
BUILDERS’ EXCLUSION

Section 75.12 of the Revenue & Taxation Code

Completed new construction may be excluded from supplemental assessment under certain circumstances. The property must be intended for sale and the builder must file the necessary form with the Assessor’s Office prior to or within 30 days of the start of construction. If the exclusion is approved, an appraisal is not made until the next lien date or until the property is sold, leased or occupied by the builder. Effective January 1, 2006, forms are not required for recorded subdivisions of 5 or more parcels. For more information, or to obtain an application, please call the Assessor’s Office.

EXEMPTIONS

HOMEOWNERS: A property owner may claim a Homeowner’s Exemption in California on a residence that is both owned and occupied at 12:01 a.m. on January 1. Claims must be filed by February 15 following the change of ownership. Our office generally sends Homeowner claims with the Supplemental Assessment notification and asks that you return the claims within 30 days so that we can apply the reduction to the supplemental bill. If the prior owner claimed the Homeowner’s Exemption, claim forms are mailed in the beginning of January for filing by February 15. The exemption reduces your assessed value by $7,000 and reduces the tax bill by at least $70.

It is the homeowner’s responsibility to apply for the exemption. To receive the full exemption, you must file with the Assessor’s office between January 1 and February 15, or within 30 days of a Notice of Supplemental Assessment. (A late filing is accepted from February 16 to December 10 for 80 percent of the exemption.). Your exemption automatically continues each year as long as you continue to own and occupy the property as your primary residence. It is the homeowner’s responsibility to terminate the exemption when no longer eligible.

TOTALLY DISABLED VETERANS: If you are a veteran who is rated 100 percent disabled, blind, or a paraplegic due to a service-connected disability while in the armed forces (or if you are the unmarried widow of such a veteran), you may be eligible for an exemption of up to $150,000 off the assessed value of your owner occupied home. 

VETERANS: The filing period for Veteran’s Exemption is from January 1 through February 15, or within 30 days of a Notice of Supplemental Assessment for the full exemption. Late filing is from February 16 to December 1 for 80 percent of the exemption. Unlike the Homeowner’s exemption the Veteran’s exemption must be filed annually, and the Veteran’s assets cannot exceed $10,000.

NOTE: A property owner may NOT have both a Homeowner’s and a Veteran’s exemption on the same property. Applications and additional information may be obtained at the Assessor’s Office.

SUPPLEMENTAL ASSESSMENTS
State law requires the Assessor’s Office to reappraise property immediately upon change of ownership or completion of new construction. The Assessor’s Office must issue a supplemental assessment or refund that reflects the difference between the prior and new assessed values. The tax liability is pro-rated based on the number of months remaining in the fiscal year, ending June 30. This is in addition to the regular tax bill. A Notice of Supplemental Assessment is mailed out to the property owner before the tax bill is issued.
For example, if you purchased property in September, worth a market value of $150,000, and the previous assessed value of that property was $100,000, you would receive a supplemental assessment on the difference of $50,000 for the remainder of the fiscal year (from October through the following June). The amount of supplemental property taxes due would be 1 percent of the increase in value, pro-rated for the remaining months of the fiscal year. This supplemental tax bill is in addition to the annual tax bill.

All exemptions (Homeowner’s, etc.) shall be allowed on the supplemental assessments unless they have already been granted on the regular assessment. A claim for exemption must be filed before February 15 following a change in ownership or new construction. If a Homeowner’s Exemption has not been granted to your property, we will include a claim with the Supplemental Value Notice. We ask that you file the claim within 30 days so we can credit your Supplemental Bill with the reduction. If a Homeowner’s Exemption has been granted on your property because the prior owner claimed it, a claim will be mailed in the beginning of January. Remember, to get the full $7000 assessment reduction, file by February 15. If you miss the February 15 date, a partial credit can be granted up until the due date for the first installment of property taxes.

APPRAISAL OF PERSONAL PROPERTY AND OTHER ASSESSMENTS

MOBILE HOMES: Mobile homes sold new on or after July 1, 1980, are subject to property taxation. Most mobile homes sold prior to July 1, 1980, are not taxed by the county, but are registered annually with the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). A mobile home placed upon a permanent foundation is subject to property taxation regardless of the date first sold new. Mobile home owners subject to property taxes may be eligible for the Homeowner’s Exemption and the state Tax Assistance Programs.

BOATS AND AIRPLANES: Boats and airplanes are assessable for property tax purposes. They are assessed at market value in the county which the boat or airplane is habitually situated.

BUSINESS PERSONAL PROPERTY: The owners of all businesses must file a property statement each year detailing costs of all supplies, equipment and fixtures at each location. This annual statement is required unless the property qualifies for a direct assessment. Business inventory is exempt from taxes.

POSSESSORY INTERESTS: Any individual, group or corporation that has private use of publicly owned property is subject to a possessory interest assessment.

CALAMITY CLAIM (Disaster Relief): State law authorizes the Assessor to re-evaluate any property sustaining a calamity loss of $10,000 or more, and to assist the property owner in complying with approved procedures to obtain property tax adjustments.

AGRICULTURAL PRESERVE: Agricultural land owners who sign a contract with the County placing their land in Agricultural Preserve Zoning have their agricultural land valued according to a special form of capitalization of income. The value is generally lower than the full cash value. Home sites, nonliving improvements and outbuildings are valued on the same basis as other property under Proposition 13.

BUILDING AN IMPROVEMENT: If you own a parcel of land and build a structure (a house, outbuilding or garage), this will usually increase the value of the property. California statutes refer to such structures as improvements. The Assessor is required to add the value of these improvements to the assessment roll. The land value will not usually be changed due to new construction of a structure.

ADDING NEW AREA: If you increase the living area of your home you have completed “new construction.” Since new construction typically increase the value of a property, the Assessor must add the value of the addition, but only value associated with the new addition.

Q: If my construction is not complete by January 1, will I be assessed?

A: Yes. We will review the work on or about January 1, and you will be assessed on the value of the work completed.

Q: I plan to add another room on my home. Will you reappraise my entire property?

A: No. Only the value of your new addition will be added to your current assessed value.

MAINTENANCE

To maintain your property’s current value, you might need to paint your home or make some repairs. Typically, normal maintenance (such as painting or a new roof) would not cause a reappraisal and there would be no new assessment added by the Assessor.

REHABILITATION: A complete rehabilitation of a property, which makes it substantially the equivalent of new or changes the use of the property, is considered new construction and does require reappraisal. 

TAXABLE VALUE: The value upon which your taxes are calculated. This is normally the base year value of the property established in accordance with Proposition 13 plus the annual inflation factor, or current market value, whichever is lower.

BASE YEAR: The base year value for property in California is 1975 or the year in which property has transferred or been newly constructed. The Assessor determines the full cash value of property on its base year date. This base year value will be factored by an inflationary factor not to exceed 2 percent each year until the property is transferred at which time a new base year is established. A new base year is also established for new construction.

FULL CASH VALUE: Full Cash Value or Fair Market Value means the amount of cash or its equivalent which property would bring if exposed for sale in the open market under conditions of which neither buyer nor seller take advantage of the other.

ASSESSMENT ROLL: The official list of all assessable property in the County (The Tax Roll.)

LIEN DATE: The “moment” of valuation for all property. The assessed value of the property as of 12:01 a.m. on January 1 governs the tax status for the fiscal year beginning the following July 1.

REAL PROPERTY: Land and improvements

IMPROVEMENTS: All buildings, structures, fixtures, pools, fences, etc., secured to the land, including taxable mobile homes and taxable trees and vines.

PERSONAL PROPERTY: All other property subject to the general property tax but not considered land or improvements (such as boats, aircraft and business personal property).

SECURED PROPERTY: Property on which the property taxes are a lien against real estate.

UNSECURED PROPERTY: Property on which the property taxes are not a lien against real estate (office furniture, machinery, equipment, boats, airplanes, etc.) NOTE: Business inventory is exempt from taxation.

SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS: Direct charges against property which are included in the total amount of your taxes but are not determined by the Assessor. Sewer and school bonds are examples of special assessments.

Thorough research on all potential purchases is essential.  It is important that you complete this research before the day of the sale.  There are definite risks when buying tax foreclosure and tax-title properties.  Even County owned surplus sales might present risks.  Buying property without doing complete research can result in unwanted and costly surprises.

Warning:  Even the most diligent research efforts may not uncover all difficulties or unexpected problems.

Seminar
The County Treasurer´s Office periodically offers a seminar designed for anyone interested in buying property at Treasurer´s sales.  We help take the mystery and confusion out of County Treasurer property sales.

Where is the best place to begin?
The Treasurer’s Office will provide as much information as it has available.  Title reports, maps, appraisal sheets, and tax information, are some items that will help you in your research.  The Treasurer’s Office is only a starting point though.  Sometimes the information available is minimal.  It is up to the buyer to pursue other resources. Maps, and some other parcel information, may be found by individual research .

What does tax-title mean?

Parcels offered for auction at tax foreclosure sales, but not sold, are deeded to the County.  These parcels are called “Tax-Title.”  They may still be purchased from the County through a process called a tax-title sale.  A list of tax-Title is available at the Treasurer’s Office.  Tax-title properties are subject to the same risks as tax foreclosure properties.

What is County owned surplus?

Parcels the County owns, not acquired through tax foreclosure,  County Council has declared a parcel “surplus.”  A list of surplus County owned property will be available at the Treasurer’s Office, from time to time, when so declared.

How is Tax-title or County owned surplus property purchased?

Purchasing tax-title and County owned surplus property is done through public auction, or by private negotiation without a call for bids per RCW 36.35.150, and is called a tax-title sale.  It can take six months or more to bring a parcel to sale.

An application  to purchase county property along with a  deposit fee starts the process.  Each parcel requires a separate form and deposit.  You may, however, request that several parcels be sold as a group.

The Treasurer’s Office will present all applications to the County Property Management Committee at their next meeting.  The committee meets twice a year.  The committee makes a recommendation to retain or sell a parcel, either by public auction or private negotiation.  If the committee recommends retaining the parcel, the applicant’s deposit will be refunded.  If the committee recommends in favor of the sale, a resolution is drafted and submitted to the County Executive.

The County Executive usually forwards the resolution to the  County Council.

The County Council sets a public hearing date and applicants are notified.  At the hearing the Council approves or rejects the sale.  If the sale is rejected, the applicant’s deposit is refunded.

If approved for sale by public auction, the County Treasurer schedules the auction and the applicant is notified of the date, time and location.  The auction is advertised in the local newspaper for three consecutive weeks.

When real property taxes become three years delinquent, the County Treasurer is required by law to begin foreclosure action.  A certificate of delinquency is filed with the Superior Court.  Taxes, interest, penalties, and foreclosure costs begin to accrue.

A title search is conducted for each parcel.  As required by law, all parties with recorded legal interest (as revealed by the title search) are served with a notice and summons by certified or registered mail. 

The  Treasurer receives a judgment from Superior Court foreclosing on the tax liens and ordering the sale of those parcels.  Parcels being foreclosed can be redeemed by their owners, or other parties with recorded legal interest, through the close of business on the day before the sale.  That is, they are allowed to pay all taxes, interest, penalties, costs and fees due, thus removing their parcel from the sale.   Can Prior Owners Redeem Their Property After Foreclosure?

Prior owners have no rights to the property after foreclosure, UNLESS they were a minor or legally incompetent.  Minors and legal incompetents have the right to redeem anytime within three years from the date of the foreclosure sale.  They redeem the property by paying the sales price, plus interest on the tax amount.  Any improvements made by the new owner would also be reimbursed. (RCW 84.64.070)

What happens to all of the property liens?

Generally, all liens on foreclosed property are extinguished.  However, the County can make no guarantees that the prior lienholders will honor this extinguishment.  IRS liens are usually also extinguished, but they are subject to a 120 day redemption period.  If prior lienholders attempt to collect on their liens after the property has been foreclosed on, it is entirely up to the new owner to defend against these claims. 

What happens to the excess proceeds?

If a parcel is sold at auction for more than the amount owing, the previous title owner of record can claim the surplus money.  This is the party who held title on the day that we filed the Certificate of Delinquency.  They have up to three years from the date of the sale to make their claim.  (RCW 84.64.080 and RCW 63.29.350)