Property Tax Relief Available for Civil Unrest Damages

According to the Los Angeles County Tax Assessor, you may be eligible for Misfortune or Calamity Property Tax relief if your property has been damaged by a natural disaster or other unforeseeable, sudden, and unusual occurrences.

Filing a claim will temporarily reduce the assessed value of your property - and your property taxes. Granted, these values will remain in effect until damage repairs are completed. In effect, property owners will be able to enjoy lower tax rates while they begin to recover from any unforeseen damages to their properties.

More importantly, this tax relief program has been extended to cover damages related to recent civil unrest movements. Below, you'll find if you qualify and how to file a claim.

Requirements for Property Tax Relief

Foremost, to gain access to property tax relief, property owners must:

1. Submit a claim within 12 months of the disaster date.
2. Show that the physical damage to the property was at least $10,000 or more.

Moreover, businesses that were damaged in recent civil unrest also may be eligible for Misfortune or Calamity property tax relief. However, please note a few potential areas of complication for businesses filing for disaster relief.

1. Tax relief is only available for taxable properties. In particular, taxes are paid on business personal property such as machinery, equipment, and furniture, but not on inventory or merchandise.
2. If the business rents the space, then relief for damage to business personal property (equipment and furniture) would be filed for by the business, while relief for damage to real property would be filed by the landlord.

For more information and to file a claim, visit the County's disaster relief site here.