Reduced tax bills in offing for damaged property

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Los Angeles County:

L.A. County property owners with $10,000 in fire damage or more can contact the Assessor’s office for a corrected tax bill or refund this tax year.

“You can get reassessed so you’re not paying taxes on a full value of a house that’s destroyed or partially damaged,” said Robert Knowles, a spokesman for the Assessor’s office.

The reassessment is spelled out under the misfortune and calamity section of the state tax code. It was widely used during the 2003 fires, Knowles said.

The assessor is contacting fire and public works departments for a roster of fire-damaged properties. But officials urged people to notify them as well.

“It’s always better to err on the side of caution and call us, but for a lot of people it’s the last things on their mind,” Knowles said.

Property owners in the Malibu area can call (310) 665-5413, and those in the north county area can call (818) 833-6194, to speak to appraisers and to get more information.

Misfortune and calamity forms can be downloaded and are availble on the Assessor’s website: http://assessor.lacounty.gov.

-- Tami Abdollah