The purpose of this chapter is to implement the provisions of Section 170 of the Revenue and Taxation Code and does not limit, modify, or expand the provisions contained therein.
(SCC 294 § 3, 1977; SCC 611 § 1, 1984)
Every assessee of any taxable property or any person liable for the taxes thereon, whose property was damaged or destroyed without his fault by a misfortune or calamity, may, within 12 months of such misfortune or calamity, apply for reassessment of such property by delivering a written application describing the condition of the property and its value immediately before and after the damage or destruction, which damage must be shown therein to be in excess of $10,000. The application shall be executed under penalty of perjury, or if executed outside the state of California, verified by affidavit.
(SCC 294 § 3, 1977; SCC 611 § 2, 1984; SCC 1272 § 1, 2004)
To be eligible for reassessment the damage or destruction to the property must have been caused by any of the following:
1.
A major misfortune or calamity, in an area or region subsequently proclaimed by the Governor to be in a state of disaster, if such property was damaged or destroyed by the major misfortune or calamity which caused the Governor to proclaim the area or region to be in a state of disaster. As used in this paragraph "damage" includes a diminution in the value of property as a result of restricted access to the property where such restricted access was caused by the major misfortune or calamity.
2.
A misfortune or calamity.
3.
A misfortune or calamity which, with respect to a possessory interest in land owned by the state or federal government, has caused the permit or other right to enter upon the land to be suspended or restricted.
(SCC 611 § 3, 1984)
Upon receiving an Application for Reassessment (Application), the Assessor shall appraise the property and determine separately the full cash value of land, improvements, and personalty immediately before and after the damage or destruction. If the sum of the full cash values of the land, improvements, and personalty before the damage or destruction exceeds the sum of the values after the damage by ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) or more, the Assessor shall also separately determine the percentage reductions in value of land, improvements, and personalty due to the damage or destruction. The Assessor shall reduce the values appearing on the assessment roll by the percentages of damage or destruction computed pursuant to this subdivision, and the taxes due on the property shall be adjusted as provided in Section 3.28.050; provided, however, that the amount of the reduction shall not exceed the actual loss. If the amount of damage, as verified by the Assessor, is not at least ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00), no adjustment shall be made to said roll and no taxes shall be cancelled or refunded. The Assessor shall notify the property owner if the property is ineligible for disaster relief.
If no such Application is made and the Assessor determines that within the preceding twelve (12) months a property has suffered damage caused by misfortune or calamity which may qualify the property owner for relief under this section, the Assessor shall provide the last known owner of the property with an Application. The property owner shall file the completed Application within twelve (12) months of such misfortune or calamity. If notified by the Assessor within twelve (12) months from the date of damage, the property owner has an additional sixty (60) days to file the Application. If the Application from the Assessor's Office is received more than twelve (12) months after the date of damage, the deadline to file a claim has passed. Upon receipt of a properly completed, timely filed application, the property shall be reassessed in the same manner as required above.
In the case of a Governor-proclaimed disaster, in a neighborhood or area that is damaged, and the Assessor has knowledge of the damage, the Assessor may initiate the reassessment of those properties.
The Assessor shall notify the applicant in writing of the amount of the proposed reassessment. The notice shall state that the applicant may appeal the proposed reassessment to the Assessment Appeals Board within six months of the date of mailing the notice.
The assessed value of the property, in its damaged condition, as determined shall be compounded annually by the inflation factor specified in subdivision (a) of Section 51 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, and shall be the taxable value of the property until it is restored, repaired, reconstructed, or other provisions of the law require the establishment of a new base year value.
If partial reconstruction, restoration, or repair has occurred on any subsequent lien date, the taxable value shall be increased by an amount determined by multiplying the difference between its factored base year value immediately before the calamity and its assessed value in its damaged condition by the percentage of the repair, reconstruction, or restoration completed on that lien date.
When the property is fully repaired, restored, or reconstructed, the Assessor shall make an additional assessment or assessments pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 170 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. The new taxable value shall be the lesser of: (1) its full cash value, or (2) its factored base year value or its factored base year value as adjusted pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 70 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. The new taxable value shall be enrolled on the lien date following completion of the repair, restoration, or reconstruction.
(SCC 294 § 3, 1977; SCC 611 § 4, 1984; SCC 1272 § 2, 2004; SCC 1666 § 1, 2020; SCC 1728, 12/12/2023)
If an appeal is requested, within the six-month period provided in Section 3.28.030, the assessment appeals board shall hear and decide the matter as if the proposed reassessment had been entered on the roll as an assessment made outside the regular assessment period. The decision of the Board regarding the damaged value of the property shall be final, provided that a decision of the assessment appeals board regarding any reassessment made pursuant to this chapter shall create no presumption as regards the value of the affected property subsequent to the date of the damage.
(SCC 294 § 3, 1977; SCC 1272 § 3, 2004)
The reassessments resulting from reductions authorized by Sections 3.28.030 and 3.28.040 shall be forwarded to the auditor by the assessor or the clerk of the assessment appeals board, as the case may be. The auditor shall enter the reassessed values on the roll. After being entered on the roll, said reassessments shall not be subject to review except by a court of competent jurisdiction.
The tax rate fixed for the property on the roll on which the property so reassessed appeared at the time of the misfortune or calamity shall be applied to the amount of the reassessment determined in accordance with this chapter, and the assessee shall be liable for:
1.
A prorated portion of the taxes that would have been due on the property for the current fiscal year had the misfortune or calamity not occurred, such proration to be determined on the basis of the number of months in the current fiscal year prior to the misfortune or calamity; plus
2.
A proration of the tax due on the property as reassessed in its damaged or destroyed condition, such proration to be determined on the basis of the number of months in the fiscal year after the damage or destruction, including the month in which the damage was incurred. If the damage or destruction occurred after January 1 and before the beginning of the next fiscal year, the reassessment shall be utilized to determine the tax liability for the next fiscal year; provided, however, if the property is fully restored during the next fiscal year, taxes due for that year shall be prorated based on the number of months in the year before and after the completion of restoration.
(SCC 294 § 3, 1977; SCC 611 § 5, 1984; SCC 1272 § 4, 2004)
Any tax paid in excess of the total tax due shall be refunded to the taxpayer pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 5096) of Part 9 of Division 1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, as an erroneously collected tax or by order of the Board of Supervisors without the necessity of a claim being filed pursuant to Chapter 5 as set forth in this section.
(SCC 294 § 3, 1977)