Property tax assessment
The notification of assessed value sent out to them by California county tax assessors for real property tax assessment purposes. Benjamin Franklin famously noted that, “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” For holders of commercial and residential real property in California, the start of summer heralds an important reminder of that latter certainty.
Notifications mailed out
These notifications, which are mailed out to owners of California real property each year at the end of June, have been showing up in mailboxes for the last couple of weeks. When receiving these notifications, property owners may wonder what they can do about them, and when they may need to take action.
Appeals process for lowering real property tax assessments
Previously, I have written in my blog about the appeals process for lowering real property tax assessments due to a decline in value generally, and I will be writing again in the near future about some specific real property tax assessment issues that some of you may find of particular interest. In the meantime, here are a few important dates to keep in mind:
- July 2: Assessment appeal filing period opens
- August 1: Last day to file for informal review under Proposition 8
- September 15: Assessment appeal filing period closes
Evaluate your prospects
Due to the short time limits for taking action, it is critical for California property owners to evaluate their prospects for successfully challenging their real property tax assessments as efficiently and as quickly as possible. For many property owners, it will be important to consult with their real estate and tax counselors as soon as they can in order to best gauge their most appropriate course of action in these matters.
