Owners who suffer damage to their property as the result of a
disaster or calamity (such as fire, earthquake, flood or
accident) may be eligible for certain, limited forms of
property tax relief under Revenue & Taxation Code Section
170 and 194-194.5. If the property was substantially damaged
or completely destroyed, the owner may be eligible to transfer
their original Proposition 13 factored base year value to
a similar replacement property under R&T69 (R&T is
an abbreviation for "Revenue & Taxation Code Section").
In order to qualify for the relief programs offered by R&T
170, damage to taxable property must be at least $10,000 and
certain other requirements met.
IMPORTANT NOTE: R&T 170 tax relief is very limited.
Do not expect it to provide substantial help in repairing your
property. Typically, most relief under R&T 170 totals less
than one half of 1% of the dollar amount of damage suffered.
In order to qualify for the Proposition 13 base year value
transfer under R&T 69, the property must have been substantially
damaged or destroyed by a disaster as declared by the Governor,
the replacement Property must be located within Madera
County, and certain other requirements must be met. This form
of relief may provide substantial property tax savings. Please click HERE for the claim form if your property has been affected by a Governor-declared disaster.
CALAMITY PROPERTY TAX RELIEF, TEMPORARY REDUCTIONS
(R&T 170)
There are four basic categories of possible relief:
The amount of damage must exceed $10,000, and a completed
Calamity Claim application must be filed with the Assessor
within 60 days of the date of damage.
However, if no application has been filed and the Assessor
later determines that a property suffered a calamity within the
preceding 6 months, then the Assessor must send an application
to the last known owner of the property. The owner must then
return the completed application to the Assessor within 30 days
of the Assessor’s notification but in no case may the application
be filed later than 6 months after the date of calamity.
If you need more information, or if you are unsure if you qualify
for a calamity or disaster relief claim, please contact the Assessor's
Office.
