Homeowner's Exemption
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What is the Homeowners’ Exemption? |
The California Constitution provides for the exemption of
$7,000 (maximum) in assessed value from the property tax assessment
of any property owned and occupied as the owner’s principal
place of residence. The exemption reduces the annual property
tax bill for a qualified homeowner. (Art XIII Sec 3 of the CA
Constitution, Rev & Tax 218).
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How do I qualify for the Homeowners’ Exemption? |
To obtain the exemption for a property, you must be its owner
or co-owner (or a purchaser named in a contract of sale), and
you must live in the property as your principal place
of residence. You must also file the appropriate exemption claim
form with the Assessor.
There are two, basic, alternative ways that persons qualify
for this exemption:
Alternative 1 – Ownership & Occupancy on the
Lien Date:
The exemption is available to the eligible owner of a dwelling
which is occupied as their principal place of residence at 12:01
a.m. on January 1 (the lien date) of each year, or
Alternative 2 – Ownership & Occupancy or Intent
to Occupy within 90 days of a change in ownership or completion
of new construction:
The exemption is available to the eligible owner of a dwelling
that is subject to a supplemental assessment resulting from a
change in ownership or completion of new construction on or after
January 1, provided that:
- The owner occupies or intends to occupy the property as their
principal place of residence within 90 days after the date of
change in ownership or the date of completion of new construction.
and
- The property is not already receiving the homeowners’
exemption or another exemption of greater value. If the property
received an exemption of lesser value on the current assessment
roll, the difference in amount between the two exemptions shall
be applied to the supplemental assessment.
- The claim is filed by 5 p.m. on or before the 30th day
following the date printed on the "Notice of Supplemental
Assessment" issued for the change in ownership or new construction.
Under Alternative 2, whatever exemption is granted will
be applied to the supplemental assessment or assessments,
if any, and the full exemption will take effect for the
next fiscal year, provided the claim is timely filed (i.e.,
within 30 days of the date of Notice of Supplemental Assessment).
If you do not own the property, you should not
file a Homeowners’ Exemption claim. If you do not
occupy, or intend to occupy property you own, you should
not file a Homeowners’ Exemption.
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What sorts of properties can qualify for the Homeowners’
Exemption? |
A qualifying dwelling can be any place you own as your principal
place of residence and that is subject to property tax.
Examples include, but are not limited to:
- A single family residence
- A duplex or half-plex
- A condominium or planned unit development (PUD)
- A unit of any multi-unit property
- A mobilehome
- A houseboat or floating home that is subject to property
tax
- A living unit in a commercial or industrial property
- A motor home or other temporary structure used as a principal
residence on otherwise vacant property owned by the claimant
A dwelling will not qualify for the exemption if it
is (or is intended to be) rented or leased, vacant/unoccupied,
or if it is the vacation or secondary home of the claimant, or
if you do not own it.
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What is the Normal Filing Period for a Homeowners’ Exemption
claim, and are there any Provisions for Late Filing? |
Alternative 1 - Main Assessment Roll Filing (owned &
occupied as of 12:01 a.m. January 1).
Normal filing period: To receive the full exemption
on the coming annual tax bill, you must file before 5 p.m. on
February 15.
Late filing period: If a claim is filed after February
15 and before 5 p.m. on Dec 10, then only 80% of the exemption
may be granted.
Alternative 2 - Supplemental Assessment Filing (owned
& occupied or intent to occupy within 90 days of a change
in ownership or completion of new construction):
Normal filing period: The full exemption, if
any (and only up to an amount that does not exceed the
amount of the supplemental tax bill), may be available,
but only if the full exemption has not already been
applied to the same property on the current assessment
roll, or on a prior supplemental assessment for the
same year. To qualify, you must file before 5 p.m. on
the 30th day following the date printed on the "Notice
of Supplemental Assessment" sent to you as
a result of a change in ownership or completed new construction.
Late filing period: If a claim is filed after the 30th
day following the date printed on your "Notice of Supplemental
Assessment," but on or before the date on which the first
installment of taxes on the supplemental bill becomes delinquent,
then 80% of the exemption may be allowed. Once the first installment
of taxes on the supplemental bill becomes delinquent, no Homeowners’
Exemption may be granted for the supplemental assessment.
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I also have a vacation home in the mountains. Can I get the
exemption on it as well as my regular home? |
No. You are only entitled to one Homeowners’ Exemption.
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Once I have been granted the exemption, do I need to re-file
a claim every year? |
No. Once you have been granted the exemption, and as long
as you continue to own and occupy the property on a continuing
basis, there is no need to refile a claim. However, if you vacate
on a long-term basis (such that you are not residing there on
January 1, the lien date), or rent or lease the property, you
must notify the Assessor in writing that you are no longer eligible
for the exemption. If at a later date you then reoccupy the property,
you must then file a new claim in order to receive the exemption.
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If I already have an exemption on file but recently changed
title on the deed to my property (by addition/deletion of names
to/from the deed, such as that of my children or a spouse or
some other person, for example), do I need to re-file for the
exemption? |
Yes. A new Homeowners’ Exemption claim is required
any time there has been any change in the manner in which title
is held.
Whenever the Assessor becomes aware of a change in the way
title is held in a property, the existing exemption is cancelled
and a new Homeowners’ Exemption claim form is sent to the
owner of record. A new exemption claim must then be filed to
renew the exemption even though occupancy may not have changed.
If you receive a new claim form in the mail, do not ignore
it; you might lose your existing exemption if you do not respond.
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I just acquired my home and its prior owner already had a
Homeowners’ Exemption on the property. Do I still need to
file a new Homeowners’ Exemption claim? |
Yes. In order for your property to receive the exemption
in the years following your acquisition, you, as the new owner,
must file a claim even if the property was already receiving
the Homeowner’s Exemption under the prior owner.
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I just sold my home and it was receiving the Homeowners’
Exemption, do I need to notify the Assessor that it may no longer
be eligible for the exemption? |
There are two circumstances where it is not necessary
for you to notify the Assessor of the termination of your eligibility
for the exemption:
- If you are moving because your property has been sold, the
recording of the deed by the new owner will automatically terminate
the existing exemption on your former residence. However, you
should notify the Assessor if you move before January 1 and the
recording of the change in ownership occurs after January 1.
- If you are moving immediately to another residence in Madera
County for which you will be filing a new Homeowners’ Exemption
claim, the new claim form will serve as written notification
of the cancellation of your prior exemption (which we identify
by matching social security numbers on the new and old claims).
In any other circumstance, you must notify the Assessor that
your former property is no longer eligible for the exemption.
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I just moved away from a home where I was receiving the Homeowners’
Exemption but still own it, do I need to notify the Assessor
of that circumstance? |
Yes. You must notify the Assessor in writing whenever a property
you own is no longer eligible for the Homeowners’ Exemption.
Please notify us as soon as possible after vacating the property,
but in no case later than the first December 10 following the
lien date (January 1) immediately following your vacating the
property. Failure to notify the Assessor will result in
escape assessments and penalties if an unauthorized exemption
is discovered.
If however you are moving immediately to another residence
in Madera County for which you will be filing a new Homeowners’
Exemption claim, the new claim form will serve as written notification
of the cancellation of your prior exemption (which we identify
by matching social security numbers on the new and old claims).
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We moved our elderly parents into a Rest Home (or Extended
Care Facility) on a permanent basis. Will the home they own remain
eligible for the Homeowners’ Exemption? |
Unfortunately, the answer is no. In order to be eligible,
they must both own and occupy the property as specified
in the law. Owners who permanently relocate to a rest home must
also notify the Assessor that they are no longer eligible for
the exemption. Failure to do so will result in escape
assessments and penalties if an unauthorized exemption is discovered.
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Would an extended stay in a Convalescent Hospital jeopardize
eligibility for the exemption? |
A temporary move to a convalescent hospital will not disqualify
the property from the exemption unless the stay becomes prolonged.
In other words, the exemption is allowed if the owner is expected
to return. However, according to the State Board of Equalization,
an absence of more than one year raises considerable doubt that
the owner is expected to return, and in that case eligibility
may be terminated.
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Can I receive both a Disabled Veterans’ Exemption (or
the Veterans’ Exemption) AND a Homeowners’ Exemption
at the same time? |
Where the Disabled Veterans Exemption is concerned, the answer
is no, you are only entitled to have one or the other exemption,
but not both. The Disabled Veterans’ Exemption ($171,952
maximum) normally provides much more benefit than the Homeowners’
Exemption ($7,000 maximum), and is the preferred choice if one
must chose between the two.
Where the obscure and little-used Veterans’ Exemption
(which is different from the Disabled Veterans’ Exemption;
has $4,000 maximum benefit and very restrictive income limits)
is concerned, the answer is generally no. However, there are
some very rare instances where an owner may legally hold
the Veterans’ Exemption and a Homeowners’ Exemption
simultaneously, and you should discuss this issue with the Assessor’s
staff if you think it might apply to you. The Homeowners’
Exemption ($7,000 maximum) provides more benefit than the Veterans’
Exemption ($4,000 maximum), and is the preferred choice if one
must chose between the two.
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The Homeowners’ Exemption Claim Form asks what date I
ACQUIRED the property. What date should I use? |
Use the original date you first became the owner
of the property (approximate dates are acceptable).
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The Homeowners’ Exemption Claim Form asks what date I
OCCUPIED the property. What date should I use? |
Use the date you first moved into the property but only if
your occupancy of the property has been continuous since
that date. If you previously vacated the property and then moved
back, use the most recent date you moved-in. (Approximate
dates are acceptable)
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After I file, will I receive something in writing notifying
me that I have qualified for the exemption? |
Yes, you will receive a stamped receipt from the Assessor's
Office. This will be proof of your filing of your Homeowners'
Exemption Claim. If more information is needed to process your
claim you will be contacted by phone or in writing. This is why
it is important to provide all requested information on the claim,
especially a telephone number where you can be reached during
the day.
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I filed a Homeowners’ Exemption months ago but recently
received a tax bill that does not show the exemption. What happened
and what should I do? |
Due to our limited resources, backlogs often occur in processing
the Homeowners’ Exemption claims and changes we receive
each year. These backlogs sometimes delay the processing of a
claim for several months and, in some cases, up to 6 months.
As a result, it is not uncommon for tax bills to be issued that
do not properly include the exemption. If you receive such a
bill, do not ignore it.
Where a claim is processed too late to affect the next qualifying
tax bill, you should pay the first installment (or both installments,
if you prefer) of the bill you do receive on time to avoid any
penalty and interest charges. If we process your claim before
the second installment is due and that installment has not already
been paid, a corrected bill will be issued with the exemption
reflected in the amount of that bill. If instead you paid the
full bill with the first installment, a refund check will be
issued to you.
If you pay the first installment only and a corrected bill
has not been issued by the due date of the second installment,
you should pay the second installment on time to avoid possible
penalty and interest charges. In that case, a refund check will
be sent to you as soon as the claim has actually been processed,
but the refund cannot be issued until after the original,
excessive bill has been completely paid.
We apologize for any inconvenience, you will eventually receive
the proper benefit of the exemption if you qualify.
In the unfortunate circumstance where your claim may have
been lost in the mail or by the Assessor, you should discuss
that matter with the Assessors’ Homeowners’ Exemption
staff.
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Will the public have access to the information on my Homeowners’
Exemption claim form? |
No. The Homeowners’ Exemption claim form is NOT
a public document and both it and the Social Security number
information on the form must be held confidential by the Assessor
as a matter of law (ref Property Tax Rule 135(e)(4)).
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Why do we have to put my Social Security Numbers on the claim
form? Isn’t it against the law to require that information. |
The numbers are required because the Assessor uses them to
verify your eligibility and because the State Board of Equalization
uses them to detect unauthorized multiple claims. In order to
do that, the state runs the Social Security number information
you provide through an electronic matching process that detects
instances of multiple filings.
The Social Security Number information may also be used by
State Department of Justice Parent Locator Services and
State Department of Social Services’ Statewide Automated
Child Support System for locating absent parents or property
of persons who are delinquent in their child support payments.
The State Department of Social Services may also use them to
identify homeowners who failed to report property ownership to
county welfare departments.
The content of the application is prescribed by law and cannot
be altered by the Assessor. The reporting of the Social Security
Number is required by the State Board of Equalization as part
of the application process under Revenue & taxation Code
Section 218.5, which grants that Board the discretionary authority
to make that requirement.
The Social Security Number requirement is made under the umbrella
of Title 42 of the United State Code, Section 405(c)(2)(C)(I),
which authorizes the use of Social Security Numbers for the administration
of any tax.
It is also true that Federal law does restrict local governments’
authority to require the Social Security Number under the "Privacy
Act of 1974" (Title 5 United State Code, Section
552a). However, the Privacy Act was amended (Section 7
of Public Law 93-579, USC), to provide that if the reporting
was required by the state before January 1, 1975, then the state
could continue to require its reporting. Reporting the Social
Security Number was required on the Homeowners’ Exemption
claim form before that specified date; hence, its requirement
now appears to be within the law.
In any case, failure to provide the SSN on the Homeowners’
Exemption claim form will result in a delay in the claim’s
processing and disallowance of the claim.
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I have other questions about the Homeowners’ Exemption,
how do I contact the Assessor’s Office? |
See this page's last section for contact information.
REMINDER: Once you have an approved claim on file,
you must notify the Assessor’s Office in writing if you
move from the property, rent it, move ‘permanently’
to an extended care facility or rest home, or occupy your property
only as a secondary home (refer to questions 8, 9, 10 and 11
for more detail). Your notice to the Assessor should include
the following:
- Property address and parcel number (printed on your tax bill)
- Date you vacated the property
- Your name
- Daytime phone number
- Your new mailing address.
- Your signature
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