How do I reduce my property taxes during this economic downturn?
For the purpose of this Blog post I will address only San Bernardino County and more specifically the Morongo Basin.
As most of us are aware, back in the 70’s California passed the now famous “Proposition 13”. This proposition limited the ability of the State, County, or Town governments to increase property tax. Property tax is based on the purchase price of your property. The government is allowed a 3% increase in the tax rate annually. Again, the basis is your purchase price. Keep in mind that you may also pay various bonds with your tax payment. These bond payments are not included in the discussion on property tax. They, for the most part, will stay the same throughout the term of the bond. In our area a “rule of thumb” is your tax bill will be approximately 1.15% of your purchase price. As an example, a property purchased for $100,000 will pay $1,150 per year or almost $100 per month towards property tax.
The newer Proposition 8 allows for a temporary reduction in property tax if it can be shown that during the current market the value of the property has declined. In many cases, the Assessor’s office will automatically review the assessment roll and set a new value for tax. This is a temporary reduction and can be increased back to the basis (plus 3% annually) when the market returns. Many of us have recently received an Assessment Notice from the Assessor’s office notifying us of this reduction.
The County Assessor offers both an online and print version form for Proposition 8, Decline in Value Application. If your property was not automatically re-assessed, or if you believe the new assessment was incorrect, simply fill out the form and submit it to the Assessor’s office. The last date to request a review for decline in value is December 31, 2009.
All of the Agents at AFG Realty have access to the County tax rolls. Any one of the Agents would be happy to give you a list of comparable sales for property like yours. You can attach this information to your application for re-assessment. Simply call us at 760.369.2347 and speak with the Agent on duty. This is a free service and we are happy to help.
One last point- This is a free service from both the County and AFG Realty. DO NOT PAY FOR THIS SERVICE! Your County Assessor is here to work for you and will be more than happy to answer your questions and help you with our application. You can find more information on line at: http://www.sbcounty.gov/assessor or you can call them locally at 760.228.5420.
Bob Armstrong
Broker
AFG Realty
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