Lowering Your Property Tax Bill

Posted on March 23, 2008 in Money Matters by little mochi

I learned something new from my new tax guy today. I guess it’s a good thing that we switched. We felt that our old tax lady was overcharging us so we decided to try someone new.

Our first visit was amazing. Although it was a rather short visit, we left his office feeling like he was going to take care of us. Whether he really was going to take care of us is another story. The feeling that he was going to take care of us was good enough.

Anyways, I want to share a little bit of advice that he gave us that our old tax lady never talked to us about: Our property tax bill.

I never really thought about going the extra mile in trying to lower our property tax bill. Living in California, we expect our property taxes to be on the higher end. But given the current housing condition, saving money on our property taxes could sure help us.

So here’s the tip. Is your property value less than the assessed value? You can request for your house to be reassessed so your property tax against that property can be adjusted to its market value. Go to your county’s assessor’s website and download the Decline-In-Value Reassessment Application and mail in the completed form.

Homes in the Los Angeles County that were purchased between July 1, 2004 and June 30, 2007 will be reviewed by the assessor’s office due to the recent decline in home values so an application will not be necessary. Homes purchased outside of those dates, however, will need an application if you feel that the value of the home is less than the assessed value on your tax bill.

Be sure you contact your county assessor’s office for more information.



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