If you lost your home or business in this month's wildfires, you can get significant relief on your property taxes now and in the future, whether you decide to rebuild or move.
You'll be able to reduce the amount you owe immediately and defer payments. Ultimately, you retain the taxable value of your home before the fire, which means lower taxes than you would normally pay if you built a new home or moved elsewhere.
The following guide explains how to get help and details about future options:
For any home or business owner with property damage of $10,000 or more, the first step is to submit a form to the Los Angeles County Assessor's Office. This form is called "Property Damaged or Destroyed by Misfortune or Disaster" or "ADS-820" and You can access it via this link. You have one year from the date of the disaster (until January 2026) to submit this form.
Once approved, the Assessor's Office will reassess your property. If your home or business is destroyed, the taxable value will be based solely on the land. The lower value will remain in effect until the property is fully repaired, restored or rebuilt.
below Executive order signed by Governor Gavin Newsomyou can wait until April 2026 to file this year's property taxes without paying a penalty. You can also Apply to the Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector Seeking an extension of up to four years.
If you rebuild your home exactly as it was before, or even expand it by 20%, you will pay the same property taxes as before.
California passed Proposition 13 in 1978, establishing a unique property tax system. It limits property taxes to 1% of a home's taxable value (based on the year the home is purchased) and limits the amount of taxable value that can be transferred each year, even if the home's market value increases more.
Assume that a house destroyed by fire has a market value of $1 million this year and a taxable value of $600,000. The owner will also pay approximately $6,600 in taxes due to the voter-approved bond plus a 1% base interest rate.
If that homeowner rebuilds the home to approximately the same specifications (similar square footage, same number of bedrooms and bathrooms), the homeowner only retains the existing $600,000 taxable value of the new home and therefore has the same tax bill. This offer is available if a homeowner wants to replace a 1940s ranch home with a home built to today's fire codes and other modern standards.
Homeowners can expand their footprint by up to 20 percent without triggering a higher assessment. For those who want to move beyond this, or change the use of their property by building an accessory dwelling unit, the increase will be assessed at market value and their tax bill will increase accordingly.
If you move, there are several options for retaining your previous property tax benefits, including moving to a more expensive home.
Let’s start by addressing the issue of moving to a new home within Los Angeles County. If the new home's market value is no more than 20% higher than the old home's market value, you'll maintain exactly your previous taxable value.
Consider our example home with a market value of $1 million and a taxable value of $600,000. In this case, you could buy a home worth $1.2 million and your taxable value would still be $600,000.
Any additional market value of your newly purchased home will be added to your taxable value. If you buy a home worth $1.3 million, the taxable value will be $700,000, calculated by taking the existing $600,000 and adding an additional $100,000 on top of the allowed 20% increase.
If you want to move elsewhere in California, you can transfer your taxable value to a new home with the same market value as the destroyed home. So, using our example again, you could buy a $1 million home in Santa Barbara County and transfer $600,000 of your taxable value to the property.
For buying a more expensive home outside of Los Angeles County, the taxable value will be blended. A $1.3 million home in Santa Barbara has a taxable value of $900,000. The tax savings here are significant compared to buying a new home. A homeowner with a taxable value of $900,000 would pay approximately $9,900 per year in taxes, while a homeowner with a taxable value of $1.3 million would pay approximately $14,300 per year.
More generous benefits may be available for disaster-hit homeowners moving to Los Angeles Orange County, San Diego County, Ventura County or 10 other counties A person who elects to participate in a related property tax relief program.
You can only get property tax benefits for rebuilding or relocating, not both.
These rules have different eligibility deadlines and other nuances that may affect your specific situation. Therefore, it is best to contact the county assessor's office for assistance. The office has staff at disaster centers on the West Side (UCLA Research Park West, 10850 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles) and East Side (Pasadena City College Community Education Center, 3035 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena).
Assessor Jeff Prang encourages affected homeowners to submit their applications damaged property form And said his office is planning to ensure all eligible property owners receive immediate relief.
“While it would be helpful for them to fill out a form that tells us specifically who they are and how to contact them, we will reassess the property whether they ask us to or not,” Plan said.
Plan also warned homeowners not to fall for scams where third parties promise property tax relief for an additional fee.
“Nothing the company does is any different than what you would do yourself,” Plan said. "There's no reason for people to pay."
Additional resources are available online at evaluator and State Board of Equalization.