Generate a California property tax reassessment demand letter after storm or disaster damage. Cite Revenue & Taxation Code 170 and reduce your assessed value.
Generate My Letter — $19If your California property was damaged by a storm, flood, wildfire, earthquake, or other calamity, you may be entitled to a temporary reduction in your assessed value—and a partial refund of property taxes already paid. California Revenue & Taxation Code § 170 allows county assessors to reassess property that has suffered at least $10,000 in damage from a misfortune or calamity not caused by the owner. But this relief is not automatic. You must file a written application with your county assessor within 12 months of the damage. A clear, well-documented demand letter referencing § 170 and the specific damage to your property gives you the strongest chance of obtaining a fair reassessment and avoiding overpayment.
California Revenue & Taxation Code § 170 is the state's calamity reassessment statute. It permits, but does not require, each county board of supervisors to adopt an ordinance allowing property tax relief when taxable property is damaged or destroyed by a misfortune or calamity through no fault of the assessee. Nearly every California county has adopted such an ordinance, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Sacramento, Alameda, and Santa Clara. To qualify, the damage must total at least $10,000 in current market value. Eligible property includes real property, business personal property, manufactured homes, and certain boats and aircraft. Once the assessor approves the application, the property is reassessed to reflect its damaged condition as of the date of the calamity. The reduced value remains in place until the property is fully repaired, restored, reconstructed, or sold. Any property taxes already paid for the post-damage portion of the fiscal year are refunded on a prorated basis. Importantly, when the property is rebuilt in a like or similar manner, the prior Proposition 13 base year value is restored, meaning owners do not lose their long-term tax benefits. For damage caused by a Governor-declared disaster, owners may also transfer their base year value to a comparable replacement property under Revenue & Taxation Code §§ 69 and 69.3, and Proposition 19 expanded these transfer rights statewide for principal residences. The assessor's calamity decision can be appealed to the county Assessment Appeals Board if you disagree with the reduced value assigned.
A strong calamity reassessment demand letter to your California county assessor should accomplish four goals. First, it must formally invoke Revenue & Taxation Code § 170 and the local county ordinance, putting the assessor on notice that you are exercising a statutory right—not requesting a discretionary favor. Second, it must clearly identify the property by Assessor's Parcel Number (APN), street address, and ownership, and state the exact date the calamity occurred. Third, it must describe the damage with specificity: square footage affected, structural components destroyed, personal property losses, and an estimated cost of repair or diminution in market value of at least $10,000. Attach photographs, contractor estimates, insurance adjuster reports, FEMA documentation, and any Governor's emergency proclamation that applies to your area. Fourth, it should request a specific remedy: temporary reduction of the assessed value as of the date of damage, a prorated refund of taxes already paid, and written confirmation that the Proposition 13 base year value will be restored upon like-kind reconstruction. A professional letter signals that you understand the law and are prepared to appeal to the Assessment Appeals Board if the assessor undervalues your loss. Many assessors resolve well-documented calamity claims without dispute, but a letter that anticipates appeal protects your record and your deadlines.
You must file the calamity reassessment application within 12 months of the date of damage. Most counties provide a specific form (often called ACR or Calamity Application), but a written request containing the required information is generally accepted. There is no filing fee at the assessor level. If the assessor denies your claim or assigns a reduced value you believe is still too high, you may file an Application for Changed Assessment with the county Assessment Appeals Board, generally within 6 months of the assessor's notice. Small claims court (limit $12,500) is not the proper venue for property tax disputes—California requires you to exhaust administrative remedies through the Appeals Board before any superior court refund action under Revenue & Taxation Code § 5140.
Property tax in California is governed by the California Revenue and Taxation Code (property taxation), implementing Article XIII A of the CA Constitution (Proposition 13) (Cal. Const. art. XIII A (Prop 13); Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code §§ 110, 619, 1603, 3691 et seq.). Assessment cycle: Annual lien date of January 1 each year; under Prop 13 the base-year (purchase-price) value is set at acquisition and capped at a maximum 2% inflationary increase per year unless there is a change in ownership or new construction that triggers reassessment. Assessed value: 100% of full cash value (fair market value). Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 401 requires assessment at full value. Under Prop 13 the taxable value is the factored base-year value (acquisition value + 2%/yr max), not annual market value.
County Assessor (assessment) and county Assessment Appeals Board / county Board of Equalization (appeals) at the local level; the California State Board of Equalization (BOE) provides statewide oversight, guidance, and property tax rules. The window to act is short — regular assessment appeals filing period runs July 2 through either September 15 or November 30 depending on the county. As of 2025, 11 counties (incl. Alameda, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Ventura) use September 15; the other 47 counties use November 30. Supplemental and escape assessments must be appealed within 60 days of the notice/tax bill mailing date. No extensions.
A recent change to watch: Proposition 19 (passed Nov. 2020; base-year-value transfers effective April 1, 2021) lets homeowners 55+, severely and permanently disabled, or victims of wildfire/disaster transfer their Prop 13 base-year value to a replacement home anywhere in California up to three times, while narrowing the parent-child reassessment exclusion largely to a primary residence the transferee occupies.
: Annual lien date of January 1 each year; under Prop 13 the base-year (purchase-price) value is set at acquisition and capped at a maximum 2% inflationary increase per year unless there is a change in ownership or new construction that triggers reassessment.
Grounds you can raise: Assessor's full cash value (fair market value) exceeds actual market value; incorrect base-year value; decline-in-value (Prop 8) below the factored Prop 13 base value; improper change-in-ownership or new-construction reassessment; supplemental or escape assessment disputes.
Appeal deadline: Regular assessment appeals filing period runs July 2 through either September 15 or November 30 depending on the county. As of 2025, 11 counties (incl. Alameda, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Ventura) use September 15; the other 47 counties use November 30. Supplemental and escape assessments must be appealed within 60 days of the notice/tax bill mailing date. No extensions.
First-level appeal: Application for Changed Assessment filed with the clerk of the county Assessment Appeals Board (AAB), or in smaller counties the county Board of Equalization sitting as the appeals board (Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 1603).
Next-level appeal: After exhausting the administrative appeal before the Assessment Appeals Board, the taxpayer's further remedy is a refund action in California Superior Court (judicial review), typically after paying the tax and filing a refund claim; there is no intermediate second administrative appeal body.
Evidence that works: Comparable sales, appraisals, income/expense data (income approach), cost data, and evidence of fair market value as of the valuation date; the § 110(b) rebuttable presumption is that full cash value equals actual purchase price in an open-market transaction.
How your value is assessed: 100% of full cash value (fair market value). Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 401 requires assessment at full value. Under Prop 13 the taxable value is the factored base-year value (acquisition value + 2%/yr max), not annual market value.
Exemptions to claim: Homeowners' Exemption: $7,000 reduction in assessed value of an owner-occupied principal residence. Veterans' Exemption: up to $4,000. Disabled Veterans' Exemption: roughly $161,083 basic / $241,627 low-income for 2026 (inflation-adjusted). Property Tax Postponement (age 62+, blind, or disabled) and Prop 19 base-year-value transfers for homeowners 55+, severely disabled, or disaster victims. Prop 13 caps assessed-value growth at 2%/yr.
The hearing: In-person (and increasingly virtual) evidentiary hearing before the county Assessment Appeals Board; taxpayer and assessor present evidence and testimony, and the board renders a value determination.
First, application for Changed Assessment filed with the clerk of the county Assessment Appeals Board (AAB), or in smaller counties the county Board of Equalization sitting as the appeals board (Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 1603).
If that fails, after exhausting the administrative appeal before the Assessment Appeals Board, the taxpayer's further remedy is a refund action in California Superior Court (judicial review), typically after paying the tax and filing a refund claim; there is no intermediate second administrative appeal body.
Mind the deadline: regular assessment appeals filing period runs July 2 through either September 15 or November 30 depending on the county. As of 2025, 11 counties (incl. Alameda, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Ventura) use September 15; the other 47 counties use November 30. Supplemental and escape assessments must be appealed within 60 days of the notice/tax bill mailing date. No extensions.
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