CONSUMER ALERT
December 14, 2009
New Law Effective January 1, 2010 Protects Taxpayers
County assessors are required by law to assess real estate at its Proposition 13 indexed base year value, or at the property's January 1st market value, whichever is less. Assessors do not charge a fee for this review. Many private companies have been sending misleading official-looking solicitations to property owners requiring a fee for this service. Assembly Bill 992 was introduced and passed by the legislature and becomes effective Jan. 1, 2010. It prevents the use of misleading official-looking tax reduction solicitations that promise to represent property owners upon payment of an often costly fee in advance of actually receiving any service. The new law was supported by the California Assessors' Association and Alameda County Assessor Ron Thomsen, its newly elected president for 2010.
Assessor Thomsen has said, "These solicitations that mislead the taxpayers and charge a fee for a service that is provided by all assessors at no charge must be stopped. This legislation goes a long way to protect the public." In Alameda County, taxpayers are cautioned to refrain from paying for private representation until they receive their annual notification of assessed value from the assessor in July of each year. Last year 100,000 properties received reduced assessments recognizing declines in market value. These properties and many other recently purchased properties will be reviewed proactively for the Jan. 1, 2010 lien date and reductions again will be recognized when warranted without any intervention or the need for costly assistance from outside parties. All Alameda County property owners will receive a pre-tax bill notification in July, detailing their 2010-11 assessment and indicating any reduction provided.
If property taxpayers wish to request an individual informal review of their property's 2010-11 assessed value after receiving the July 2010 notification, they may do so by returning a simple, printable form available on the Assessor's website http://www.acgov.org/assessor/decline-in-value-forms.htm. Property owners not in agreement with their 2010-11 assessment, who still wish to formally file an assessment appeal for the 2010-11 tax year, will have until September 15, 2010 to file an application with the assessment appeals board.
If you have any questions regarding a possible reduced assessment for 2010-11, the Assessor encourages you to call his office at (510) 272-3787 weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.