Due to the excess damage in our county because of the large winter storms in February and March 2023, many properties qualified for a temporary reduction in assessed value by the Assessor’s Office. As a result, these qualified applicants received over five and a half million dollars of value removed from their assessment. However, there are still owners who may still qualify for this temporary relief from last year's storms and the application is due no later than Monday, April 1, 2024.
Under Section 170 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code, property that has been damaged by misfortune or calamity may qualify for a reduction in assessed value, which can result in the lowering of property taxes. To qualify for the reduction, the damage from the calamity must exceed $10,000 in market value, and an application must be filled out in the Assessor's Office within one year of when the calamity occurred to potentially receive the reduction.
Upon receiving a proper application, the assessor shall appraise the property immediately before and after the damage or destruction. If the sum of the full cash values of the property before the damage exceeds the sum of the values after the damage by ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more, the assessor shall also separately determine the percentage reductions due to the damage. The assessor shall reduce the values appearing on the assessment roll by the percentages of damage or destruction computed pursuant to this subdivision, and the taxes due on the property shall be adjusted as provided. When the damaged property is rebuilt in a like or similar manner, in a timely manner (normally within the next five years), the property will be restored to its prior assessed value for property tax purposes. Typically, claims are processed within 30 to 90 days after receiving all necessary information. Once the analysis is complete, the Assessor's Office will notify you of their decision.
If you believe that your property is still eligible for the reassessment from last winter's storms, please submit the Calamity Reassessment Claim Form to provide the Assessor's Office with the information needed to determine if an adjustment to your assessed value is justified. Please attach any photos, cost estimates, or other documents that may indicate the level of damage to your property, as this will help when reviewing your claim. The form is also available on the Assessor's website at www.NevadaCountyCA.gov/Assessor. If you have questions about the form or process, please contact their office at (530) 265-1232 or assessor@nevadacountyca.gov.
