Do You Know About the California Homeowner’s Exemption?

What is a homeowner’s exemption?

If you own a home and live in it, you can receive an exemption on your property taxes. This can mean $70 extra bucks in your pocket. It may not sound like a lot, but it adds up over the years.

If you own and living a property on January 1, you can apply for a “Homeowners Exemption” in the county you live in, and it will reduce your assessed value (exemption) by $7000 for the year.

How do you get a homeowner’s exemption?

If you’re a new homeowner, you will usually receive an exemption application within in 30 days of closing escrow.  Maybe you got it and threw it out as junk mail. Maybe you’ve owned your house for a long time and don’t know if you received one. No problem, just contact your county’s assessors office or go to their website. For Orange County, you can call 714-834-3821 for an application, they aren’t available online.

What is the filing period to get the exemption?

To get the full exemption, you need to apply by February 15.  You can still get a partial exemption if you file after that.

Do you need to apply for this every year?

Nope. Once you’ve filed for it and you still live in the property, you will automatically get it every year. BUT….if anything is recorded that changes the way title is held, you need to re-apply. What type of things would change the way title is held? Some examples are: you get a trust (which I highly recommend), sometimes if you refinance the lender may have some requirements that change how title is held.  If this happens, just know all you have to do is fill out the homeowner’s exemption form again.

How do you know if you’re getting the exemption?

Your property tax bill will show a $7000 reduction in the assessed value.

If you move out and rent the house to someone, are you still eligible?

Nope. The county asks that you self-report to them that you have move and what your new address is.

Why do you need to provide your social?

Social security numbers are used to:

1. Verify the eligibility of the people claiming the exemption and….
2. To prevent multiple claims by the same person

The county of Orange promises this info is kept confidential.

So now that you know about the homeowner’s exemption, check your property tax bill and if it doesn’t have the $7,000 exemption noted, call the assessors office to get your application mailed to you and keep that money in your pocket from now on!