There are two ways to lower your property taxes in Riverside County which are legal and FREE.

1) If you qualify, appeal your property tax assessment

2) Claimed your Homeowner's Tax Exemption

APPEAL YOUR TAX ASSESSMENT

• Home values in Riverside County have decreased over the last year, you may be able to lower your property taxes?
• This will only apply if you purchased your home or have been re-assessed in the last couple of years?

If the above information applies to you, you may be able to do something that will cost you nothing.  This simple process can save you hundreds of dollars in future property taxes.

Lower you Property Tax Bill NOW !

Each county operates differently but the simple answer is that all you need to do is ask for your property to be re-assessed.
Some counties are proactive and are already planning on reassessing your area, but their opinion of value may be very conservative.

In 1978, we in California passed Proposition 8, allowing homeowners to request a reassessment of their homes.  More information on Proposition 8.

If prices have declined since you were last assessed this simple process could save you some serious cash.

How much can I save? 
Let's take a home purchased a couple of years ago for $750,000.
With a current tax bill of $9,000 a year, at tax rate of 1.2%. Your tax rate can be as high as 1.9%.
Let's assume that the current value has dropped 10%, not unrealistic in this market, making the current value around $675,000.
The tax bill on a property of that value would be $8,100 or $900 less!  That is a savings of $900 every year that the new lower tax rate applies.

Get started by filing an assessment appeal with County Assessor's Office, Call (951) 955-1060 for the Riverside County Assessor's office and have them send you a Assessment Apeals form, all appeals must be filed with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors at the County Administrative Center, 4080 Lemon Street, 14th Floor, Riverside CA 92501-3655.

All other counties have this information on-line and make the forms redily available, I guess Riverside feels that fewer people will do this if they make it a little harder, you can go to the exemptions link below for more information.

*****Empire Realty will provide you with a free opinion of value for the assessment appeal, just drop us an e-mail with the address of the property of the property to be reassessed and we will get that information to you. *****

The more value you have lost since the last assessment, the greater you may be able to save!

HOMEOWNERS TAX EXEMPTION

There is also a Homeowner's tax exemption which lowers your homes taxable value by $7,000.  Available only to qualifying owner-occupied homes.

How much can I save? 

Let's use the same example as above, your homes present taxable value is $750,000.
With a current tax bill of $9,000 a year, at tax rate of 1.2%. Your tax rate can be as high as 1.9%.
Let's assume that you qualify for the homeowners tax exemption of $7,000 which brings your taxable home value down to $743,000.
The tax bill on a property of that value would be $8,916 or $84 less!  This amount may seem low but you will save this amount year after year. 

All Riverside County exemptions can be found Here.

For information on purchasing your next home in Riverside County or anywhere in the Inland Empire call Empire Realty at 909-579-6611 or visit us on the web at Empire Realty.

Empire Realty is your one stop shop for information and Full Service at a Discount