L.A. County Assessor Jeffrey Prang.
In the midst of dealing with insurance, debris and trying to find money to rebuild, Pacific Palisades residents are now receiving Property Tax Assessments from L.A. County.
One resident wrote “we suffered a complete loss, and our lot was cleared in March, but the bill we received shows that: Land reduced by 17 % and Improvements reduced by 50% (even though the lot is empty) and the Total reduction = 26 %.”
Circling the News reached out to the L.A. County Assessor’s office and asked “Improvements were only reduced 50 %, even though the lot is empty? What is happening to residents affected by the Palisades Fire and have nothing on the lot?”
L.A. County Assessor Jeff Prang responded “we have identified 24,000 properties in the Burn area, with more than 14,000 experiencing partial or total damage. We have been working frantically to process assessment reductions before the close of the assessment year, and the vast majority have been reduced as of last weekend, more than 14,500 properties.
“In order to complete this work as expeditiously as possible, we used many tools, including AI and aerial photography and it is possible that we may have had some inaccuracies based upon the tools that we used.” He asked me to send him the person’s information, which I did.
Prang said that the L.A. County fiscal tax year begins July 1 one year and ends June 30 of the next year, a 12-month accounting period. That means Palisades residents were assessed for the portion of the year before the fire.
“People who may have totally lost their homes may see that the assessment still reflects 50% of taxes for property. That’s because it represents the July 1, 2024, until January 7, 2025,” Prang said. “For the next fiscal year, if their property is totally destroyed, they will be zeroed out in the next cycle.”
Property owners can now check their claim status through the Assessor’s online Property Search Tool click here.
Affected property owners who haven’t yet applied can still seek relief by visiting the county’s online application portal click here.
Property owners can also view recent and historic aerial photos of their property by visiting the Assessor Portal click here..
I qualified for the Misfortune and Calamity assistance and was granted this and received a check in the mail today. I was also told I will have until April 2026 to pay this next coming bill and I could pay it monthly online. I just am not sure how much I owe and when I will get the bill.
A visit to the accessor’s office will oftentimes result in a reduction. My brother-in-law just retired from a 20-year run as an accessor in my home state.