Owners of homes damaged by the O.C. Airport Fire have property tax options

Santa Ana, Calif. – Orange County Treasurer Shari Freidenrich is informing taxpayers that property owners impacted by the recent Airport Fire may have certain property tax relief options available to them. If a property has been damaged/destroyed due to the Airport Fire, the property owner should file the Application for Reassessment of Property Damaged by Misfortune or Calamity (Application for Reassessment) with the Assessor and at the same time, apply to the Assessor to defer payment for first installment of property taxes.

If the Assessor approves the Application for Reassessment and the property owner also has applied for the deferral of taxes, the property owner will have their 2024-25 secured property tax first installment payment deferred without penalty or interest until the Assessor has reassessed the property, and the Orange County Treasurer has sent a corrected bill to the property owner. Property taxes will be due 30 days after the reissued property tax bill is mailed.

Key Property Tax Relief Payment Options Available:

• Apply to the Assessor for Payment Deferral When you Complete the Application for Reassessment: Deferral of the first installment of property tax payments, provides immediate financial relief during this challenging time and allows property owners to manage their finances during this disaster without the burden of also having to pay the property tax payment by December 10, 2024.
• Cancellation of Late Penalties: For approved applicants, the currently issued property tax bill will be cancelled, including all penalties, and a new property tax bill will be mailed once the property has been reassessed. This measure ensures that affected property owners are not penalized while they work to recover from the impacts of the wildfire. Depending on the timing of the approval and property tax bill reissuance after the application was approved, the online property tax site may continue to show the taxes due and penalties applied to the amount showing as delinquent. However, as soon as the new property tax bill is issued and mailed, the original property tax bill will be cancelled and the new property tax bill and due dates will be available online.
• Reassessment Opportunities: In addition to the relief options on property tax payments, approved applicants will have their property reassessed by the Assessor, lowering the amount of the property tax that will be on the new property tax bill.
• Mailing Address Update: Don’t forget to update your mailing address to get the new property tax bill by going to octreasurer.com and locate the link to the form under the How Do I tab.

We encourage all impacted taxpayers to take advantage of these property tax relief measures as they work toward recovery. For further details, please visit our website at octreasurer.com/faq/property-tax-disaster-relief.