Property Tax Assessment Appeals Due Tuesday

San Diego County taxpayers who own a home, commercial or industrial space, a boat, or other personal property have until Tuesday to appeal their 2010-11 property tax assessments.

Property tax assessment appeals must be received by the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors Office (COB) no later than 5 p.m. Tuesday, or be postmarked by that midnight. The application form is attached to this story or can be downloaded here.

Applications require the parcel or tax bill number and the property's address. Property owners also must give an opinion of the property's market value with supporting documentation and research. For instance, a homeowner should look up and attach to the application comparable sales information—data regarding similar homes in their area that sold during the period when the assessment was made.

An individual also can hire an outside company to provide property assessment services.

"We [property tax assessment firms] know the process and can speak with them [the assessor's office] more intelligently," said Wes Nichols, managing partner of Sorrento Valley-based Paramount Property Tax Adjusters.

After an appeals application has been filed, it takes roughly a year for the assessor's office to contact an individual and inform them of the determined value of the appealed property. Any percentage increase in assessed property value is based on the California Consumer Price Index.

"Under [Proposition 13] we can only raise the value of your property when there's change in ownership or new construction," said David Butler, San Diego County assessor/recorder/clerk, in a YouTube video on the county's website.

"Otherwise if neither of those occur your value can only go up a maximum of 2 percent per year," Butler said in the video.

If the assessor's office agrees with the appeals application, the property owner gets a tax refund. "If someone purchased a home from 2001 to 2004, you probably have a 50-50 chance of winning your appeal," Nichols said.

If individuals disagree with the value established by the assessor they can appeal to the Assessment Appeals Board—a three-member board that conducts hearings on property assessment disputes.

Filing an appeal, hearing back from the assessor's office and going through the hearing process can take up to two years, according to the county.

For more information, visit the COB website, call 619-531-5777 or stop by the appeals office in the County Administration Center, 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 402, San Diego.