Property taxation: delinquency and penalties: suspension: Counties of Los Angeles and Ventura.

Existing property tax law requires a penalty to be canceled when the reason for the delinquency is that the property tax bill was sent to the wrong address, and authorizes county officials to cancel property tax penalties in other circumstances. Existing property tax law provides for a supplemental property tax roll for property tax assessments made after the property tax lien date.

Existing property tax law requires the tax collector to mail or electronically transmit a county tax bill or a copy thereof for every property on the secured roll. Under existing property tax law, a failure to receive a tax bill does not relieve the lien of taxes or prevent the imposition of penalties.

This bill would suspend the above-described penalties, costs, and interest, as applicable, and would prohibit their collection until April 10, 2026, for property located in a certain area in either the County of Los Angeles or the County of Ventura, unless either the taxes on the property were delinquent as of January 6, 2025, or the taxes on the property are paid through an impound account.

Existing property tax law authorizes any person to elect to pay delinquent taxes in installments (installment redemption plan) by a certain date before the tax collector obtains the power to sell the property in order to redeem certain tax-defaulted property. Existing property tax law prohibits restarting installment payments if those payments are started under these provisions and the amount required to be paid in any fiscal year is not paid as required (default).

This bill would prohibit an installment redemption plan, for which all payments due on or before January 7, 2025, have been timely made, from being considered in default until April 10, 2026, for property located in a certain area in either the County of Los Angeles or the County of Ventura.

Existing property tax law authorizes, for taxes due on escape assessments for prior fiscal years, those taxes to be paid over a 4-year period (installment plan) at the option of the assessee if the additional tax is over $500 and a written request for installment payment is filed by the assessee with the tax collector by a certain time.

This bill would suspend the taxes due on a property making payments pursuant to an installment plan as described above, would prohibit their collection, and would prohibit the taxes from being considered delinquent, all until April 10, 2026, for property located in a certain area in either the County of Los Angeles or the County of Ventura, provided that, on or before January 7, 2025, all payments required by the plan were timely made.

Existing property tax law requires each person owning taxable personal property, other than a manufactured home, having an aggregate cost of $100,000 or more for any assessment year to file annually a signed property statement, declared to be true under the penalty of perjury, with the assessor. If a person fails to file that annual statement, existing property tax law requires a penalty of 10% of the assessed value of the unreported taxable tangible property of that person placed on the current roll to be added to the assessment made on the current roll.

This bill would suspend that penalty until April 10, 2026, and prohibit it from being imposed if the person files a statement on or before April 10, 2026, and the property is located in a certain area in either the County of Los Angeles or the County of Ventura.

By imposing additional duties on local tax officials with respect to the collection of property taxes, including the imposition of penalties, as described above, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Los Angeles and the County of Ventura.