LOS ANGELES (KNX) — Some Los Angeles County homeowners older than 55 have reported receiving eye-popping property tax bills this year.
According to The Los Angeles Times, one unlucky homeowner in West Hills recently discovered she owes $15,584 on her new home — nearly four times as much as the taxes she paid on her previous house in Granada Hills, where she lived for more than three decades.
The problem lies with Proposition 19, a law narrowly passed by California voters in 2020, which allows homeowners 55 and older to merge the taxable value of their previous residence with the value of their new, more expensive home. It was supposed to be a major tax break.
But significant processing delays at the L.A. County assessor’s office means some homeowners are liable to pay unexpectedly high tax bills while their Prop 19 applications are pending approval.
According to the Times, the assessor’s office has not completed any of the 1,271 applications it has received since the law took effect nearly a year ago. The office has blamed short staffing for the backlog.
L.A. County Assessor Jeffrey Prang said timing was also an issue. He said his office needed at least a full year to update its technology in order to implement Prop 19, but lawmakers only gave assessors a few months to do so.
Additionally, original ballot language was unclear, Prange said, meaning the assessor’s office had to help draft amended legislation. That language was passed and signed-off by Gov. Gavin Newsom in fall 2021 — but many applications piled up in the interim.
Prang told the Times his office had not even begun to process outstanding applications three months into 2022. He said he hoped to begin processing them in coming weeks, but it would likely take months to reduce the backlog.
“I’m really sorry,” Prang said. “It really bothers me that people have to deal with these sort of inconveniences, in some cases, hardships. They shouldn’t have to do that. If I had the ability to make that go away today, I would.”
Prang said his office does not have statutory authority to defer property taxes for Prop 19-eligible homeowners. L.A. County Treasurer and Tax Collector Keith Knox said his hands were likewise tied.
He told the Times taxpayers would receive a refund once the assessor’s office approves property tax transfers for affected homes.
The state controller’s office does offer a tax postponement program for some older homeowners — but only if they earn less than $45,810 annually and have at least 40% equity in their home.
