San Francisco Assessor: Lower Property Value Means Lower Taxes
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – San Francisco's Assessor is urging property owners to come in and ask for a tax break if they think the value of their property is down. If someone bought their home five years ago at top dollar, but now that dollar is only worth about 80 cents, Assessor Phil Ting said there is a silver lining, and it can be found at his office.
KCBS' Barbara Taylor Reports:
"We have a temporary homeowners property tax reduction program that we've done annually for the last few years," said Ting. "We're encouraging anybody who thinks that their home value is lower than their current assessed value to apply. They can apply online at sfassessor.org."
Last year alone, about 12,000 homeowners, and another 5,000 owners of time shares received lower assessments and, consequently, lower tax bills because the value of their property dropped.
"When we give a discount to somebody it's actually a little bit of bad news because it means that they actually lost value on their property, so this is our way of giving a little relief back," said Ting.
Ting says likely candidates for reduced taxes own properties purchased in 2003 or later.
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