There are a variety of options available for lowering your property taxes. Each of these exemptions, exclusions or provisions has specific qualifications. Select any item below for more details:
The Homeowner Exemption allows a homeowner to exempt up to $7,000 of property value from taxation each year if you owned and occupied your property as your principal place of residence on January 1. Once granted, the exemption remains in effect every year until it is terminated.
You must apply for the exemption within 30 days of a supplemental assessment notice or in some cases by February 15. In most cases, a claim form is automatically mailed to you, but you may also request a Homeowner Exemption claim form from our public service counter or by calling the Assessor's Office at (707) 565-1888.
For more information, or for assistance completing the claim form, please visit our offices, write us, or contact us by telephone or email.
This law (AB 47) excludes transfers of real property between parents and children from reappraisal. For additional information about this exclusion, please click here.
This law (Revenue and Taxation Code 69.5) allows qualifying Sonoma County residents who are 55 years of age or older or who are permanently and severely disabled to acquire a replacement dwelling and transfer the taxable value of their old dwelling to the replacement. For additional information, please let us tell you more about this exclusion.
This law (Revenue and Taxation Code 63.1) excludes transfers of real property between grandparents and grandchildren from reappraisal. For additional information about this exclusion, please click here.
There are two provisions that can help reduce property taxes for veterans and their spouses. The first applies to all eligible veterans. The second applies to veterans with service-connected disabilities. For additional information about these exemptions, please click here.
The State Constitution of California mandates that certain criteria be met before the County Assessor can reduce an assessment. For additional information about this provision, please click here.
If a calamity such as fire, flood or earthquake damages or destroys your property, you can apply for reassessment. For additional information about this provision, please click here.
The Builder's Exclusion allows certain types of new construction to be excluded from supplemental assessment. Typically, these types of construction include subdivision homes and houses built by contractors as spec homes. For additional information about this exclusion, please click here.
The Church Exemption may be claimed on property (real or personal) that is owned, leased or rented by religious organizations who use the property exclusively for worship services. For additional information about this exemption, please click here.
The Religious Exemption may be claimed on real property or personal property that is either owned by a religious organization which uses the property exclusively for religious worship services, or used for the conduct of worship services and on which a religious organization operates its own preschool, nursery school, kindergarten, schools of less than collegiate grade, or schools of both collegiate grade and less than collegiate grade. For additional information about this exemption, please click here. You may also want to visit the California Board of Equalization site and download their booklet about the Property Tax Exemptions for Religious Organizations (Publication 48).
The Welfare Exemption is available to qualifying non-profit organizations that are religious, hospital, scientific or charitable in nature. Follow this link for additional information about this exemption.
You may also want to visit the California State Board of Equalization site and download their booklet about the Property Tax Welfare Exemption (Publication 149).
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For more information about these exemptions, or for application forms, or for assistance completing the application forms, please visit our offices, write us, or contact us by telephone or email.
The following is an Important Notice...
The staff of the Clerk-Recorder-Assessor's Office are forbidden by California legal codes to practice law or provide legal advice; this prohibition includes giving advice about what forms you might need or how you should fill them out.