Law change for locally registered domestic partners
With a recent change in California tax laws, qualifying locally registered domestic partners who transferred ownership of property between themselves may be eligible for some property tax relief. The benefit is not automatic and a claim form must be timely filed with the Marin County Assessor’s Office.
State Assembly Bill 2663 may provide relief for transfers of real property between local registered domestic partners that occurred between January 1, 2000, through June 26, 2015. If there was a related change in ownership reassessment that occurred during that period, that reassessment may be eligible to be reversed on a prospective basis. When a claim is filed with the assessor before January 1, 2019, the benefit would apply for the following calendar year regular tax bill and thereafter. Persons who may qualify are encouraged to review the claim form and file before January 1, 2019.
In Marin, County Assessor Richard N. Benson has made the downloadable form available on his department’s webpage. The form is called BOE-62-LRDP with the title “Claim for Reassessment Reversal for Local Registered Domestic Partners.”
“We will do our best to formally notify and provide forms to all locally registered domestic partners owning property who may qualify,” Benson said. “We’re trying to get the word out because applications we receive before January 1, 2019, will receive a benefit for the 2019-2020 tax bills. The applications we receive after January 1 won’t get the benefit until the following year.”
The bill, introduced as an urgency statute to amend the tax code, received bipartisan support in the State Assembly and State Senate after it was first introduced in February 2018. It was signed by Governor Jerry Brown on September 29 and immediately went into effect.
The State Board of Equalization, which handles property taxes, notified county assessors in early November about new forms available to allow for such reassessments. Accordingly, the State Board of Equalization is expected to release information on more program specifics soon. At that time, the Assessor’s webpage will be updated. In the meantime, parties may contact the Assessor’s Office for more information at 415-473-7215 or by e-mail at assessor@marincounty.org.
BY MELANIE NATHAN
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