Visually inspect your property and make notes of the damage. Document the damage with photographs whenever possible. This information may be valuable if you disagree with the amount of damage that the assessor determines your property has sustained.

If the assessor has not reassessed your property already and you believe your estimated market value has been reduced due to the disaster or damage, contact your county assessor’s office. Ask to have an assessor view the damage for the purpose of property tax relief.

An assessor will view the property to estimate the damage resulting from the disaster. The assessor will determine how much your property’s estimated market value has been reduced as a result of the damage.

To make certain that all damage is noted, be sure that your property has been reassessed before you begin to reconstruct or repair your property. Keep copies of any estimates you receive from contractors regarding the estimated costs to repair the damage.

For additional information concerning these types of property tax relief, contact your county assessor’s office.

The assessor determines the property's reassessed value and compares it to the estimated market value of the current year's assessment before the disaster occurred. If the reassessed value is 50% or less than the estimated market value for a structure, that structure may qualify for tax relief.

Estimated market value is the value your assessor has estimated your property would sell for if offered for sale. This value is very different from a property’s insurance value, which typically reflects the cost of replacing a structure. Insurance values are often significantly higher than the assessor’s estimated market value.

For example: A property owner has an older garage. In establishing the garage’s estimated market value, the assessor estimates how much it adds to the overall value of the property if the property were sold. This may be a very minimal amount of $500 or $1,000. However, the insurance value reflects the cost of replacing the garage with one that provides the same function as the original. The replacement cost could easily from $5,000 to $10,000 or more.

Assessors review a number of factors in order to determine how the benefit is applicable to your property. Be sure to retain any applicable documents.