Property owners have the opportunity to prorate their taxes this year based on property damage sustained during the wind storm on Feb. 7.
Property taxes for the current year, 2001-02 may be pro-rated. Property values will be adjusted in the following tax year, which begins July 1 and runs through June 30, 2003.
Qualifying circumstances for the proration include real and personal property damaged or destroyed by an “act of God” or by fire. Damage from the wind storm may be considered an act of God. Any fire makes a property eligible for the tax relief.
Deadline for applying for the relief is June 30, the end of the fiscal year. Applications are available at the Linn County Assessor’s Office. Staff will determine whether a property has been damaged or destroyed and how much value was lost.
If the damage is going to exist on July 1, Linn County Appraiser Dave Swartzenlender said, then a property owner may have the date for appraisal changed from Jan. 1 to July 1. Jan. 1 is the normal date for property appraisal by the county assessor’s office.
Several factors affect how much loss in value is necessary for a proration to be made.
Tax statements list two types of valuation, assessed and real market. Taxes are calculated based on assessed value. The loss must be based on assessed value.
If the damage or destruction causes the real market value to dip below the taxable assessed value, then proration of tax is calculated.
For example, a home is destroyed by fire. It had a real market value of $120,000 and an assessed value of $100,000. The property was taxed based on the $100,000 assessed value. The property would receive a proration on the $100,000 loss. It would not receive a proration on the $20,000 for which no taxes were computed in the first place.
Reductions of more than $10 will be refunded if they had been paid. If not, the appropriate amount is canceled on an account.
For damaged property, the percentage of assessed value lost is multiplied by the total tax on a property for the month it was damaged and each month it remains damaged in the tax year, ending June 30. If property is repaired prior to the end of the tax year, no credit is allowed for the months after the repair.
For destroyed property, the percentage of value lost is multiplied by the total tax on the property for each month following the destruction through the end of the tax year even if the property has been repaired.
Persons may contact the assessor’s office at (541) 967-3808 for further information.