2005 California Revenue and Taxation Code Sections 270-279.5 Article 2.5. Late Exemption Claims

270.  (a) With respect to property as to which the college,
cemetery, church, religious, exhibition, veterans' organization, free
public libraries, free museums, public schools, community colleges,
state colleges, state universities, tribal housing, or welfare
exemption was available but for which a timely application for
exemption was not filed:
   (1) Ninety percent of any tax or penalty or interest thereon shall
be canceled or refunded provided an appropriate application for
exemption is filed on or before the lien date in the calendar year
next succeeding the calendar year in which the exemption was not
claimed by a timely application.
   (2) If the application is filed after the date specified in
paragraph (1), 85 percent of any tax or penalty or interest thereon
shall be canceled or refunded provided an appropriate application for
exemption is filed and relief is not authorized under Section 214.01
or 271.
   (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (a), any tax or
penalty or interest thereon exceeding two hundred fifty dollars
($250) in total amount shall be canceled or refunded provided it is
imposed upon property entitled to relief under subdivision (a) for
which an appropriate claim for exemption has been filed.
   (c) With respect to property as to which the welfare exemption or
veterans' organization exemption was available, all provisions of
Section 254.5, other than the specified dates for the filing of
affidavits and other acts, are applicable to this section.
271.  (a) Provided that an appropriate application for exemption is
filed within 90 days from the first day of the month following the
month in which the property was acquired or by February 15 of the
following calendar year, whichever occurs earlier, any tax or penalty
or interest imposed upon:
   (1) Property owned by any organization qualified for the college,
cemetery, church, religious, exhibition, veterans' organization,
tribal housing, or welfare exemption that is acquired by that
organization during a given calendar year, after the lien date but
prior to the first day of the fiscal year commencing within that
calendar year, when the property is of a kind that would have been
qualified for the college, cemetery, church, religious, exhibition,
veterans' organization, tribal housing, or welfare exemption if it
had been owned by the organization on the lien date, shall be
canceled or refunded.
   (2) Property owned by any organization that would have qualified
for the college, cemetery, church, religious, exhibition, veterans'
organization, tribal housing, or welfare exemption had the
organization been in existence on the lien date, that was acquired by
it during that calendar year after the lien date in that year but
prior to the commencement of that fiscal year, and of a kind that
presently qualifies for the exemption and that would have so
qualified for that fiscal year had it been owned by the organization
on the lien date and had the organization been in existence on the
lien date, shall be canceled or refunded.
   (3) Property acquired after the beginning of any fiscal year by an
organization qualified for the college, cemetery, church, religious,
exhibition, veterans' organization, tribal housing, or welfare
exemption and the property is of a kind that would have qualified for
an exemption if it had been owned by the organization on the lien
date, whether or not that organization was in existence on the lien
date, shall be canceled or refunded in the proportion that the number
of days for which the property was so qualified during the fiscal
year bears to 365.
   (b) Eighty-five percent of any tax or penalty or interest thereon
imposed upon property that would be entitled to relief under
subdivision (a) or Section 214.01, except that an appropriate
application for exemption was not filed within the time required by
the applicable provision, shall be canceled or refunded provided that
an appropriate application for exemption is filed after the last day
on which relief could be granted under subdivision (a) or Section
214.01.
   (c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), any tax or penalty or
interest thereon exceeding two hundred fifty dollars ($250) in total
amount shall be canceled or refunded provided it is imposed upon
property entitled to relief under subdivision (b) for which an
appropriate claim for exemption has been filed.
   (d) With respect to property acquired after the beginning of the
fiscal year for which relief is sought, subdivisions (b) and (c)
shall apply only to that pro rata portion of any tax or penalty or
interest thereon that would have been canceled or refunded had the
property qualified for relief under paragraph (3) of subdivision (a).
272.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, whenever a valid
application for exemption on the property is filed pursuant to
Section 270 or 271 and the assessor grants the claim prior to the
completion of the roll for the year for which the exemption is
claimed, the assessor shall enroll the property so as to provide for
the amount of exemption on the property's assessed value as provided
by the applicable section.
   When the application for exemption on the property or the granting
of the claim occurs after completion of the roll, the assessor shall
initiate an action to correct the roll by addition of the
appropriate amount of exemption on the property.  Upon notification
by the assessor, the auditor shall make the appropriate adjustment on
the roll.
   Where authorized under the provisions of this article, the tax,
penalty or interest thereon subject to cancellation or refund shall
be canceled pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 4985) of
Chapter 4 of Part 9, as if it had been levied or charged erroneously,
and, if paid, a refund thereof shall be made pursuant to Article 1
(commencing with Section 5096) of Chapter 5 of Part 9 as if it had
been erroneously collected.  The amount of tax, penalty or interest
which is not canceled or refunded under this article with respect to
property tax exemptions covered by this article and filed late may be
paid in installments as provided in Chapter 3 (commencing with
Section 4186) of Part 7.
273.  If a claimant for the veterans' exemption fails to file the
affidavit required by Section 255 because he or she was in the
military service of the United States and serving outside of the
United States between the lien date and 5 o'clock p.m. on February 15
of any year, the veterans' exemption may be claimed pursuant to
Section 252 or 253 without regard to the time limit specified in
Section 255.  If the veterans' exemption is claimed pursuant to the
preceding sentence, any tax, or penalty or interest thereon for any
fiscal year commencing during the calendar year in which the
exemption is claimed, on property to the amount of one thousand
dollars ($1,000) owned by the person to whom the veterans' exemption
was available for that fiscal year, shall be canceled or refunded.
273.5.  (a) If a claimant for the veterans' exemption for the
1976-77 fiscal year or any year thereafter fails to file the required
affidavit with the assessor by 5 p.m. on February 15 of the calendar
year in which the fiscal year begins, but files that claim on or
before the following December 10, an exemption of the lesser of three
thousand two hundred dollars ($3,200) or 80 percent of the full
value of the property shall be granted by the assessor.
   (b) On those claims filed pursuant to subdivision (a) after
November 15, this exemption may be applied to the second installment,
and if applied to the second installment, the first installment will
still become delinquent on December 10, and the delinquent penalty
provided for in this division will attach if the tax amount due is
not paid.
   If this exemption is applied to the second installment and if both
installments are paid on or before December 10, or if the reduction
in taxes from this exemption exceeds the amount of taxes due on the
second installment, a refund shall be made to the taxpayer upon a
claim submitted by the taxpayer to the auditor.
275.  (a) If a claimant for the homeowners' property tax exemption
fails to file the required affidavit with the assessor by 5 p.m. on
February 15 of the calendar year in which the fiscal year begins, but
files that affidavit on or before the following December 10, an
exemption of the lesser of five thousand six hundred dollars ($5,600)
or 80 percent of the full value of the dwelling shall be granted by
the assessor.
   (b) On claims filed pursuant to subdivision (a) after November 15,
this partial homeowners' exemption may be applied to the second
installment, and if applied to the second installment, the first
installment will still become delinquent on December 10 and the
delinquent penalty provided for in this division will attach if the
tax amount due is not paid.
   If this partial homeowners' exemption is applied to the second
installment and if both installments are paid on or before December
10 or if the reduction in taxes from this partial exemption exceeds
the amount of taxes due on the second installment, a refund shall be
made to the taxpayer upon a claim submitted by the taxpayer to the
auditor.
275.5.  If a person claiming classification of a vessel as a
documented vessel eligible for assessment under Section 227 fails to
file the affidavit required by Section 254 by 5 p.m. on February 15
of the calendar year in which the fiscal year begins, but files that
affidavit on or before the following August 1, the assessment shall
be reduced in a sum equal to 80 percent of the reduction that would
have been allowed had the affidavit been timely filed.
276.  (a) Except as otherwise provided by subdivision (b), for
property for which the disabled veterans' exemption described in
Section 205.5 was available, but for which a timely claim was not
filed, a partial exemption shall be applied in accordance with
whichever of the following is applicable:
   (1) Ninety percent of any tax, including any interest or penalty
thereon, levied upon that portion of the assessed value of the
property that would have been exempt under a timely and appropriate
claim shall be canceled or refunded, provided that an appropriate
claim for exemption is filed after 5 p.m. on February 15 of the
calendar year in which the fiscal year begins but on or before the
following December 10.
   (2) If an appropriate claim for exemption is filed after the time
period specified in paragraph (1), 85 percent of that portion of any
tax, including any interest or penalty thereon, that was levied upon
that portion of the assessed value of the property that would have
been exempt under a timely and appropriate claim, shall be canceled
or refunded.  Cancellations made under this paragraph are subject to
the provisions of Article 1 (commencing with Section 4895) of Chapter
4.  Refunds issued under this paragraph are subject to the
limitations periods on refunds as described in Article 1 (commencing
with Section 5096) of Chapter 5.
   (b) If a late filed claim for the sixty-thousand-dollar ($60,000)
exemption is filed in conjunction with a timely filed claim for the
forty-thousand-dollar ($40,000) exemption, or if a late filed claim
for the one-hundred-fifty-thousand-dollar ($150,000) exemption is
filed in conjunction with a timely filed claim for the
one-hundred-thousand-dollar ($100,000) exemption, the amount of any
exemption allowed under the late-filed claim under subdivision (a)
shall be determined on the basis of that portion of the exemption
amount, otherwise available under subdivision (a), that exceeds forty
thousand dollars ($40,000) or one hundred thousand dollars
($100,000), as applicable.
   (c) For those claims filed pursuant to subdivision (a) after
November 15, the exemption under that subdivision may be applied to
the second installment.  If that exemption is so applied, the first
installment is still delinquent on December 10, and is subject to
delinquent penalties provided for in this division if that
installment is not timely paid.  A refund shall be made to the
taxpayer upon a claim submitted to the auditor if the exemption is
applied to the second installment and either of the following is
true:
   (1) Both installments are paid on or before December 10.
   (2) The reduction in taxes resulting from the exemption exceeds
the amount of taxes due on the second installment.
276.1.  For property for which the disabled veterans' exemption
described in Section 205.5 would have been available but for the
taxpayer's failure to receive a timely disability rating from the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA), there shall be
canceled or refunded the amount of any taxes, including any interest
and penalties thereon, subject to the provisions regarding
cancellations in Article 1 (commencing with Section 4985) of Chapter
4 and the limitations periods on refunds as described in Article 1
(commencing with Section 5096) of Chapter 5, levied on that portion
of the assessed value of the property that would have been exempt
under a timely and appropriate claim, provided that the claimant
meets both of the following conditions:
   (a) The claimant had an application pending with the USDVA for a
disability rating and subsequently received a rating that qualifies
the claimant for the disabled veterans' exemption described in
Section 205.5.
   (b) The claimant subsequently files an appropriate claim for the
disabled veterans' exemption described in Section 205.5 the later of
30 days of receipt of the disability rating from the USDVA or on or
before the next following lien date.
276.2.  If the disabled veterans' exemption as described in Section
205.5 would have been available for a property, but for that property
being acquired by a person eligible for the exemption only after the
lien date, or but for that property being owned by a person eligible
for the exemption on the lien date but not residing on the property
on that date, and an appropriate application for that exemption is
filed on or before the lien date in the calendar year next following
the calendar year in which the property was acquired or resided in as
the principal place of residence, there shall be canceled or
refunded the amount of any taxes, including any interest and
penalties thereon, levied on that portion of the assessed value of
the property that would have been exempt under a timely and
appropriate application.
276.3.  (a) In the event that property receiving a disabled veterans'
exemption as described in Section 205.5 is sold or otherwise
transferred to a person who is not eligible for that exemption, the
exemption shall cease to apply on the date of that sale or transfer.
   (b) In the event that property receiving a disabled veterans'
exemption as described in Section 205.5 is no longer used by a
claimant as his or her principal place of residence, the exemption
shall cease to apply on the date the claimant terminates his or her
residency at that location.
   (c) Termination of the exemption under this section shall result
in an escape assessment of the property pursuant to Section 531.1.
276.5.  If a person claiming the exemption of an aircraft of
historical significance under Section 220.5 fails to file the
affidavit required by that section by 5 p.m. on February 15 of the
fiscal year for which the exemption is claimed, but files that
affidavit on or before the following August 1, the assessment shall
be reduced by an amount equal to 80 percent of the reduction that
would have been allowed had the affidavit been timely filed.
277.  Any person claiming the disabled veterans' property tax
exemption shall make a return of the property to the assessor, the
same as property is listed for taxation, and shall accompany it by an
affidavit, giving any information required by the board.  Such
information shall include, but shall not be limited to, the name of
the person claiming the exemption, the address of the property, and a
statement to the effect that the claimant owned and occupied the
property as his principal place of residence on the lien date, or
that he intends to own and occupy the property as his principal place
of residence on the next succeeding lien date, and proof of
disability as defined by Section 205.5.
278.  For  the 1977-78 fiscal year and thereafter, county assessors
shall each year mail a notice to all disabled veterans who received
the disabled veterans' exemption in the immediately preceding year,
except where such person has transferred title in the property since
the immediately preceding lien date.  The notice shall inform the
taxpayer of the requirements that must be met in order to be eligible
for the exemption, of the penalties if the taxpayer allows the
exemption to continue when he is not eligible for the exemption, and
of his duty to inform the assessor when he is no longer eligible for
the exemption.
279.  (a) A claim for the disabled veterans' property tax exemption
described in Section 205.5 filed by the owner of a dwelling, once
granted, shall remain in continuous effect unless any of the
following occurs:
   (1) Title to the property changes.
   (2) The owner does not occupy the dwelling as his or her principal
place of residence on the lien date.  For purposes of this
paragraph, if a veteran is, on the lien date, confined to a hospital
or other care facility but principally resided at a dwelling
immediately prior to that confinement, the veteran will be deemed to
occupy that same dwelling as his or her principal place of residence
on the lien date, provided that the dwelling has not been rented or
leased as described in Section 205.5.
   (3) The property is altered so that it is no longer a dwelling.
   (4) The veteran is no longer disabled as defined in Section 205.5.
   (b) The assessor of each county shall verify the continued
eligibility of each person receiving a disabled veterans' exemption,
and shall provide for a periodic audit of, and establish a control
system to monitor, disabled veterans' exemption claims.
279.5.  The taxpayer who has filed a claim for the disabled veterans'
exemption, once granted, is responsible for notifying the assessor
when the property is no longer eligible for the exemption.
   Upon any indication that a disabled veterans' exemption has been
incorrectly allowed, the assessor shall make a redetermination of
eligibility for the disabled veterans' exemption.  If the assessor
determines that the property is no longer eligible for the exemption,
he shall immediately cancel the exemption on the property.
   If a disabled veterans' exemption has been incorrectly allowed, an
escape assessment as allowed by Section 531.1 in the amount of the
exemption with interest as provided in Section 506 shall be made,
except where the exemption was allowed as the result of the assessor'
s error, in which case the amount of interest shall be forgiven.  If
the exemption was incorrectly allowed because of erroneous or
incorrect information submitted by the claimant with knowledge that
such information was erroneous or incomplete or because the claimant
failed to notify the assessor in a timely manner that the property
was no longer eligible for the exemption, the penalty provided in
Section 504 shall be added to the assessment.  If the property
subject to this paragraph has been transferred or conveyed to a bona
fide purchaser for value during the period commencing with the lien
date and ending July 1 of the fiscal year for which such exemption
was incorrectly allowed, and the claimant is not the purchaser, any
amount of penalty provided by Section 504 or any amount of interest
provided by Section 506 imposed pursuant to the escape assessment due
to such incorrect disabled veterans' exemption shall be forgiven.
If the property subject to this paragraph has been transferred or
conveyed to a bona fide purchaser for value after July 1 of the
fiscal year for which the exemption was incorrectly allowed, and the
claimant is not the purchaser, the escape assessment shall be levied
in accordance with Section 531.2.