Did you buy a brand new house OR an older home ?
The taxes are too high according to who ?
If you bought an older home:
The current property tax bill is based on the assessed property value in 2011, which had a basis of the previous owners cost + adjustments.
The 2011-2012 bill was sent out in October 2011 with the first half due by Dec 2011 and the 2nd half due by April 2012.
Property taxes on that bill cover from July 1st 2011 to June 30th 2012
That is the amount that MUST be paid to the assessor.
Through escrow, you would have been charged the old owners property tax based on the number of days that you owned the property after July 1st 2011.
If your basis is lower, you could eventually get a supplemental bill with a credit/refund.
Your new property taxes will be based on your purchase price, but it could take the assessor a while to catch up to this.
2012-2013 bills will not be sent out until Sept/Oct
and will probably reflect the value on January 1st 2012, which still could be more than you paid.
This bill will cover the period July 1st 2012-June 30th 2013.
1. Exactly what date did you close on the house
2. How much did you pay
3. Is there Mello-Roos on this property
4. How much are the current taxes
Call the county assessors office for an explanation of what you can expect in the way of a refund, if any.
