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County Assessor request related to new solar and ESS; do I qualify for the exclusion?

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holeydonut

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Jun 27, 2020
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I feel like this solar thing is just a giant pain in the backside. Between PG&E, Solar Paperwork, and Fire codes, it seems there is no escape from getting my head kicked in.


I'm in Contra Costa County, California and the Assessor's Office just sent me a notice of appraisal related to the permit that was issued for my PV + ESS install. The Office of Assessor wants me (the homeowner) to submit information back to them for my own statement related to the permits that were filed for my Solar and ESS. It sounds like this information will be used to measure the taxable value of my home.


This request is unclear to me on 3 topics.


1) The original permit request that Sunrun submitted to the County in August contains all the information that the Assessor is seeking now. The new form I received is requesting a diagram of the new construction, a vicinity map, copy of my contract with Sunrun, and a site plan. It's almost like the county is testing to see if my own rendition matches what was submitted by Sunrun. I asked Sunrun if they could send me the paperwork of the original permit request so I knew exactly what to base things off of. But I've heard crickets from them on this topic.


2) New solar additions on existing homes in California should be excluded from property tax re-assessment under Senate Bill 871. However, there's an interpretation where the exclusion does not apply to me since Senate Bill 871 only excludes "new construction". And I was told by someone at the County that a new solar array on an existing home is NOT "new construction" since the home isn't new. But the form the Assessor's office sent me literally says "property owner's statement on new construction."
California property tax exemptions for PV systems extended to 2025
CAA e-Forms Service Center - Contra Costa: BOE-64-SES


3) Is a "new construction" ESS project also excluded from the possible higher property value assessment? The language I saw in Senate Bill 871 doesn't seem to expressly call out ESS, Battery, Storage, etc. Should I expect a slightly higher tax basis after this assessment due to the Powerwalls? I've searched, and it doesn't sound like many people in California are being hit with this issue.


I feel like the language in the BOE-64-SES form would count my situation to qualify for the exclusion on both the PV and ESS.

"Active solar energy system" means a system that, upon completion of the construction of a system as part of a new property or the addition of a system to an existing property, uses solar devices, which are thermally isolated from living space or any other area where the energy is used, to provide for the collection, storage, or distribution of solar energy."

But the County person I spoke with didn't seem to agree with me over the phone. Very. Annoying. Red. Tape.
 
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@holeydonut may I ask what ever came of this issue for you? We just received the same letter for a solar installation on our home. I'm fuming at the possibility that the assessor may try to increase our tax liability for this.


Sorry my hand is broken in a cast so I can't really type my normal mega-huge posts.

I don't know what County you're in, but each County should have available an exclusion form. For example, I'm in Contra Costa with these forms.

The form to fill in is the:
BOE-64-SES

One problem is getting the right revision number. You can see in the link above it is Rev 3. But Rev 3 is not the right Rev # for 2021. I had to use Rev 5 in 2020 which I downloaded via the link in the original post I made for this thread.

TBH, my county tax office was not very helpful and it was a giant pain. The form is kind of vague on whether batteries are excluded from assessment. Also, the form is kind of confusing on whether they consider a brand new solar array on an existing home to be "new construction." I argued the solar and ess was "new", but someone over there also told me my house was built in 1991 and wasn't "new construction" for upgrades in 2020.

I sent the forms plus their attestation to the work being completed on my permit to to the Assessor's office. I've asked them for confirmation twice that my taxes wouldn't go up for my solar + powerwalls, and received nothing. I don't now when/if my parcel has been affected by the Solar+ESS assessment yet.

PS, red tape sucks. Taxes suck. PG&E sucks. I don't know the people on TMC are by and large not dealing with any of this BS :( :( :(
 
@holeydonut Would you mind sharing your experience dealing with Contra Costa county? Did they ever increase your tax liability because of the solar system? If so, was it successful to get the exemption with BOE-64-SES?

I am facing the same situation right after having my solar+PW system done in Dec 21. I received a form from the assessor office to provide project cost and completion data since I haven taken out a building permit for the rooftop installation. The form has option for PV system and I need to specify # of panel or kW but not space for PW. Was wondering if they only consider system as the panel.

Thanks for your input
 
@holeydonut Would you mind sharing your experience dealing with Contra Costa county? Did they ever increase your tax liability because of the solar system? If so, was it successful to get the exemption with BOE-64-SES?

I am facing the same situation right after having my solar+PW system done in Dec 21. I received a form from the assessor office to provide project cost and completion data since I haven taken out a building permit for the rooftop installation. The form has option for PV system and I need to specify # of panel or kW but not space for PW. Was wondering if they only consider system as the panel.

Thanks for your input


Hi @shinji - I have never heard back from the County after I submitted my BOE-64-SES. Like I've left voice mails and wrote them a physical letter mail. Nothing.

But my latest property tax bill (with Treasurer RUSSEL V WATTS in like 64 point font on it) doesn't seem to have anything added to reflect any increased improvement value or exemption value. I just have a slightly higher assessment from last year.

I was pretty transparent on my response to the assessor's office that my invoice/bill included both solar + ESS. And I sent in the single line diagram and top-down overview of my house that Sunrun put on the County permit.
 
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...

But my latest property tax bill (with Treasurer RUSSEL V WATTS in like 64 point font on it) doesn't seem to have anything added to reflect any increased improvement value or exemption value. I just have a slightly higher assessment from last year.

...
That increase is allowed, 2% max each year, unless, of course, there are new bond measures that caused me to call the assessor's office a few years ago that I missed reading.

One year, it went down automatically, not increased by that 2%.
 
i also got one of these requests from the city of oakland and i sent the form back ticking 'solar' or 'energy' or whatever they had on there, and never heard anything back. i also don't think my assessment went up more than allowed by prop 13.
 
Lol Prop 13 is the most hated ideology in California. People who benefit from Prop 13 are like "this is the best legislation in all the land! I'm so glad our brilliant policy makers made it so other idiots get stuck paying the county revenue imbalance over time! NIMBY YOU MOTHER*%@&$!rs" My neighbor to one side has a property tax bill 1/4th mine. And the new guy that moved in across the street from me has a property tax bill 2x mine.

A few years ago, I was the sucker. But now the guy across the street is the sucker. Boomer paying like $3,000 a year in property taxes just bought a new Jag because everyone else is the sucker.

But for those that cannot afford a home, they're all like "%$%&! Prop 13... it's just a way for fat cat jerks to punish poor people who cannot afford a home!!!!" While the government lies to us and says California inflation has only gone up 6%... rent and home prices near me in East Bay are up like 40% to 60% since early 2020.

And yet there seem to be no policymakers clamoring to revise Prop 13; unlike all those folks that went to town with the class warfare thing over NEM.
 
Lol Prop 13 is the most hated ideology in California. People who benefit from Prop 13 are like "this is the best legislation in all the land! I'm so glad our brilliant policy makers made it so other idiots get stuck paying the county revenue imbalance over time! NIMBY YOU MOTHER*%@&$!rs" My neighbor to one side has a property tax bill 1/4th mine. And the new guy that moved in across the street from me has a property tax bill 2x mine.

A few years ago, I was the sucker. But now the guy across the street is the sucker. Boomer paying like $3,000 a year in property taxes just bought a new Jag because everyone else is the sucker.

But for those that cannot afford a home, they're all like "%$%&! Prop 13... it's just a way for fat cat jerks to punish poor people who cannot afford a home!!!!" While the government lies to us and says California inflation has only gone up 6%... rent and home prices near me in East Bay are up like 40% to 60% since early 2020.

And yet there seem to be no policymakers clamoring to revise Prop 13; unlike all those folks that went to town with the class warfare thing over NEM.
If prop 13 was eliminated, I could not afford to stay in my house with the huge property tax increase