I received a letter the other day from a company telling me I'm missing out on the California Home Owners Property Tax Exemption. For a fairly small fee they we're offering to process the exemption for me. I looked into it and found that it was not bogus.

"EXEMPTIONS HOMEOWNERS: A property owner may claim a Homeowner's exemption in California on a residence that is both owned and occupied at 12:01 a.m. on January 1; or files within 30 days of a change in ownership or new construction for which a supplemental assessment is levied. The exemption reduces your assessed value by $7,000 and reduces the tax bill by at least $70. It is the homeowner's responsibility to apply for the exemption. To receive the full exemption, you must file with the Assessor's office between January 1 and February 15, or within 30 days of a Notice of Supplemental Assessment. (A late filing is accepted from February 16 to December 10 for 80 percent of the exemption). Your exemption automatically continues each year as long as you continue to own and occupy the property as your primary residence. It is also the homeowner's responsibility to terminate the exemption when no longer eligible. Please contact the El Dorado County Assessor's office for the Homeowner's Exemption form at 530-621-5719."

El Dorado County Assessor's Office

Fair enough I thought, they brought it to my attention and if I haven't found this in the 2 years I've been a CA homeowner I probably never would have. One problem though... they need the SSN's of the homeowners. Screw that, I'm not sending my SSN to some random company. So I called Assessor's Office myself and asked them to send me the form. A very simple form arrived in the mail withing days and I posted it back within weeks. I'll update when I hear back.

So if your a California Home Owner contact your county assessor's office and get your exemption sorted. If not maybe your state has something similar.