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1610-1616 Refunds: Types Permissible

1610. GENERAL APPLICATION
Any taxes paid before or after delinquency, including penalties and costs (Rev. & Tax. Code §5107), shall be refunded if they have been:

1) Paid more than once;

2) Erroneously or illegally collected;

3) Illegally assessed or levied;

4) Paid on an assessment in excess of the ratio of assessed value to the full value of the property, by reason of the assessor's clerical error or upon erroneous information supplied by the assessee;

5) Paid on an assessment of improvements that did not exist on the lien date;

6) Paid on an assessment in excess of the equalized value as determined pursuant to Revenue and Taxation Code section 1613; or

7) Paid on an assessment in excess of the value of the property as determined by the assessor pursuant to Revenue and Taxation Code section 469 (Rev. & Tax. Code §5096).

If a penalty was added to the roll because the assessee failed to file an ownership statement within the prescribed time with the assessor, it may be abated by the board of supervisors under certain conditions. If the penalty is abated, it shall be canceled or refunded in the same manner as an amount erroneously charged or collected (Rev. & Tax. Code §§482, 483).

NOTE: Revenue and Taxation Code section 5096 is remedial and should be liberally construed to carry out its intent of preventing the inequitable retention of money that has been improperly collected. However, taxes that were mistakenly paid on wrong property, not because of any error in the levy or collection process, are not erroneously collected within the meaning of Revenue and Taxation Code section 5096. In such instances, taxes are "erroneously paid" by a volunteer, and a refund is not required under these circumstances (Rev. & Tax. Code §5096). (Sierra Investment Corp. v. County of Sacramento (1967) 252 Cal. 2d 339, 343-344 [60 Cal. Rptr. 519, 522]).

1611. REFUND WITHOUT FILING CLAIM
When a person has any taxable interest in land owned by the state or federal government and his/her liability for such taxes is affected due to a misfortune or calamity, there may be a reassessment of the property in its damaged condition. Any tax paid in excess of the total tax due after reassessment shall be refunded to the taxpayer, pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Rev. & Tax. Code §5096 of Part 9, Division 1, of the Revenue and Taxation Code) (Rev. & Tax. Code §170).

NOTE: The county board of supervisors must enact an ordinance to make Revenue and Taxation Code section 170 operative.

1612. APPLICATION OF REFUNDS
The tax collector may apply any refund due a taxpayer, or the taxpayer's agent, to any delinquent taxes due on the same property for which the taxpayer, or his/her agent, is liable (Rev. & Tax. Code §2635.5).

1613. APPLICATION OF REFUND TO FUTURE TAX LIABILITIES
A taxpayer may enter into an agreement with the county to offset his/her refund amount against future tax liabilities. Interest accrues on the refund amount until it has been fully offset (Rev. & Tax. Code §5103).

1614. FAILURE TO FILE FOR EXEMPTION
Failure to comply with exemption requirements, including timely filing, constitutes a waiver of tax- exempt status (Rev. & Tax. Code §260). However, Article 2.5, Chapter 1, Part 2, Division 1, Revenue and Taxation Code (commencing with Rev. & Tax. Code §270), provides that, under specified circumstances, failure to comply may be excused and the assessment of otherwise tax-exempt property may be canceled (or a tax may be partially canceled and any tax paid refunded upon timely application).

1615. NEGOTIATED PURCHASE - PUBLIC AGENCY
If current taxes have been paid on property acquired through negotiation by a public agency after commencement of the fiscal year, the pro rata share, which if unpaid would be subject to cancellation under the Code of Civil Procedure section 1268.440, must be refunded to the person who paid the tax if it is deemed erroneously collected, unless such person was reimbursed for the tax by the acquiring agency (Rev. & Tax. Code §5096.7) and (M-1540).

1616. EMINENT DOMAIN - PUBLIC AGENCY
If current taxes have been paid on property acquired after the lien date by a public agency under eminent domain, the pro rata share, which if unpaid would be subject to cancellation under Revenue and Taxation Code section 5086 (M-1541), shall be refunded to the appropriate party, if it is deemed erroneously collected (Rev. & Tax. Code §5096.7).