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5710-5716 Refunds: Processing Procedures

5710. CLAIM REQUIRED
A refund may be made only upon a verified claim filed by the person who paid the tax or his/her guardian, executor or administrator (Rev. & Tax. Code §5097).

EXCEPTIONS: Under Revenue and Taxation Code section 5097.2, either the auditor or the tax collector can make a refund within four years after the date of the payment, without a claim being filed, under the following conditions:

1) The amount was paid more than once;

2) The amount paid exceeds the amount due on the property as shown on the roll;

3) The amount paid exceeds the amount due on the property as the result of corrections to the roll or a cancellation ordered by the board of supervisors after such taxes were paid; or

4) In any other case, with the written consent of the district attorney, where the claim for refund is made under penalty of perjury and is for an amount less than ten dollars ($10).

5711. TIME LIMITATIONS
If a verified, written claim for refund is filed pursuant to Revenue and Taxation Code section 5097 (M-5710), the following time frames apply.

1) Except as provided in section 5097(a)(3), the claim must be filed within four years after the making of the payment sought to be refunded, or within one year after the mailing of the notice as prescribed in Revenue and Taxation Code section 2635, or the period agreed upon by the assessor and the taxpayer as provided by Revenue and Taxation Code section 532.1, or within 60 days of the date of the notice by the auditor as prescribed in Revenue and Taxation Code section 4836(a), whichever is later (Rev. & Tax. Code §5097(a)(2)).

2) An application for a reduction of an assessment filed under Revenue and Taxation Code section 1603 constitutes a sufficient claim for refund if the applicant states that the claim is for a refund. If the application does not include a claim for refund, the applicant can file a separate claim for refund, pursuant to section 1603 or section 1604, within the time frame specified in section 5097(a)(3). (Rev. & Tax. Code §5097(b)).

3) If an application for equalization of an escape assessment is filed pursuant to section 1603, a claim may be filed on any taxes resulting from the escape assessment or the original assessment to which the escape relates within the period provided in Revenue and Taxation Code section 5097(a)(3). (Rev. & Tax. Code §5097(c)).

5712. COMPUTATION OF AMOUNT
Penalties, interest, and costs refundable shall be computed only on the tax refunded or recovered (Rev. & Tax. Code §5106).

5713. CITY AND DISTRICT TAXES
The refund ordered by the board of supervisors may include county taxes and taxes collected by county officers for a city or a revenue district (Rev. & Tax. Code §5099).

5714. COURT ACTION IF REJECTED
If a claim is rejected in whole or in part by the board of supervisors, the person who paid the tax or his/her guardian, executor or administrator may, within six months after the rejection, bring an action only in the superior court, but not in the small claims division of the superior court, to recover the taxes (Rev. & Tax. Code §§5140-5141).

Generally, a taxpayer must exhaust all available administrative remedies before commencing legal action against the board of supervisors. However, there is an exception to this rule if the erroneous assessment was invalid and had no legal force and effect (Exchange Bank v. County of Sonoma, App. 131, Cal. Rptr. 216 (1976)).

Failure of the board of supervisors to act on the claim within six months after filing may be treated as a rejection and authorizes an action to recover the amount of the claim (Otis v. San Francisco, 170 Cal. 98).

Action to recover taxes pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Rev. & Tax. Code §5140) may be brought by any county, city and county, or municipal corporation, pursuant to Revenue and Taxation Code section 5161.

Interest at the greater of three percent per annum or the county pool apportioned rate shall be paid when the interest amounts to $10 or more on amounts refunded under Revenue and Taxation Code section 5096.7 to a taxpayer for any reason whatsoever (Rev. & Tax. Code §5151).

5715. NOTICE TO STATE CONTROLLER
This section was deleted on January 1, 1999.

5716. UNCLAIMED REFUNDABLE AMOUNT
After the time limitation for filing a claim for refund has expired under Revenue and Taxation Code section 5097 (M-1624 and M-5711), any unclaimed amount otherwise payable as a refund may be transferred to the county general fund, on order of the board of supervisors (Rev. & Tax. Code §5102).