California BOE property tax forms are the standardized documents the State Board of Equalization designs for reporting taxable property, recording ownership changes, claiming exemptions, and appealing assessed values. Most of them are filed with your county assessor rather than with the BOE itself, and most carry hard deadlines that trigger a 10 percent penalty if you miss them. The right form depends on what you’re reporting: business personal property, a real estate transfer, a change in control of a company, an exemption claim, or an appeal.
Where to Download the Current Forms
The BOE keeps a searchable catalog of property tax forms on its website, organized by form number and topic, with instructions attached to each one.1California State Board of Equalization. Property Tax Forms for Use by County Assessors Offices and Local Boards Many county assessors mirror the same forms on their own sites, sometimes with county-specific cover sheets. Check the revision date printed at the bottom of any form before you fill it out. An outdated version can be rejected or processed incorrectly.
Business Property Statement (Form 571-L)
Form 571-L is the one most California businesses deal with. Any person or business owning taxable personal property with a total original cost of $100,000 or more must file a signed property statement with the county assessor each year. Even if your property falls below that threshold, the assessor can request a statement and you have to comply.2California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code 441
The form asks for full original cost, not depreciated book value. That covers machinery, computers, office furniture, telephones, supplies on hand, leasehold improvements, and construction in progress. Include sales tax, freight, and installation; leave out finance charges on purchased equipment.3California State Board of Equalization. Sample Form BOE-571-L Business Property Statement Schedule A groups equipment by calendar year of acquisition, so you’ll need records going back to the useful life of your oldest asset. Schedule B covers buildings, building improvements, leasehold improvements, and land improvements.
File a separate 571-L for each business location. Three addresses in one county means three statements. The form is due April 1, and the penalty starts after May 7 at 5:00 p.m. If May 7 lands on a weekend or holiday, the deadline rolls to the next business day.2California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code 441 Some counties, including Los Angeles, run e-file portals for 571-L submissions, so check for an online option before you mail a paper form.
Reporting an Ownership Change
Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (BOE-502-A)
Whenever real property changes hands, the buyer files a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report with the county recorder at the time the transfer document is recorded. If the transfer isn’t recorded, or if the report wasn’t filed at recording, you have 90 days from the transfer date to file it. Transfers resulting from a death without probate carry a 150-day deadline from the date of death.4California State Board of Equalization. Frequently Asked Questions Change in Ownership A document recorded without a concurrent BOE-502-A can draw an additional $20 recording fee.
The form asks for the transfer date, the type of transfer (sale, gift, inheritance, trust transfer), the price paid, and whether any exclusions from reassessment apply. Common exclusions cover transfers between spouses, certain parent-child transfers of a primary residence, and some transfers into or out of a revocable trust. Checking the wrong exclusion box is one of the fastest ways to trigger an avoidable reassessment, so read the back of the form before marking anything.
Change in Control of Legal Entities (BOE-100-B)
When a corporation, LLC, partnership, or other legal entity that owns California real property undergoes a change in control — someone acquires more than 50 percent of the ownership interests — the acquiring person or entity files Form BOE-100-B directly with the Board of Equalization within 90 days.5California State Board of Equalization. Legal Entity Ownership Program Frequently Asked Questions The same 90-day deadline applies when a legal entity undergoes a change in ownership. File it even if an exclusion from reassessment applies. Failing to file after a BOE request triggers a penalty of 10 percent of the taxes on the affected property.
Claiming an Exemption
Several BOE forms reduce or eliminate your tax bill. Each has its own eligibility rules, but almost all share a February 15 deadline for the full exemption against the fiscal year starting July 1.
Homeowners Exemption (BOE-266)
If you own and occupy a home as your principal residence, Form BOE-266 reduces assessed value by $7,000. File by February 15 for the full exemption. A late filing between February 16 and December 10 still gets you 80 percent of it, or $5,600 off assessed value.6California State Board of Equalization. Property Tax Savings Homeowners Exemption Once granted, the exemption carries forward automatically; you only need to refile if you move or your eligibility changes. The annual savings run roughly $70 at current tax rates.
Disabled Veterans Exemption (BOE-261-G)
Veterans with a 100 percent service-connected disability, or their unmarried surviving spouses, can claim a substantially larger exemption on Form BOE-261-G.1California State Board of Equalization. Property Tax Forms for Use by County Assessors Offices and Local Boards The basic exemption reduces assessed value by roughly $180,671, adjusted annually for inflation. The low-income version raises that to approximately $271,009 if prior-year household income was $81,131 or less. The low-income version requires annual filing by February 15 to confirm continued income eligibility.
Church and Religious Exemptions (BOE-262-AH, BOE-267-S)
Religious organizations have two paths. The Church Exemption (Form BOE-262-AH) covers property owned, leased, or rented by a religious organization and used exclusively for worship. The Religious Exemption (Form BOE-267-S) requires the organization to own the property but also covers property used for certain school activities alongside worship. Both go to the county assessor by February 15 for the full exemption.
Welfare Exemption (BOE-267)
Nonprofit religious, charitable, hospital, or scientific organizations can exempt property used exclusively for exempt purposes by filing Form BOE-267, with a separate claim for each property. February 15 applies here too. Late filings between February 16 and December 31 allow cancellation of only 90 percent of the tax, penalty, and interest; filings after January 1 of the following year drop to 85 percent. In no case can the remaining tax, penalty, and interest on a welfare-exempt property exceed $250 for the year.
State-Assessed Property
A small category of property is assessed by the BOE directly rather than by a county. Under Article XIII, Section 19 of the California Constitution, the BOE annually assesses pipelines, flumes, canals, and aqueducts that span two or more counties, along with property owned or used by regulated railroads, telephone and telegraph companies, railroad car companies, and companies that transmit or sell gas or electricity.7Justia. California Constitution Article XIII – Taxation Section 19 The BOE’s State-Assessed Properties Division handles those filings and allocates values to the counties where the property sits.8California State Board of Equalization. Property Tax
If you operate one of these regulated utilities or railroads, you submit property statements directly to the State-Assessed Properties Division at PO Box 942879, Sacramento, CA 94279-0061, or reach the division at 916-274-3270.9California State Board of Equalization. How to Contact Us These filings use specialized forms on a different timeline than the county-level April 1 due date. If you’re not in one of these regulated industries, this section doesn’t apply to you.
Deadlines and Penalties
- January 1: The lien date. All property is valued as of this date. Business property statements can be filed starting January 2.10Taxes. Property Tax Function Important Dates
- February 15: Full-exemption deadline for homeowners, disabled veterans, church, religious, and welfare claims.
- April 1: Form 571-L business property statements due.
- May 7: Last day to file a 571-L without penalty, extended to the next business day if May 7 is a weekend or holiday.2California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code 441
- 90 days after transfer: Deadline for BOE-100-B after a change in control or ownership of a legal entity.5California State Board of Equalization. Legal Entity Ownership Program Frequently Asked Questions
The penalty for a late or missing business property statement is 10 percent of the assessed value of any unreported tangible personal property placed on the current roll.11California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code RTC 463 That’s 10 percent of assessed value, not 10 percent of the tax, so the dollar figure can be large. You can request abatement by filing a written application with your county’s assessment appeals board, but you have to show reasonable cause and circumstances beyond your control, not simple oversight.
Where to Send the Completed Form
Most BOE-prescribed forms go to the county assessor for the county where the property is located. That includes business property statements, exemption claims, and change of ownership reports. Don’t mail these to the BOE in Sacramento. The BOE designed the forms; your county processes them.
Two filings go directly to the BOE: state-assessed property statements, which go to the State-Assessed Properties Division in Sacramento, and Form BOE-100-B for changes in control or ownership of legal entities.5California State Board of Equalization. Legal Entity Ownership Program Frequently Asked Questions
For paper filings, use certified mail or request a receipt. Deadlines are enforced on postmark, so a 571-L postmarked May 8 draws the 10 percent penalty even if it was sitting on your desk ready to go on May 6. If your county offers e-filing for 571-L, the online system typically timestamps your submission automatically and takes postmark disputes off the table.
Appealing an Assessment (BOE-305-AH)
If you believe your property has been overvalued, file Form BOE-305-AH (Assessment Appeal Application) with the clerk of the board in the county where the property is located.12California State Board of Equalization. Assessment Appeals The filing window depends on whether your county mails annual value notices to all property owners by August 1. In counties that do, the appeal period runs July 2 through September 15. In counties that don’t, the window extends through November 30.13California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code RTC 1603 For supplemental or escape assessments, you generally have 60 days from the notice date.
Some counties charge a small fee to process an appeal, so check with the clerk of the board before you file.14California State Board of Equalization. Assessment Appeals Frequently Asked Questions For residential property, the strongest evidence is comparable sales: three recent sales of similar properties near yours. California law bars assessment appeals boards from considering any sale that occurred more than 90 days after the January 1 valuation date, so your comparables generally need to fall between January 1 and late March. The assessor’s office presents its own analysis at the hearing, and the board weighs both sides.
Fixing a Mistake After You File
Contact your county assessor’s office as soon as you spot an error: a transposed cost, equipment listed under the wrong year of acquisition, a parcel number typo. For clerical errors on a property statement that produced an incorrect assessment, the assessor can certify a correction to the county auditor. A correction that lowers your taxes needs county board of supervisors approval. One that raises them requires the assessor to notify you of your right to seek review.
Roll corrections for non-valuation errors generally must be made within four years of the original assessment. If the error surfaces during an audit of your books, the correction window extends to six months after the audit is completed. Catching your own mistake and reporting it before the assessor finds it in an audit tends to produce a faster, less adversarial fix.