LA Fire Tax Extension: Filing Deadlines and Property Reassessment

Los Angeles County residents hit by the January 2025 wildfires qualify for a stack of tax extensions and relief measures. The LA fire tax extension pushes both federal and California state income tax filing and payment deadlines to October 15, 2025, and a separate executive order suspends property tax penalties in designated fire-zone ZIP codes through April 10, 2026. On top of those deadline extensions, you can lower your property tax bill through a damage reassessment, defer the next installment while that reassessment is pending, and claim a federal casualty loss deduction on either your 2024 or 2025 return.

Federal Income Tax Deadline Moved to October 15, 2025

The IRS postponed federal filing and payment deadlines falling between January 7, 2025, and October 15, 2025, to October 15, 2025, for taxpayers in Los Angeles County. The disaster was designated FEMA DR-4856-CA, which triggered automatic relief for everyone with an IRS address of record inside the affected area. No form, no phone call, no application.¹

The postponed deadline sweeps up individual returns and payments originally due April 15, 2025, 2024 IRA and HSA contributions, the four 2025 quarterly estimated tax installments, calendar-year business returns, and payroll and excise tax returns normally due January 31, April 30, and July 31, 2025.¹

If you live outside the disaster area but your records are stored inside it, or your tax preparer sits in the affected zone, you can still get the extension. In that case, call the IRS disaster hotline at 866-562-5227 to have the relief applied to your account manually.¹

California State Tax Deadline Also October 15, 2025

The California Franchise Tax Board matched the federal timeline exactly. LA County individuals and businesses affected by fires that began January 7, 2025, have until October 15, 2025, to file and pay California state income taxes. The same universe of returns and payments is covered: your 2024 state return, 2025 estimated payments, and business filings all share the postponed date.²

Property Tax Penalties Suspended Through April 10, 2026

Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-10-25 on January 16, 2025, suspending penalties, costs, and interest on late property tax payments in fire-impacted ZIP codes through April 10, 2026. The waiver covers secured roll taxes, unsecured roll taxes, and supplemental tax bills. Qualifying ZIP codes are 90019, 90041, 90049, 90066, 90265, 90272, 90290, 90402, 91001, 91040, 91104, 91106, 91107, 93535, and 93536.³

Two limits matter. Taxes already delinquent before January 6, 2025, don’t get relief; the waiver only covers obligations that came due after the fires started. And if your property taxes are paid through a mortgage impound account, the waiver doesn’t apply, because your lender handles those payments on a separate schedule.³

The order also pushes the deadline for filing business personal property statements, normally due April 1, out to April 1, 2026, for properties in those same ZIP codes.³

Reassess Your Property to Lower the Bill

Separate from the deadline relief, California law lets you reduce the assessed value of fire-damaged property so you stop paying taxes on value that no longer exists. Revenue and Taxation Code Section 170 allows any owner whose land or buildings were damaged through no fault of their own to apply for a downward reassessment. The damage must total at least $10,000 in lost market value, measured by comparing the property’s worth immediately before and after the fire.⁴

Eligible property types include real property, business equipment and fixtures, orchards and agricultural groves, aircraft, boats, and certain manufactured homes. State-licensed manufactured homes and household furnishings are not eligible.⁵

For properties in the Palisades and Eaton fire footprints, the LA County Assessor has started enrolling value reductions on its own. You may receive a Notice of Assessed Value Change without filing anything. If your property was damaged in a smaller fire, or you haven’t received a notice, file the application yourself to make sure the reduction gets captured.⁶

Form ADS-820 and the 12-Month Deadline

The application is Form ADS-820, “Application for Reassessment: Property Damaged or Destroyed by Misfortune or Calamity.” You have 12 months from the date of the fire to file it with the LA County Assessor. For the January 2025 fires, that means filing no later than January 2026. Missing the deadline generally forfeits the right to reassessment for that cycle.⁶⁴

The form asks for the date of the fire, a description of the damage, the square footage affected, and estimated repair or replacement costs. Contractor bids or professional repair estimates make this easier, though good-faith numbers are acceptable if contractors haven’t been out yet. Photographs, insurance claim documents, and receipts for debris removal or temporary stabilization strengthen the application.

How the Refund Works

Once the Assessor processes the reassessment, you receive a supplemental refund based on the reduced value, prorated from the month of the fire through the end of the fiscal year or the completion of reconstruction, whichever comes first. You do not need to file a separate refund claim. One detail that catches people off guard: you still have to pay your regular tax bill on time while reassessment is pending. The refund arrives later as a separate check or credit.⁵

Deferring the Next Installment While Reassessment Is Pending

If paying the current bill and waiting for a refund isn’t workable, there’s another option. Revenue and Taxation Code Section 194.1 lets you defer your next property tax installment without penalty or interest once you’ve filed a Section 170 reassessment claim. You must file the deferral request on or before the next installment due date.⁷

When the Assessor finishes the reassessment and mails a corrected bill, your deferred taxes become due on the next regular installment date (December 10 or April 10) or 30 days after the corrected bill is mailed, whichever is later. If the Assessor decides your property doesn’t qualify, the same timeline runs from the date of that notice. Deferral is not available for taxes paid through a mortgage impound account, and if the Assessor finds the claim was not filed in good faith, delinquency penalties get assessed retroactively.⁷

Federal Casualty Loss Deduction

The federal disaster declaration (FEMA DR-4856-CA) unlocks the casualty loss deduction for personal-use property. Since 2018, personal losses have been deductible only when they stem from a federally declared disaster, so this declaration is what makes the deduction available at all.⁸

You get to pick the year. You can claim the loss on your 2025 return (the disaster year), or elect to claim it on your 2024 return instead by filing an amended 2024 return on Form 1040-X with Form 4684 attached. Claiming on the prior year can produce a refund faster. The deadline to make the prior-year election is October 15, 2026, which is six months after the regular 2025 filing due date.⁸

The deductible amount is the decrease in your property’s fair market value caused by the fire, or your adjusted basis, whichever is less, minus any insurance reimbursement. If insurance pays out more than your adjusted basis, you may have a taxable gain, though you can defer that gain if you use the proceeds to buy or build replacement property within the required timeframe. IRS Publication 547 walks through the calculation, and Form 4684 is the reporting form.⁸

Rebuilding Without Losing Your Base Year Value

A real concern for long-time homeowners: will rebuilding trigger a tax hike? Under Proposition 13, your taxable value is based on your original purchase price, adjusted no more than 2% per year. A full teardown and rebuild could in theory reset that to today’s market value, which in many LA neighborhoods would mean a steep increase.

California law protects against that. Rebuild in a “like or similar” manner on the same site and you keep your previous factored base year value regardless of what construction actually costs. The Assessor reinstates your pre-fire taxable value once construction wraps up. For properties damaged in a governor-proclaimed disaster, a more generous test applies: the rebuilt property’s market value can reach 120% of its pre-fire value before any portion is treated as taxable new construction. The general window to finish rebuilding and preserve this benefit is five years.⁹

If you’d rather relocate than rebuild, Proposition 19 lets you transfer your base year value to a replacement property anywhere in California, as long as the original sustained damage exceeding 50% of its value. The replacement price is allowed to run above the original’s pre-disaster value by tiered percentages depending on timing, with any excess assessed at market. For governor-declared disasters, there is no limit on how many times you can use the transfer.¹⁰

Appealing the Assessor’s Damaged Value

After the Assessor processes your reassessment, you’ll get a written notice of the proposed new value. If the damaged value still looks too high, you can appeal to the Assessment Appeals Board within six months of the date the notice was mailed. The Board is independent from the Assessor’s office.⁴¹¹

One trap: an informal review requested directly from the Assessor’s office does not preserve your appeal rights. The six-month clock on the formal appeal runs regardless of whether you’re negotiating informally. If you want both options alive, file the formal appeal first and pursue the informal conversation in parallel.¹¹

Key Deadlines at a Glance

October 15, 2025: Federal and California state income tax returns and payments for affected LA County taxpayers
April 10, 2026: Property tax payments in designated ZIP codes can be made without penalties
January 2026: Last day to file Form ADS-820 for property damaged in the January 2025 fires
October 15, 2026: Deadline to elect claiming a 2025 casualty loss on your 2024 federal return
Six months from the reassessment notice: Deadline to appeal the Assessor’s damaged-value determination

1
Internal Revenue Service. IRS: California Wildfire Victims Qualify for Tax Relief
2
California Franchise Tax Board. Los Angeles County Disaster Relief Reminder
3
State of California. Executive Order N-10-25
4
California Legislative Information. Revenue and Taxation Code 170 – Disaster Relief
5
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Disaster Relief
6
Los Angeles County Assessor. Disaster Relief
7
California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code 194-1
8
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 547 (2025), Casualties, Disasters, and Thefts
9
State Board of Equalization. Information Guide for Disaster Relief for Damaged or Destroyed Property
10
California Legislative Information. California Code, Revenue and Taxation Code – RTC 69-3
11
Los Angeles County Assessor. Contesting Your Assessed Value