Overpaid Your Property Taxes? You Have More Time To Get A Refund

Riverside County supervisors voted today to give people who may have overpaid their property taxes in the last four or more years an additional month to file a claim for a refund.

More than $4.1 million in excess property tax receipts is sitting in the county treasury, awaiting disbursal.

County Treasurer-Tax Collector Don Kent sought the Board of Supervisors’ approval today to transfer the money into the general fund. But Supervisor Jeff Stone recommended giving unknowing claimants an extra 30 days to seek refunds.

“We should give our constituents one last opportunity to claim money that is theirs,” the supervisor said, suggesting that information about how to find out whether and how much a prospective claimant may be owed be posted on each of the supervisors’ websites.

Kent said the county has routinely advertised claims information in a local newspaper.

“It’s the nature of these refunds that some of these folks can’t be located,” the treasurer said.

But Supervisor John Benoit noted that not everybody may receive or have access to the newspaper.

According to Kent, overpayments generally result from changes to the property tax assessment rolls.

Property owners who overpaid are notified and given four years to file a claim for reimbursement. After that time, the money becomes county property and is moved into the general fund.

“This is a wonderful holiday windfall for a county desperately in need of it,” said Supervisor Bob Buster.

He said if the funds remain unclaimed, there will need to be a lengthy “discussion (about how) we decide how to use” the money.

Stone said some of the funding might be injected into the county fire department, helping offset a $4.3 million budget gap that could require shutting several fire stations down and converting others to part-time facilities.

Information on the property tax claims was expected to be posted on the supervisors’ websites in the next week or two.