LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Treasurer and Tax Collector Barbara C. Ringen is pleased to announce that the State Controller’s Property Tax Postponement Program has returned after being suspended by the State Legislature in 2009.

The program allows homeowners who are 62 or older, blind, or have a disability, to defer current-year property taxes on their principal residence if they meet certain criteria including 40 percent equity in the home and an annual household income of $35,500 or less.
 
Applications became available Sept. 1, 2016, and can be found at the Lake County Treasurer & Tax Collector’s Office or online at http://www.sco.ca.gov/ardtax_prop_tax_postponement.html .
 
The State Controller’s Office will begin accepting applications on Oct. 1, 2016, through Feb. 10, 2017.

Funds are limited and applications will be approved on a first-come, first-served basis.
 
The interest rate for taxes postponed is 7 percent per year as compared to 18 percent per year for delinquent taxes.

Repayment under this program becomes due when the homeowner:

· Moves or sells the property;
· Transfers title;
· Defaults on a Senior lien;
· Refinances; Dies; or
· Chooses to obtain a reverse mortgage.
 
For more detailed program information, contact the tax collector’s office at 707-263-2234 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or the State Controller’s Office toll-free at 800-952-5661, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .