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CA Property Tax

1flyingyogi

Well Known Member
My tax bill came today. My purchase price for the RV was $42k two years ago. The tax bill is $729. Does this sound about right? I reported to them that no mods have been done to the plane.

Also for the future, if I were to buy another plane, I could register under my cousin's name, who lives in TX so I don't have to pay taxes on it? Is that a good idea??
 
My tax bill came today. My purchase price for the RV was $42k two years ago. The tax bill is $729. Does this sound about right? I reported to them that no mods have been done to the plane.

Also for the future, if I were to buy another plane, I could register under my cousin's name, who lives in TX so I don't have to pay taxes on it? Is that a good idea??

The tax is very close to 1% in most counties, and is assessed as of Jan 1 but not due until the end of August. So if you owned the plane on Jan 1, 2017, and your bill says 2017 and 2018, then this is a bit low. If it says $420 plus $309 late fee then it is just for 2017; in another month you?ll get the 2018 bill. AND, if you didn?t already pay it, be ready for the $3600 (depends what county you live in) plus late fees sales tax bill.

The state frequently gets lists of N numbers from hangared and tied down airplanes. If your ?cousin? is seen frequently leaving ?his? airplane at a CA airport he will get a property tax bill.
 
You're in Compton

Brian,

Since you keep your aircraft at KCPM, the city of Compton has an indemnity tax on aircraft which increases the amount of taxes paid. Dennis Lord can fill you in if you want the details.

As far as registering out of state, I know a few people who did that. All I can say is pay now or pay later but you'll pay and it will be a lot more if you end up paying later if the registration is questioned.

Update: THe tax bill is "voted indebtedness" not indemnity tax.
 
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CA will suck you dry on taxes, LA county is one of the worst. Should be 1.2% of the declared value, same as your home. It's always a good idea to register out of state but you have to hide your N# from the airport and who you rent your hangar from... They report your number to the county at least once a year. Aircraft musical chairs during hangar inspections, don't use your N# when fueling anywhere in the state and cover your N# when your hangar door is open. It can be a pain but saved thousands and thousands.....
 
An indemnity tax is a payment to the airport in anticipation of future bills, whether from accidents or normal wear and tear. It’s a user fee.

Yes, except this goes into the city of Compton's coffer. The airport is owned by LA County. I don't think airplanes are the only things subject to this tax in the city. I could have the name of the tax wrong.
If I remember correctly, the tax is the result of some law that was voted on and passed in 1948.
 
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CA will suck you dry on taxes, LA county is one of the worst. Should be 1.2% of the declared value, same as your home. It's always a good idea to register out of state but you have to hide your N# from the airport and who you rent your hangar from... They report your number to the county at least once a year. Aircraft musical chairs during hangar inspections, don't use your N# when fueling anywhere in the state and cover your N# when your hangar door is open. It can be a pain but saved thousands and thousands.....

Harder to do now, at Compton anyway. You have to have an N Number to get a hangar at the aviation rate. If not then you'll be charged non-aviation rates and are subject to getting kicked out if an aviation use person comes in. It's not necessarily the airport crew that catches you. The airport has become the favorite hangout for a county aviation department employee.
 
The tax is very close to 1% in most counties, and is assessed as of Jan 1 but not due until the end of August. So if you owned the plane on Jan 1, 2017, and your bill says 2017 and 2018, then this is a bit low. If it says $420 plus $309 late fee then it is just for 2017; in another month you?ll get the 2018 bill. AND, if you didn?t already pay it, be ready for the $3600 (depends what county you live in) plus late fees sales tax bill.

The state frequently gets lists of N numbers from hangared and tied down airplanes. If your ?cousin? is seen frequently leaving ?his? airplane at a CA airport he will get a property tax bill.

I'll look tomorrow at the date that the tax is for. I'm quite sure I paid last year already. So if it's supposed to be 1% then I'm getting over-charged?? 1% of $42k is $420, not $729. And the $3600 is sales tax, right? I already paid that when I bought the plane, so that's not an issue.

When I signed the lease, I put down my RV tail number. So in the future if I buy another plane, and I don't tell the airport to change the records, there isn't any reason they need to know about the new plane, right? I mean they can see me flying it, but I doubt they care who it belongs to. I know most of the guys who work there and I doubt they'll be interested in these technicalities. This is just all hypothetical anyway. My wife is against me having TWO airplanes, so it probably won't happen. But I'm trying to change her mind. Haha.
 
update

I was all off. Here's the info:

The tax bill lists it as"voted indebtedness" and it passes muster with Prop 218 because it passed a public vote in 1948. It is an unsecured property tax on business items and other non- real estate items like aircraft. The county rate is 1%. The City of Compton adds another .48%. Therefore, a $600 tax bill from the County will cost you $900 in Compton. It was designated a tax to cover pensions with a varying schedule. However, due to Prop 218 in 1996, the rate could no longer be changed without voter approval so it remains frozen at 0.48%.
 
Well there ya go..... As I said, CA will suck you dry in taxes. Your plane pays for city pensions... And, the tax you pay renting the hangar, and the fuel tax (county, city, state and sales), and the pumping fees, and the use tax. It never ends and it's always more. Hide it.
 
Well there ya go..... As I said, CA will suck you dry in taxes. Your plane pays for city pensions... And, the tax you pay renting the hangar, and the fuel tax (county, city, state and sales), and the pumping fees, and the use tax. It never ends and it's always more. Hide it.

I agree. And I plan to!

Here's the breakdown of my tax bill:
General Tax levy: $456
Voted indebtedness city of Compton: $205
Unified Schools: $55
Community Colleges: $10
Metro Water District: $1
Total Voted indebtedness: $273

Total: $729

And my full assessed value went up to $45,600. Where did they get the extra $3,600?? I paid $42K for it. I reported no additions/ modifications.

There's a number I can call for "questions and concerns" regarding my bill, but man what a hassle...

I'm having my cousin keep my plane for me in TX if I buy another one. He an fly it here as often as he wants, but he's keeping it!
 
And at some or maybe all airports in CA they charge you property tax on the hanger you RENT, was over 100 bucks a year some years ago, probably more now. I really miss the CA Bay area for the flying but 25 bucks a year to the state and 200 bucks month for a T-hanger here in the PHX area keeps me happy.
 
I agree. And I plan to!

And my full assessed value went up to $45,600. Where did they get the extra $3,600?? I paid $42K for it. I reported no additions/ modifications.
!

They value the plane at everything you paid for it - including the sales tax!
 
...There's a number I can call for "questions and concerns" regarding my bill, but man what a hassle...

In my experience the Assessor will simply throw a number against the wall and see if it sticks... If you dont contest the assessment, it "stuck". Most times they will back off their number pretty significantly if you give them the slightest justification.
 
Mine's at TOA and is $500 general tax levy, unified schools $44, community college $10.60, metro water district $1.75 -- which is $557. At least it's deductible... well, it was anyway, who knows with the new tax law.

I had no idea CPM has that ridiculous extra fee!
 
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