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How to claim the homeowners' exemption in Los Angeles County, step by step

By HiHolt · Published · County form and pages checked November 1, 2026

Short answer: If you own your home and it was your main home on January 1, one claim takes $7,000 off its assessed value every year. You can file online or by mail. Filing it yourself takes only about 10 minutes.

Key numbers

  • $7,000 off your assessed value. The Los Angeles County Assessor calls it "roughly a $70 annual saving."
  • File by 5 p.m. on February 15: you get the full exemption for that year.
  • File between February 16 and 5 p.m. on December 10: you get 80% of the exemption for that year.
  • Just bought? File within 30 days after the date on your Notice of Supplemental Assessment.
  • Once granted, it stays until the home is no longer your main home.

Do you qualify?

  • You own the home, alone or with others, or you are buying it under a contract of sale.
  • It was your main home on January 1. Not sure? The Assessor says to consider where you are registered to vote, the address on your car registration, and where you normally return after work.
  • Any type of home can qualify: a condo, a house, your unit in a building you own, a mobile home, or a houseboat. Only one exemption is allowed per home.
  • A home that is rented out, vacant, or a vacation or second home doesn't qualify.
  • Moved in within 90 days of buying? The exemption can also apply to your supplemental tax bill.

Step 1: Check whether you already have it

Go to the Assessor's Property Search, enter your address, and open your parcel. Next to Exemption, "Homeowners’" means you have it and "None" means you don't.

Bought recently? File even if Property Search already shows "Homeowners’." The claim form says: "A new owner must file a claim even if the property is already receiving the homeowners’ exemption."

Step 2: Have these ready

  • Your AIN, the 10-digit Assessor's ID Number. It is on your tax bill and at the top of your parcel's page in Property Search.
  • The date you acquired the home and the date you moved in.
  • Your Social Security number, plus your spouse's or co-owner's if they live there too. The form says it is required and is "not subject to public inspection." If you don't have one, write "none" or your Medicare or Medi-Cal number.
  • To file online: a photo of your driver's license or another government ID, and an email address.

Step 3, option A: File online (about 10 minutes)

  1. Sign in at assessor.lacounty.gov under My Account. First time? Register once: confirm your email and set a password. After that, each time you sign in, you get a one-time code by text or email.

  2. Open the form. Go to Forms, then Homeowners. Find "Claim for Homeowners’ Property Tax Exemption (BOE-266/ASSR-515)" and click Submit Online.

    The Homeowners forms list with the Submit Online button

  3. Upload your ID.

    Upload your government ID

  4. Choose who signs: Single Signer, or Multi-Signer if your spouse or co-owner signs too. The other signer gets an email with a link.

  5. Enter your details. Your name comes from your account profile. Enter your Social Security number. Then enter your AIN, and the property details fill in automatically. Then enter your mailing address.

    Property Description: enter your AIN and the details fill in

  6. Answer three questions: when you acquired the home, when you moved in, and whether you own another California home that is or was your main home. If yes, add its address and the date you moved out.

    Statements: the three questions

  7. Review and sign. After the preview, you can't make changes. To fix a mistake, start a new submission. Choose a signature style or draw your own, click Sign, then Finish.

    Signature: choose a style or draw your own

  8. Track it under My Account, then Status.

Screenshots: Los Angeles County Assessor, e-File Instructions for the Claim for Homeowners' Property Tax Exemption (Rev. 09/2026).

Step 3, option B: File by mail

Download the form. Page 1 is in English and page 2 is in Spanish. Fill in only one page. A claim in Spanish can be filed only by mail.

Sample claim form for Jane Doe with six numbered parts

Sample only. Jane Doe is not a real person.

  1. Your name and mailing address. If they are already printed on your form, correct anything that's wrong.
  2. Your AIN (map book, page and parcel) and the home's address.
  3. Your Social Security number and name. A spouse or co-owner who also lives there uses the next line.
  4. The date you acquired the home and the date you moved in.
  5. Do you own another California home that is or was your main home? If yes, add its address and the date you moved out.
  6. Sign and date it, and add your email and daytime phone. A spouse or co-owner on the claim signs the second line.

Mail it to the address printed on the form: County of Los Angeles, Office of the Assessor, 500 West Temple Street, Room 227, Los Angeles, CA 90012-2770. Questions? Email assr-hox@assessor.lacounty.gov or call 213-974-3415.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Leaving the Social Security number blank. The form says this "may result in a delay in processing your claim or disallowance of the exemption."
  • Claiming two homes. The state uses Social Security numbers "to prevent multiple claims in different counties."
  • Not telling the Assessor when you move out or rent the home out. File form EXM-76 right away. The claim form warns of "a penalty of 25 percent of the escape assessment."

Outside Los Angeles County?

The claim is the State Board of Equalization's form BOE-266, so the $7,000 and the filing dates are the same in every California county. File it with your county's Assessor. That Assessor's website has the form and the mailing address.

Is your assessed value higher than your home's market value?

If home prices near you have fallen since you bought, your assessed value may be higher than what your home was worth on January 1, 2026. A Proposition 8 decline-in-value review can lower it for the 2026-27 tax year.

About HiHolt

This paragraph describes our own paid service. HiHolt files Proposition 8 decline-in-value reviews for condo and house owners anywhere in California who sign a written authorization. A property tax expert reviews every property. The fee is 30% of the property tax actually saved in the first year HiHolt files. In later years for the same property, the fee applies only if HiHolt files again, and it is only 30% of any extra saving over the best year already charged; a reduction that just carries over is not charged again. Nothing is charged before filing, HiHolt pays Los Angeles County's $46 appeal fee, and you pay only if your tax goes down. HiHolt does not file homeowners' exemption claims: the owner who lives in the home signs that claim. HiHolt is a brand of Fortunewoods LLC, a private company. In Los Angeles County, it files as a registered tax agent.

This guide explains general rules and is not legal or tax advice.

Sources:

  • Los Angeles County Assessor, Homeowners' Exemption (General Info and FAQ): assessor.lacounty.gov
  • Los Angeles County Assessor, Claim for Homeowners' Property Tax Exemption, BOE-266 (P1) REV. 14 (07-25) ASSR-515 (REV. 10-25), with General Information and Instructions: res.cloudinary.com
  • Los Angeles County Assessor, e-File Instructions: Claim for Homeowners' Property Tax Exemption (BOE-266/ASSR-515), Rev. 09/2026: res.cloudinary.com
  • Los Angeles County Assessor, Property Search: portal.assessor.lacounty.gov
  • Los Angeles County Assessor, Cancellation of Homeowners' Exemption, EXM-76: res.cloudinary.com
  • California Business and Professions Code §17537.9: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov