Look up or appeal your taxes

The Safe, Clean Water Program is funded by a tax on private properties that contribute to stormwater pollution.

The Safe, Clean Water Program is funded by a tax on private properties that contribute to stormwater pollution. The Program helps property owners understand how they are taxed, how they can become eligible for exemptions, reductions, or credits, and how they can appeal.

The tax is calculated for each applicable parcel based upon the parcel’s impermeable area (think buildings, roofs, driveways, sidewalks, sheds, and pools) as determined by the County Landcover Survey (or other applicable tool). The Board of Supervisors will periodically initiate an update to the County Landcover Survey.

The chief engineer may periodically re-evaluate the characteristics of parcels to ensure accuracy of tax calculations.

Property owners who demonstrate stormwater improvements that result in water quality benefits, water supply benefits, and community investment benefits are eligible for the credit program.

Property owners exempt from the Safe Clean Water assessment (Qualified Seller) and demonstrate stormwater improvements that result in water quality benefits, water supply benefits, and community investment benefits may be eligible for the Credit Trading Program.

These Qualified Sellers may generate Tax Credit Trading Units (TCTUs) to sell to parcels subject to the Safe Clean Water assessment (Qualified Buyers). These TCTUs are purchased at a price of less than $1 per TCTU and each TCTU represents $1 applied to the Qualified Buyer’s Safe Clean Water assessment. TCTU transactions must take place within BOTH the same watershed area and municipality. Look up your parcel’s watershed area HERE.

Qualified Sellers looking to generate TCTUs shall submit their application and Engineer’s Report to the Online Application and Recertification.

Qualified Buyers shall contact safecleanwaterla@dpw.lacounty.gov or 833-275-7297 for available volumes of TCTUs and for the Qualified Seller’s contact information.

The Qualified Seller and Qualified Buyer shall negotiate and agree to a price per TCTU (at less than $1 per TCTU) and submit a Purchase Agreement and Purchase Receipt to safecleanwaterla@dpw.lacounty.gov for Public Works review and approval. If approved, the TCTUs are deducted from the Qualified Seller and applied to the Qualified Buyer Parcel’s Safe Clean Water assessment.

It should be noted that apart from the required information specified in these Credit Trading Program Transaction Guidelines, Public Works staff does not provide the format or other content of the Purchase Agreement. The format and any other Purchase Agreement provisions deemed necessary are up to the discretion of the Qualified Buyer and Qualified Seller so long as the Purchase Agreement (and Purchase Receipt) otherwise comply with these Credit Trading Program Transaction Guidelines. The Qualified Buyer and Qualified Seller should satisfy themselves as to the Purchase Agreement’s and any other related documents’ sufficiency, including from a business and legal standpoint, as Public Works staff is not responsible for making such determinations on behalf of the Qualified Buyer and Qualified Seller.

Options for exemption:

Qualifying low-income senior exemption

Low-income senior property owners may apply annually for an exemption from this special parcel tax. In order to qualify, the applicant must be 62 years of age or older, reside in a single-family residence, be the sole maintainer of the home, and qualify as a low-income household, as determined annually by the California Department of Housing and Community Development.

Ad valorem property exemption

Parcels that are exempt from ad valorem property taxes are also exempt from this special parcel tax. This includes qualifying non-profit organizations and other exempt properties. This exemption will be automatically applied to the tax bill with no action required of the property owner.

Options for reduction:

General income-based reduction

Through the General Income-based Tax Reduction Program, very low-income and extremely low-income household parcel owners may receive a reduction from the special parcel tax. Qualified households will receive a reduction percentage based on the household income and number of persons in the household.

Property owners who believe their tax has been calculated incorrectly can file an appeal with the LA County Flood Control District on the following grounds:

Mathematical error in the calculation of the tax.
Significant discrepancy between the assessed and the actual impermeable area.

Property owners may submit appeals through the online appeals tool.

FAQs

See all FAQs

Visit our tax estimator tool to search by parcel number or street address. Please follow the instructions on the left panel of the page.
The Safe, Clean Water Program parcel tax is calculated based on the amount of total impermeable area on each parcel, which includes constructed surfaces such as buildings, sidewalks, driveways, asphalt, concrete, pavers, pools, and other constructed surfaces. The runoff amount and ability to retain stormwater on your parcel is not factored into the impermeable area tax calculation.

There are options for a partial tax credit if you have constructed qualifying improvements on your property for the capture and/or treatment of stormwater or urban runoff. Details about the credit program, a list of qualifying improvements, and verification requirements can be found on the Tax Relief page.
A senior is defined as a person 62 years of age or older, who owns and resides on a single-family residential parcel within LA County. A low-income household is a household in LA County that meets the low-income limit as determined annually by the California Department of Housing and Community Development. Persons applying for this exemption must be both a senior property owner and low-income. More information can be found on the Tax Relief page.
A credit program is available for property owners who can demonstrate stormwater improvements that result in water quality benefits, water supply benefits, and community investment benefits. Details about the credit program, a list of qualifying improvements, and verification requirements can be found on the Tax Relief page.
Parcel owners who believe their tax has been calculated incorrectly can file for an appeal. For a valid appeal, there must be a significant discrepancy between the assessed and actual impermeable area. This means there must be (1) an error of ten percent (10%) or more in the impermeable area used to calculate the parcel’s special parcel tax, and (2) a difference in the special parcel tax amount of twenty-five dollars ($25) or more. Appeals must meet both conditions to be considered a valid appeal. Examples of valid and invalid appeals can be found in the tax appeal tutorial document. Please check the Tax Relief page for more information.