property tax assessment; destroyed property

Plain English Breakdown

The exact fiscal impact on the state General Fund is not specified in the official source material.

Property Tax Assessment for Destroyed Property

This law changes how county assessors handle property taxes when a building is destroyed by an accident after the tax rolls are closed.

What This Bill Does

• Removes the statutory definition of 'destroyed' in property tax laws, giving more flexibility to county assessors.
• Allows county assessors to keep the same property classification for up to five years if the destruction was due to a verifiable accident like fire or flood.
• Requires county assessors to notify property owners about changes in their property assessment.

Who It Names or Affects

• Property owners whose buildings have been destroyed by accidents like fires or floods.
• County assessors who handle property tax assessments.

Terms To Know

Proration

Dividing a value over time, such as when part of a year is before and after an event like destruction of property.

Property classification

A category that determines how much tax a piece of property pays based on its use or type.

Limits and Unknowns

• The law does not specify the exact fiscal impact to the state General Fund.
• It only applies if destruction is due to a verifiable accident, like fire or flood.

Official Summary Text

SB1294 - 572R - Senate Fact Sheet

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ARIZONA STATE SENATE

Fifty-Seventh
Legislature, Second Regular Session

FACT SHEET FOR
S.B. 1294

property tax assessment;
destroyed property

Purpose

Retroactive to
September 14, 2024, expands the county assessor's authority to prorate the
value of destroyed property for property tax purposes by removing the statutory
definition of
destroyed
. Specifies that only a property destroyed by a
verifiable accident, including fire, flood or an act of God, may retain its property
classification for five years or until a change in use occurs.

Background

Prior to 2024, statute
required county assessors, if the county assessor found that the property had
been destroyed after closing the tax rolls, to prorate the property value and
compute the tax from the lien date to the date of destruction.
Laws 2024, Chapter
34
limited proration to only property destroyed by a verifiable accident,
including fire, flood or any other act of God, and allowed property destroyed
by a verifiable accident to remain in the same classification for up to five
years or until an objectively verifiable change in use, whichever is earlier (
A.R.S.
� 42-15157
).

There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General
Fund associated with this legislation.

Provisions

1.

Expands the county assessor's authority to prorate the value of
destroyed property by removing the statutory definition of
destroyed
.

2.

Specifies that the county assessor's authority to maintain a property
classification in place for a period of five years or until an objectively
verifiable change in use applies only to property that has been destroyed by
verifiable accident, including fire, flood or any act of God.

3.

Makes technical and conforming changes.

4.

Becomes effective on the general effective date, retroactive to
September 14, 2024.

Prepared by Senate Research

January 29, 2026

MG/SJ/hk

Current Bill Text

Chapter 0065 - 572R - S Ver of SB1294

Senate Engrossed

property tax
assessment; destroyed property

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

CHAPTER 65

SENATE BILL 1294

AN
ACT

amending section 42-15157, Arizona
Revised Statutes; relating to property tax assessment.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 42-15157, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
42-15157.

Destruction of property after rolls closed; proration of
valuation and taxes

A. If a property is destroyed after the county
assessor closes the rolls, the property owner may file a notice of claim
pursuant to section 42-16254 or the county assessor may issue a notice of
proposed correction pursuant to section 42-16252 to prorate the valuation
of the property from the date of destruction.

B. If the county assessor finds that the property
has been destroyed:

1. The county assessor shall prorate the value of
the property from the lien date to the date of destruction.

2. For the purposes of classifying
property under chapter 12, article 1 of this title, the county assessor may
maintain the property classification in place on the date of destruction for a
period of five years or until an objectively verifiable change in use occurs,
whichever is sooner.

3.
2.
The
county assessor shall notify the property owner of the property assessment
pursuant to the applicable notice requirements provided in this chapter or
chapter 16 of this title.

4.
3.
The
county treasurer shall compute the amount of taxes assessed against the
property by applying the tax rate for the appropriate tax year to the original
valuation prorated for the portion of the year the property was intact, plus
the tax rate for the appropriate tax year to the reassessed value of the
property prorated for the balance of the year.

C. For the purposes of this section,
"destroyed" means physical destruction caused by a verifiable
accident, including fire, flood or any other act of God.

C. If the county assessor finds that
a property has been destroyed by a verifiable accident, including fire, flood
or any other act of god, the county assessor may maintain the property
classification in place on the date the property is destroyed for a period of
five years or until an objectively verifiable change in use occurs, whichever
is earlier.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 2.
Retroactivity

This act applies retroactively to from
and after September 13, 2024.

APPROVED BY THE GOVERNOR JUNE 22, 2026.

FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE JUNE 22, 2026.