Pandemic Not ‘Disastrous’ Enough for Property Tax Relief (2)

Disasters trigger automatic relief on property taxes in a handful of states, but because the coronavirus pandemic isn’t causing physical damage to real estate, granting that relief is trickier for states and localities.

Physical damage to homes from hurricanes, tornadoes, or other natural disasters typically prompt automatic relief from many states, such as delayed property tax bills or temporarily reduced property tax payments. That relief can also extend to crises that state governors declare to be disasters, such as Hurricane Harvey in Texas. But so far in the pandemic’s wake, at best property owners are seeing extended filing deadlines, as ...