PLACERVILLE, Calif. — A new property-tax scam making its way through social media, online videos and telephone calls is prompting a warning from El Dorado County officials, particularly for seniors and other homeowners looking for legitimate ways to reduce their property-tax burden.
The pitch centers on something called “Form 1098-SR,” which scammers claim is a federal form that allows senior homeowners to freeze or reduce their property taxes — and, in some versions of the claim, avoid paying school bonds.
There is one fundamental problem: The form does not exist.
The IRS’s current catalog of official forms includes Form 1098, the Mortgage Interest Statement, and Form 1040-SR, the U.S. Individual Income Tax Return for Seniors. It does not list a Form 1098-SR.
County officials’ warning comes as similar claims have surfaced in counties across California and elsewhere. Recent warnings from Kern, Mariposa and Sonoma counties describe the same basic scheme: online videos and social-media posts promote a fictional federal program that supposedly gives seniors a property-tax freeze or eliminates certain school-related charges.
“No such IRS form exists, and these messages are not legitimate,” officials warn.
No federal senior property-tax freeze
The claims are particularly concerning because they blend real tax terminology with a nonexistent federal benefit.
There is no federal law that automatically caps or freezes local property taxes for seniors through an IRS form. Property-tax assessment and administration are primarily matters of state and local government. California’s property-tax system operates under state law, including Proposition 13 and Proposition 19.
That distinction matters for El Dorado County homeowners. The county Assessor determines property values, while the county Auditor-Controller and Treasurer-Tax Collector have separate responsibilities in the property-tax process. The county provides specific contacts for questions involving assessments, exemptions, Proposition 19, direct charges and tax calculations.
The scam also creates an opportunity for identity theft.
El Dorado County officials say the county’s Auditor-Controller, Assessor and Treasurer-Tax Collector offices do not request personal identification information, including birthdates or Social Security numbers, by phone, text message or email. Personal information is accepted through personal visits to county offices or official signed forms.
That means a caller, website or video claiming to be able to process a “1098-SR” should be treated as a major red flag.
What property owners should do
County officials are urging residents not to provide personal or financial information to anyone claiming to offer a 1098-SR filing service.
Residents should:
- Do not provide a Social Security number, birthdate, financial information or other identifying information to an unsolicited caller or website promoting the supposed form.
- Do not submit information online to a website claiming to file or process a “1098-SR.”
- Do not pay a fee to someone promising a federal property-tax freeze based on the nonexistent form.
- Verify property-tax claims directly with the appropriate government agency using a telephone number or website obtained independently.
- If money was requested or paid, report the matter to local law enforcement and the California Department of Justice.
For El Dorado County property-tax questions, the county lists the Assessor’s Placerville office at (530) 621-5719 and the South Lake Tahoe office at (530) 573-3422. The Auditor-Controller’s Property Tax Division can be reached at (530) 621-5470, ext. 4.
El Dorado County property-tax contacts and information
Real California property-tax programs do exist
The existence of legitimate tax-relief programs may be one reason the false 1098-SR claims sound convincing.
California has several real programs that can provide property-tax benefits to qualifying homeowners. None involves the fictional federal form.
Proposition 13 generally limits annual increases in a property’s assessed value to no more than 2%, unless an applicable reassessment occurs, such as a change in ownership or new construction.
Proposition 19 provides qualifying homeowners who are at least 55, severely disabled or victims of qualifying wildfires or natural disasters with opportunities to transfer a property’s base-year value to a replacement primary residence, subject to specific requirements.
El Dorado County’s Assessor specifically handles Proposition 19 questions and exemptions.
El Dorado County Assessor property-tax information
The Homeowners’ Exemption provides a $7,000 reduction in the taxable value of a qualifying owner-occupied principal residence. The county says homeowners are responsible for applying for the exemption and provides the Assessor’s Office as the point of contact.
Qualified veterans may also be eligible for California’s Disabled Veterans’ Exemption, which can reduce the taxable value of a qualifying principal residence. The California State Board of Equalization administers the program’s statewide rules.
Tax postponement is real — but it is not a tax freeze
Another legitimate program is California’s Property Tax Postponement Program, administered by the State Controller’s Office.
The program allows eligible homeowners who are seniors, blind or disabled to postpone current-year property taxes on their principal residence if they meet income, equity and other requirements. The postponed amount is secured by a lien and must eventually be repaid.
For the 2026-27 program year, the State Controller lists applications as becoming available in September 2026, with the filing period opening Oct. 1, 2026.
California State Controller’s Property Tax Postponement Program
That distinction is important: postponement is not forgiveness, and it is not the fictional federal property-tax freeze promoted by the 1098-SR scam.
A simple rule for El Dorado County homeowners
For residents in Placerville, El Dorado Hills, Cameron Park, Pollock Pines, Georgetown, South Lake Tahoe and communities throughout the county, the safest approach is straightforward:
If a tax break sounds too good to be true and comes through a social-media video, unsolicited phone call or unfamiliar website, verify it before providing any information.
The IRS maintains an official database of federal tax forms, while El Dorado County provides direct contacts for local property-tax questions.
A legitimate property-tax program will have an identifiable government agency, published eligibility requirements and an official contact point. It will not require a homeowner to chase down a mysterious “1098-SR” form promoted through an online video.
For El Dorado County property owners, the best defense against this particular scam may be the simplest one: don’t click, don’t pay and don’t surrender personal information — verify first.
