Can You Claim a Canyon Lake Water and Sewer Tax Refund?

If you paid a Canyon Lake water or sewer utility users tax during the claim period, you may be able to request a refund from the City of Canyon Lake. The filing window remains open through February 4, 2027, but the claim requires a completed form, supporting bills and a signature under penalty of perjury.

Eligibility depends on whether you were the person or entity named on the utility account and paid the tax during the covered dates. This is general information and not legal advice.

Who is entitled to submit a claim?

Customers who paid the covered tax between September 7, 2023, and May 29, 2025, are entitled to submit a refund claim.

The City of Canyon Lake’s Utility User Tax Refund page applies to customers of Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District and Eastern Municipal Water District. The City says it will pay refunds to customers of those districts who paid the water or sewer tax and submit a valid, timely claim.

The form is built around the account holder and the service start month. It asks for the name of the person or entity on the water or sewer account, the account number and the billing address. If an entity held the account, the form calls for the person authorized to sign.

A customer whose service began after September 2023 can enter a later service start month. That means the claim covers the months when the claimant was the account holder, rather than automatically covering the full period.

The City’s notice and form do not say whether a buyer inherits a seller’s claim or whether a claim can be assigned in a sale contract. If the account changed hands, ask the City or the title or escrow professional how the account holder information affects the claim.

Which months does the refund cover?

The refund covers utility users tax paid from September 7, 2023, through May 29, 2025.

For the default calculation, the form describes the applicable span as all months from September 2023, or the customer’s later service start month, through May 29, 2025. A customer who opened the account partway through the claim period would use the later starting point shown by the account records.

The covered period ends May 29, 2025.

This refund concerns a City utility users tax on water and sewer service. It is separate from property tax billing. If a purchase has also produced an unfamiliar county bill, the guide to the California supplemental property tax bill explains that different topic.

How can you calculate the refund?

You can choose either the $4.00 monthly default or an actual calculation based on your monthly bills.

Under the default election, the total equals the number of applicable months multiplied by $4.00. The starting month is September 2023 or the service start month, whichever is later, and the calculation runs through May 29, 2025.

The second election lets you calculate the actual amount paid by reviewing the monthly water and sewer bills and providing those records. The City explains that it does not provide the utility service directly, so it does not have access to customer utility bills.

Both choices require documentation. The claim form states that all claims require proper documentation and specifically says that requirement applies to both the default refund and the actual calculated refund. Selecting the default does not remove the need to gather the bills for the months claimed.

What documents and information does the form require?

The form requires account details, the selected refund calculation, supporting bills and the claimant’s signed declaration.

Be ready to provide the water or sewer service account number, the name of the person or entity on the account and the account billing address. If service started after September 2023, enter the service start month. Then choose the default refund or the actual calculated refund.

Copies of water and sewer bills are required for each month claimed. Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District keeps online bill copies for 24 months, according to the City. If older EVMWD bills are no longer available online, a customer may request a transaction history letter directly from EVMWD for use with the claim. The City’s page gives a 24-month online retention period only for EVMWD.

The claimant signs under penalty of perjury and dates the form. The form also asks for a phone number and email address. Review the entries and attachments together before submission because the City’s notice calls for a fully completed and signed claim.

How and when do you submit the claim?

You need to submit the completed form and bills to the City’s Finance Department no later than February 4, 2027.

The claim form also needs to be dated no later than February 4, 2027, which is one year after the date of the City’s notice. It can be emailed to [email protected], the address printed on the City’s own form, or mailed to:

City of Canyon Lake Finance Department
31516 Railroad Canyon Road
Canyon Lake, CA 92587

The form is also available at City Hall. The City lists City Hall hours as Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

As of November 4, 2026, the stated claim deadline is February 4, 2027. Check the City’s refund page and current claim form before filing for the latest instructions.

According to a February 2026 Canyon Lake Insider report, funds left unclaimed after the deadline will be transferred to the City’s General Fund.

What should buyers and sellers check?

Buyers and sellers should identify who held the utility account during each month being claimed and preserve the records tied to that account.

A seller who held the water or sewer account during the claim period can keep copies of the bills and account number when closing the account. A buyer who opened an account partway through the period can check the service start month. The form’s later-start field is designed to capture that timing.

The refund is one narrow account issue, not a full property review. Buyers can separately read about buying in Canyon Lake and the POA and Canyon Lake dam inundation areas when reviewing other property facts.

M. showed us information about the Canyon Lake water and sewer tax refund and assumed every current property owner could submit a claim. She had only recently purchased the home and did not know who had paid the qualifying charges. We reviewed the eligibility period, payment records and claim requirements before telling her whether the refund might belong to her or a prior owner.

Why is the City offering the refund?

The City is offering the refund because a court determined that Canyon Lake’s utility users tax on the two districts’ water and sewer customers was unconstitutional.

The City’s notice states that the determination concerned customers of Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District and Eastern Municipal Water District. It does not provide the court’s full legal reasoning.

A September 2025 Canyon Lake Insider report says the court of appeal held that the tax violated Proposition 218. The outlet also reported that the City Council adopted an ordinance removing the water and sewer utility users tax sections from the municipal code.

Those reports give the background; the City’s notice and claim form give the filing steps. The City’s notice does not say how long payment takes after submission or how many claims have been filed.

The short version

Eligible account holders can claim a refund for Canyon Lake water or sewer utility users tax paid between September 7, 2023, and May 29, 2025.

Choose the $4.00 monthly default or calculate the actual amount from monthly bills. Either choice requires supporting documentation. Complete the City’s form, sign it under penalty of perjury and submit it with the bills by February 4, 2027.

For account-change questions, ask the City or the title or escrow professional.

For a separate look at what a Canyon Lake property may be worth, use the home value tool.