Eleven California counties have voted to let senior and disabled homeowners move their existing Proposition 13 property tax assessment across their borders under the current law. They are:
- Alameda
- El Dorado
- Los Angeles
- Orange
- Riverside
- San Bernardino
- San Diego
- San Mateo
- Santa Clara
- Tuolumne
- Ventura
BLENDED TAX ASSESSMENTS
Under current law,homeowners who are 55 and older or who are disabled can keep their lower Prop. 13 property tax assessment when buying a new home of equal or lesser value than their prior home.
The California Association of Realtors’ proposed ballot initiative would also allow them to apply their old property tax assessment to a new home that’s more expensive than the old one. The new assessment would be a blend of the old and new assessments, combining the old assessment up to the sale price of the old home with an additional assessment for the amount paid over that price on the new home.
If the new home is less expensive than the old one, the assessment would be adjusted downward in proportion to the amount saved.
Here’s how it would work:
- More expensive: Say a couple owned a home for 30 years and its current assessed value is $75,000, meaning they pay $750 in annual property taxes. They sell the home for $600,000 and buy a new one for $700,000. Their new tax assessment would be $75,000 plus $100,000 (the difference between the old home’s sales price and the new home’s sales price). Their new property tax would be $1,750.
- Less expensive: Say the same couple sold their old home for $600,000, then paid $500,000 for a condo. Since the condo’s price is 83 percent of the old home’s sales price, the new assessment would be 83 percent of the old, or $62,500. Their new property tax would be $625.
Source: California Legislative Analyst’s Office
