The West Valley is full of people who bought in the 1970s, 80s and 90s and are now sitting on a Prop 13 assessment that is a small fraction of what their house is worth. Many of them would like to move (downsize, get to one story, be closer to family) and don't, because they believe selling means their property tax bill resets to today's market value. Since Proposition 19 took effect in 2021, that's usually not the case.
The 55-and-older transfer
If you are 55 or older, severely and permanently disabled, or a victim of a wildfire or other declared disaster, you can transfer your existing assessed value to a replacement home. Three things about it are much more generous than the pre-2021 rules:
- Anywhere in California, not just within your own county, and not only to counties that agreed to accept transfers.
- Up to three times in your lifetime, rather than once.
- No cap on the replacement home's price. Buying something more expensive no longer disqualifies you.
How the number is calculated
If your replacement home costs the same or less than what you sold for, you carry your entire assessed value across and nothing is added. If it costs more, only the difference above the allowance is added to your transferred base. You keep the benefit on everything below it.
Inherited property is a different, much stricter story
Prop 19 also changed what happens when a child inherits a parent's home, and it tightened those rules considerably rather than loosening them. A child now keeps the parent's low assessed value only if they make the home their own primary residence, and they must claim the homeowners' exemption within 12 months. Even then, the protection is capped at the assessed value plus $1 million.
If the inheriting child rents the property out, keeps it as a second home, or simply doesn't move in within the year, the assessment resets to market value. For a family home in the Valley held for decades, that can be a very large annual increase, and it frequently forces a sale that nobody planned for. If you're managing an estate or thinking about how a property passes to your kids, this is worth a conversation with an attorney well before it happens.
It isn't automatic
You have to file a claim with the county assessor, generally within three years of buying the replacement property. Nobody applies it on your behalf. The LA County Assessor's office handles these directly, and a CPA or estate attorney is worth the cost if the numbers are meaningful.
Run your own numbers
Prop 19 calculator →