California Proposition 19
Move without losing your low property taxes
If you’re 55 or older, you can take the property tax base you’ve built up under Prop 13 with you to a new home — anywhere in California, up to three times. Most people assume moving means a full reassessment. It doesn’t have to.
Your numbers
The first two come straight off your property tax bill and a recent home value estimate.
On your tax bill this is the “net assessed” or “factored base year” value — not what the home is worth today.
This matters more than most people realize. Buying later gives you a larger cushion before any value adjustment kicks in — 105% of your sale price at the option selected.
Orange County runs roughly 1.0–1.25% once bonds and assessments are included. Your bill shows the exact rate.
Estimated property tax savings
$0
every year — about $0 a month
No credit pull to start · takes about 10 minutes
Step 2 of 4 · the sale
Your proceeds from the sale
What’s left after the loan is paid off and the costs of selling come out. This becomes the down payment on the next house.
Sale price, carried from step one: $0
What comes out
Rough percentages are fine — your agent will give you exact figures.
Title, escrow, transfer taxes, and county recording fees.
Cash to you at closing
$0
before anything goes toward the next house
Step 3 of 4 · the purchase
What the next house costs each month
Most calculators estimate the tax line at the full purchase price. This one uses the base you transfer, which is the whole point of the exercise.
Replacement price, from step one: $0 · proceeds available, from step two: $0
The new loan
Put some of your proceeds down and see what the payment becomes.
Anything you don’t put down stays in your pocket — step four shows both.
Monthly on the new house
$0
with your transferred base — $0 less than without it
Step 4 of 4 · the move in one place
Sell, buy, and what it costs you
Three estimates on one page: what the sale leaves you, what the next house costs each month, and what Prop 19 is worth inside that payment.
No credit pull to start · takes about 10 minutes
What Proposition 19 actually does
Under Proposition 13, your property taxes are based on what you paid for your home, not what it’s worth now, and that assessed value can only rise about 2% a year. Someone who bought in Orange County decades ago may be paying tax on a fraction of their home’s market value.
The old catch was that moving reset everything. Sell and buy again, and your new home is assessed at its full purchase price — often a tax bill several times higher. That kept a lot of people in houses that no longer fit them.
Proposition 19, effective April 1, 2021, changed that. If you qualify, you can transfer the assessed value from your old home to your new one and keep paying taxes much closer to what you pay today.
Who qualifies
Age 55 or older
You need to be at least 55 on the date your original home sells. Only one spouse needs to meet the age requirement.
Severely disabled
Severely and permanently disabled homeowners qualify at any age, with a certificate of disability filed alongside the claim.
Wildfire or disaster
Homeowners whose property was destroyed by a wildfire or a Governor-declared natural disaster also qualify.
These are three separate doors into the same benefit — you don’t need to meet more than one. Both the home you sell and the home you buy must be your principal residence.
The rules worth knowing
Anywhere in California
The old law limited you to your own county or a handful with reciprocal agreements. Prop 19 opened it to all 58 counties.
Up to three times
The previous rule was once in a lifetime. You now get three transfers — even if you already used one under the old Propositions 60, 90, or 110.
Two-year window
The replacement home must be purchased or newly built within two years of selling the original. Either transaction can come first.
How buying a more expensive home works
This is the part that surprises people, and it’s the reason the calculator above exists. Buying up doesn’t disqualify you — only the amount above a threshold gets added to your base.
The threshold depends on timing: 100% of your sale price if you buy before selling, 105% if you buy within the first year after, and 110% in the second year.
A home with an assessed value of $100,000 sells for $400,000. The replacement is bought in the first year after for $600,000. The threshold is $400,000 × 105% = $420,000. The difference of $180,000 is added to the $100,000 base, giving a new assessed value of $280,000 — not $600,000.
Common questions
Do I file this through escrow?
No. The claim is filed after both transactions close and you’re living in the replacement home. You file form BOE-19-B with the assessor in the county where the new home is located, generally within three years of the purchase. File late and you can still qualify, but the benefit starts from the year you file rather than being backdated.
Can I buy the new home before selling the old one?
Yes, as long as the original sells within two years of the purchase. Be aware that between closing on the new home and selling the old one, you’ll pay taxes on the new home at its full market value, and that period isn’t refunded.
What if I already used Prop 60 or 90 years ago?
You still get three transfers under Prop 19. Prior use of the older one-time benefit doesn’t count against you.
Does my child being on title affect it?
No. As long as you owned the original home, it was your principal residence, and you’re one of the buyers on the replacement, you can transfer the base year value to the entire replacement home even if you own only part of it.
Is there a minimum time I have to have lived in the old home?
There isn’t. The requirement is that the original home was eligible for the homeowners’ or disabled veterans’ exemption at the time of sale — meaning you owned and occupied it as your principal residence.
What about leaving my home to my kids?
That’s the other half of Prop 19, and it moved in the opposite direction. Parent-to-child transfers are now much more limited: the child must make the home their own principal residence, and there’s a value cap. If that’s your situation, talk to an estate planning attorney — this calculator only covers the 55-and-over base year value transfer.
Confirm with the county assessor This is an educational estimate built on the State Board of Equalization’s published rules, not tax or legal advice, and Franklin Direct does not determine assessed values. Your county assessor makes the final determination, and individual situations vary — trusts, co-ownership, ADUs, mobile homes, and new construction all have their own wrinkles. Confirm your numbers with the assessor’s office in the county where you’re buying, and with a CPA or attorney where appropriate, before making a decision based on them.
How this is calculated. Based on Revenue and Taxation Code section 69.6 as implemented by Proposition 19, effective April 1, 2021. If the replacement home’s full cash value is at or below the adjusted full cash value of the original — 100% of the sale price when the replacement is bought or built before the sale, 105% within the first year after, or 110% within the second year — the factored base year value transfers with no adjustment. If it exceeds that threshold, the excess is added to the transferred base. Annual tax is the resulting assessed value multiplied by the rate you enter. The ten-year figure assumes both assessed values grow at the 2% annual maximum permitted under Proposition 13 and does not discount to present value.
Not included: the homeowners’ exemption, direct assessments, Mello-Roos and other special district charges, parcel taxes, and bond measures, all of which appear on a real tax bill and vary by parcel. The calculator assumes you meet every eligibility requirement, that both properties are your principal residence, and that you have transfers remaining of the three allowed. Assessed values shown are estimates, not determinations. Figures reflect rules published by the California State Board of Equalization as of this writing; law and guidance can change. Franklin Direct originates mortgages and does not provide tax, legal, or estate planning advice. Equal Housing Opportunity.