Taxpayers' Rights Advocate Office Information Sheets on Property Tax Savings

Under the Morgan Property Taxpayers' Bill of Rights, the State Board of Equalization's Taxpayers' Rights Advocate has an educational role in providing education and instruction to local taxpayers to promote taxpayer understanding of property tax laws. It is important that California taxpayers are aware of various exclusions and exemptions available to them. Our office has prepared Information Sheets on various topics to make sure property owners in California know that there are exclusions and exemptions available to them that could result in property tax savings. The series of Information Sheets began in July 2018.

There are a number of conditions or situations under which property owners in California may be eligible for tax relief, which equates to property tax savings. Tax relief may be in the form of exclusion from reassessment or exemption of assessed value; but one thing they all have in common is they either reduce or entirely eliminate your obligation to pay property taxes on your property.

Do you know that homeowners can transfer property to their children or grandchildren without having the property reassessed to its market value or transfer the base year value from one home to another to avoid paying higher property taxes or minimize property tax increases? Under California property tax law, you can, it is referred to as exclusion. The Assessor is required to assess the property at its current market value when a change in ownership occurs which usually results in an increase in property taxes. However, there are some changes in ownership that are excluded from reassessment. Property owners in California may avoid reassessment to market value for certain real property sold or transferred within the family (from parents, children, or grandparents), by seniors (age 55 and over), and by disabled persons. The Taxpayers' Rights Advocate office is pleased to present an Information Sheet on each of the following topics below to help taxpayers understand property tax laws and be aware of exclusions available to them:

Information Sheets on Property Tax Savings in English

Exclusions

• Information Sheet, Property Tax Savings: Transfers Between Parents and Children (Pub 800-1)
• Information Sheet, Property Tax Savings: Transfers Between Parents and Children Occurring On or Before February 15, 2021 (Pub 800-1a)
• Information Sheet, Property Tax Savings: Transfers Between Grandparents and Grandchildren (Pub 800-2)
• Information Sheet, Property Tax Savings: Transfers from Grandparents to Grandchildren Occurring On or Before February 15, 2021 (Pub 800-2a)
• Information Sheet, Property Tax Savings: Transfers Between Cotenants Upon the Death of a Cotenant (Pub 800-8)

Base Year Value Transfers

• Information Sheet, Property Tax Savings: Transfer of Property Tax Base to Replacement Property – Age 55 and Older (Pub 800-3)
• Information Sheet, Property Tax Savings: Transfer of Property Tax Base to Replacement Property – Age 55 and Older Occurring On or Before March 31, 2021 (Pub 800-3a)
• Information Sheet, Property Tax Savings: Transfer of Property Tax Base to Replacement Property – Disabled Persons (Pub 800-4)
• Information Sheet, Property Tax Savings: Transfer of Property Tax Base to Replacement Property – Disabled Persons Occurring On or Before March 31, 2021 (Pub 800-4a)

Exemptions

• Information Sheet, Property Tax Savings: Homeowners' Exemption (Pub 800-6)
• Information Sheet, Property Tax Savings: Disabled Veterans' Exemption (Pub 800-7)

Other

• Information Sheet, Property Tax Assistance Programs for Seniors (Pub 800-5)
• Information Sheet, Death of A Real Property Owner – Reporting Requirements (Pub 800-9)

Information Sheets on Property Tax Savings in Spanish (Hoja Informativa en Español)

• Information Sheet, Property Tax Savings: Transfers Between Parents and Children (Spanish) (Pub 800-1-S)
• Information Sheet, Property Tax Savings: Transfers Between Parents and Children Occurring On or Before February 15, 2021 (Spanish) (Pub 800-1a-S)
• Information Sheet, Property Tax Savings: Transfers Between Grandparents and Grandchildren (Spanish) (Pub 800-2-S)
• Information Sheet, Property Tax Savings: Transfers from Grandparents to Grandchildren Occurring On or Before February 15, 2021 (Spanish) (Pub 800-2a-S)

Important Notice: Proposition 19 repealed the former parent-child and grandparent-grandchild exclusions that were added by Propositions 58 (1986) and 193 (1996) and instituted new intergenerational transfer exclusion rules that became operative on February 16, 2021. Proposition 19 also instituted new base year value transfer rules for persons over the age of 55, the severely disabled and victims of wildfires and natural disasters that become operative on April 1, 2021. Please visit the Proposition 19 webpage for more information regarding the new provisions.