Prop 19 Tax Base Transfer When You Buy a Home in San Diego
Quick answer: If you are 55 or older, severely disabled, or a disaster victim, Prop 19 lets you carry your old property tax base to a replacement home anywhere in California, up to three times. Buy within two years of selling. If the new home costs more than 100% to 110% of the old one's value, the extra is added to your base. The claim is filed with the Assessor after closing, not in escrow.
The three tests
The Board of Equalization lists the rules for a base year value transfer under Proposition 19. First, you must be at least 55, severely and permanently disabled, or a victim of a wildfire or declared natural disaster on the date you sell the original home. One of the three is enough. Second, the original home must be your principal residence, which means it was eligible for the homeowners' exemption when you sold. Third, the replacement home must be bought or newly built within two years of the sale, and it must also be your principal residence.
| Replacement home bought | Counts as equal or lesser value if its value is |
|---|---|
| Before you sell the original home | 100% or less of the original home's market value |
| In the first year after the sale | 105% or less |
| In the second year after the sale | 110% or less |
A worked example from the Board of Equalization
The BOE gives this example. The original home sold with a full cash value of $400,000 and a factored base year value of $100,000. The owner buys a $600,000 replacement home in the first year after the sale. The original value is adjusted to $420,000 ($400,000 times 105%). The $180,000 above that line ($600,000 minus $420,000) is added to the $100,000 base. The new taxable value is $280,000, not $600,000.
To see what that can mean for your payment, here is my own illustration, not a BOE figure. At the 1% base rate, $280,000 is about $2,800 a year and $600,000 is about $6,000 a year, a gap near $3,200 a year, or roughly $267 a month. Voter-approved add-ons and Mello-Roos are extra and vary by address.
How this fits your mortgage
Here is the catch for a buyer. The claim is filed with the Assessor after you close and move in, so it does not happen in escrow, and the tax change is not in place at closing. On our files we build PITI and cash to close on the tax for your purchase price first. If the Assessor approves the transfer, the lower bill is a bonus, not part of how you qualify. See the supplemental tax bill guide for how the first bills work.
You can also keep your equity working. Many 55 plus buyers in San Diego sell a larger home and buy again with a bigger down payment. Check how that cash lands in cash to close, and how the payment compares in debt to income. If you are buying before you sell, ask us about timing, because you carry both payments for a while.
Prop 19 also changed the parent to child exclusion. For a family home it now requires the child to use it as a principal residence and adds a value cap of the base value plus $1,000,000, adjusted to $1,044,586 for transfers from February 16, 2025 through February 15, 2027. That is a tax question for the Assessor and your tax advisor, not a loan question. Call (619) 366-9494 and we will talk through the loan side.
Get a payment built on your price at get pre-approved San Diego. Company NMLS 2394495. Amir Nurani NMLS 197458. This is general information, not tax or legal advice.
Sources: California State Board of Equalization, Proposition 19 page and FAQs (boe.ca.gov/prop19). Revenue and Taxation Code section 69.6.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Proposition 19 lets a homeowner age 55 or older, severely disabled, or a wildfire or natural disaster victim transfer the base year value to a replacement primary residence anywhere in California, per the Board of Equalization.
Three times, for homeowners who are 55 or older or severely and permanently disabled, according to the Board of Equalization.
No. You can buy first or sell first. The replacement home must be bought or built within two years of the sale of the original home. If you buy first, you pay tax on the new home's full value until the old home sells, with no refund for that period.
No. The Board of Equalization says the claim form is filed with the Assessor after both transactions are complete and you live in the replacement home. It is not done through escrow.
Yes. The Board of Equalization says you can transfer your base year value even if you are not the sole owner, as long as all co-owners buy the replacement home together and you are one of the purchasers.
Buying a new home at 55 or older?
Send the price and down payment. We build PITI on your purchase price and flag the cash to keep, then you file the Prop 19 claim after you move in.
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