Prop 19 Base Year Transfer for Homeowners 55 and Older

If you are 55 or older, Proposition 19 lets you sell the home you live in, buy or build another one anywhere in California within two years, and take your existing taxable value with you instead of being reassessed at the new price. Severely disabled homeowners of any age can do the same, and so can owners whose home was substantially damaged by a wildfire or natural disaster.

If the new home is worth the same as or less than the old one (with a 5% or 10% cushion when you buy after selling), your taxable value moves over unchanged; if it is worth more, the difference is added. You file a claim with the assessor in the new home's county within three years of buying, and homeowners who qualify by age or disability can do this up to three times.

This article is general information, not tax or legal advice. Confirm your plan with a CPA or real estate attorney, and with the County Assessor, before you list or make an offer.

Why this matters for long-time Orange County owners

Under Proposition 13, your taxable value is set when you buy and generally rises no more than 2% a year. The general tax rate is 1% of that value, plus amounts for voter-approved debt. Buying a new home normally resets the value to the purchase price, which for someone who bought decades ago can multiply the tax bill.

Our guide to Orange County property taxes covers the rest of the bill, and if you are still deciding whether a smaller home makes sense, start with our article on downsizing in Orange County. Prop 19 also changed the separate rules for parents passing a home to their children, which are not covered here.

Who qualifies

On the date your original home sells, you must fit one of three groups:

Age 55 or older. Only one owner has to meet the age test, as long as that person is on title to both homes, so a younger spouse doesn't disqualify you. Turning 55 after the sale is too late.
Severely and permanently disabled, at any age, with a certification signed by a licensed physician or surgeon.
A wildfire or natural disaster victim, at any age. The home must have suffered damage of more than 50% of the land's or the improvements' value and be sold in its damaged state. A natural disaster requires a Governor's proclamation of a state of emergency; a wildfire does not.

Both homes must be principal residences

The home you sell must have been eligible for the homeowners' or disabled veterans' exemption because you owned and lived there, either when it sold or within two years of buying the replacement. There is no minimum length of residence, and you don't need to have actually received the exemption, though the assessor may ask for proof such as voter or vehicle registration. When you file, you must own and live in the new home as your principal residence. Rentals and second homes don't qualify.

Homes owned by an LLC or other entity generally don't qualify. A home in your living trust can, as long as you are the trust's present beneficiary.

Two years, in either order

The replacement must be purchased or newly constructed within two years before or after the sale. The dates that count are generally the dates the deeds record, usually close of escrow. If you build, the home must be complete, generally meaning approved for occupancy, within two years of the sale; the deadline is in the state constitution and there are no extensions for construction delays.

Anywhere in California, up to three times

For transfers since April 1, 2021, the replacement can be in any California county. You can move from Irvine to San Diego County, or from Los Angeles County into Orange County.

Each person who qualifies by age or disability can transfer three times, so an eligible couple who are both on title could potentially use six. Earlier Proposition 60 or 90 transfers don't count against the three, and neither do disaster transfers. One rule surprises couples combining households: if each partner sells a home and they buy one together, only one base year value can move.

The value test: equal, lesser or greater

The assessor compares the market value of the home you sold, as of the sale, with the market value of the replacement, as of its purchase or completion. Market value is presumed to be the price unless there is evidence otherwise. The replacement is of "equal or lesser value" if it doesn't exceed:

100% of the original home's value, if you buy or build the replacement before the original sells
105%, if you buy or build it within the first year after the sale
110%, if you buy or build it within the second year after the sale

If it passes, the new home takes your original home's factored base year value: the Prop 13 value with its annual adjustments. If it is worth more, you still qualify. The amount above the limit is added to the value you transfer, and there is no price cap on the replacement.

A worked example with made-up numbers

All figures are hypothetical and ignore the small annual inflation adjustments the assessor also applies. Our Prop 19 calculator runs the same math with your numbers.

Pat, 63, has owned an Orange County home for decades, with a factored base year value of $400,000. Pat sells it for $1,500,000 and buys a single-level home eight months later. The purchase falls within the first year after the sale, so the limit is 105% of $1,500,000, or $1,575,000.

If the new home costs $1,400,000, it is of equal or lesser value. Pat's taxable value stays at $400,000 instead of resetting to $1,400,000.
If it costs $1,700,000, it is $125,000 over the limit. Pat's taxable value becomes $525,000 instead of $1,700,000. At the 1% general rate alone, that is about $11,750 a year less than a full reassessment, before voter-approved debt, assessments and exemptions.

Now suppose Pat buys the $1,700,000 home before selling. The limit drops to 100%, or $1,500,000, so $200,000 is added and the taxable value becomes $600,000. Pat would also pay tax on the full $1,700,000 value from the purchase until the old home sold.

Filing the claim

The State Board of Equalization forms are available from the assessor in the county where your replacement home is located:

BOE-19-B for homeowners 55 and older
BOE-19-D, with the BOE-19-DC certificate of disability, for severely disabled homeowners
BOE-19-V for wildfire or natural disaster victims

File after both transactions close and you are living in the new home; the claim isn't handled through escrow. The form asks for parcel numbers, dates and prices for both homes, proof of your date of birth, and your Social Security number. If the home you sold is in another county, attach its latest tax bill and any supplemental bills issued before the sale.

The deadline is three years from buying the replacement or completing its construction. A late claim can still be granted, but only from the January 1 lien date of the year you file, with no refunds for earlier years. Separately, claim the homeowners' exemption on the new home; the Orange County Assessor sends new owners a prefilled application.

When the transfer takes effect, and supplemental bills

The transfer takes effect on the latest of three dates: the sale of your original home, the purchase of the replacement, or completion of its construction.

Buying a home normally triggers a supplemental assessment from the seller's taxable value to market value, billed in one or two supplemental bills prorated to the end of the tax year on June 30. Your first supplemental bill on the new home may reflect the full purchase price. Once your claim is approved, taxes billed above your transferred value from the effective date forward are canceled or refunded, so filing promptly shortens the wait. If you bought first, though, the full-value taxes for the stretch before the old home sold are not refunded.

Timing the sale and purchase in practice

The order of your closings changes both the value limit and the tax you pay in between. Our article on whether to sell before you buy covers the broader trade-offs; here is how they apply to a base year transfer.

Selling first

Selling first gives you the 105% or 110% cushion, avoids full-value tax on a new home while you still own the old one, and lets you shop knowing exactly what you netted. The cost is interim housing. A common answer is a rent-back, where the buyer lets you stay for a set period after closing under a written agreement; the buyer's lender may limit how long. The two-year clock starts when the sale closes.

Buying first

Buying first means one move and no deadline pressure while you search. The trade-offs are the 100% limit, full-value tax on the new home until the old one sells, and carrying two homes. You also need a way to fund the purchase, such as a bridge loan, a home equity line of credit opened before you list, or savings. An offer contingent on selling your current home is possible but usually less competitive. Talk with a lender early, and make sure the original home sells within two years.

Closing close together

Back-to-back escrows, with your sale closing just before your purchase, can capture most of the advantages of both. If the dates end up very close, confirm with escrow and the assessor which deed will record first, because that decides whether the 100% or 105% limit applies.

Prop 19 is only about property tax. Income tax on your gain is separate; see our article on capital gains tax on California home sales.

How Remark Homes can help

We help Orange County homeowners plan a move around Prop 19's dates and value limits: pricing your current home, shopping for a replacement with the cushion in mind, and coordinating closings and rent-backs with your lender, CPA and escrow officer. Learn more about our home selling services, or contact us to talk through your timing.

Frequently asked questions

Do both spouses need to be 55 to use Prop 19?

No. One spouse who is 55 or older when the original home sells, and who is an owner of both homes, can be the claimant.

Can I move from Orange County to another California county and keep my tax base?

Yes. The replacement can be in any California county; you file with the assessor where the new home is. A home outside California doesn't qualify.

What if I already used Proposition 60 or 90?

An earlier Proposition 60 or 90 transfer doesn't count against Prop 19's limit of three transfers for homeowners who qualify by age or disability.

Is there a deadline to file the BOE-19-B claim?

Yes, three years from buying the replacement or completing its construction. A late claim gets relief only from the January 1 lien date of the year you file.

Prop 19 Base Year Transfer at 55+: Move and Keep Your Tax Base