Prop 19 Portability: Take Your Low Tax Base With You

The math, with a corridor example

Sell a long-held Thousand Oaks home for $1.4M with an assessed value of $350K, buy a $1.1M Camarillo replacement: the $350K base transfers intact (replacement ≤ sale price), and the new annual bill stays roughly $4,400 instead of ~$12,000+ at market assessment. Buy upward instead — say $1.6M — and the $200K excess is added: new base $550K. Still a massive saving versus a fresh assessment.

Who qualifies and the rules that bite

• Eligible: 55+ (either spouse), severely disabled homeowners, and wildfire/disaster victims.
• Both homes must be primary residences — investment property does not qualify.
• Timing: the replacement must be purchased within two years of the sale (before or after), and claims are filed with the assessor — generally within three years to get full retroactive benefit.
• Three lifetime transfers for 55+/disabled claimants.
• The inheritance trade-off: Prop 19 also narrowed the parent-child exclusion — inherited homes generally reassess unless a child moves in as primary residence within one year. Factor this into estate planning.

Cross-county is now trivial

Before Prop 19, transfers between LA and Ventura counties depended on county reciprocity. Now portability is statewide by right — a Granada Hills empty-nester can carry a 1990s tax base to Camarillo, Ventura, or anywhere in the state. Brian coordinates the sale-purchase sequencing and the assessor filings on both ends; the form is BOE-19-B (55+) with county-specific submission.

Frequently asked questions