When a parent’s home passes to a child: the one-year property tax window
If a son or daughter plans to keep a parent’s home and live in it, California allows one year to act. After that, the property tax can rise to match what the home is worth today.
Why it matters
A parent who owned a home for many years usually paid property tax on a much older, lower value. When the home passes to someone else, the county can reset the tax to today’s value. California makes an exception when a child keeps the home and lives in it, but the exception has dates attached.
What has to happen
- The home was the parent’s main residence.
- A child moves in and makes it their own main home within one year. The year starts on the date the parent passed.
- Within that same year, the child files for the homeowners’ exemption (or the disabled veterans’ exemption) with the county assessor.
- The child files the claim form, BOE-19-P, with the county assessor. The form is due within three years, and before the home is sold or transferred to anyone else.
A grandchild can qualify in some cases, on a separate form (BOE-19-G).
Limits to know
- There is a value cap. The exception covers the parent’s taxable value plus about $1 million. The state adjusts that figure every two years. If the home is worth more than that, part of the difference is added to the taxable value.
- It lasts only while the child lives there. If the child moves out, the exception ends.
- If the one-year date has passed, relief may still be available from the date of a late filing forward. Ask the assessor.
If no one in the family will live there
The exception doesn’t apply, and the home is reassessed whether the family rents it out or keeps it empty. That makes it worth comparing every option side by side before the new tax bill arrives: keep it, rent it, or sell it.
Confirm your own situation
Every family’s facts are different. Before relying on this page, check with:
- Your county assessor’s office, which handles these claims and can tell you the current value cap.
- The California State Board of Equalization, at boe.ca.gov. Search for “Proposition 19.”
- Your attorney or tax advisor, if an estate or trust is involved.
If it would help to see every option for the house on one page, with what each would leave you, text REVIEW to 714-627-4434. It’s free and nothing gets signed.