| Q Can you take your
property tax base with you when you move, and is there a minimum age
attached to it? For instance, I am 65 years old. I am
currently paying only $4,000 in taxes because I bought my house 12 years
ago for $375,000. If I buy a new home for $1 million, can I take
my $4,000 tax basis with me or will my tax base be moved up to the 1.1%
of $1 million required under Proposition 13?
A Many homeowners whose children
leave the next no longer need a large house to support. One
concern that these homeowners face is that when they sell a large home
and replace it with another, which is usually smaller, their new
property gets assessed under Proposition 13 at the purchase price, which
is typically higher.
In the current example, the person who is currently
paying $4,000 a year in property taxes would end up paying $11,000.
But Proposition 60, approved by California voters in 1986, allows
qualified homeowners a one-time-only transfer of their existing property
tax base to another residence in certain counties. Prop. 60
applies if these conditions are met:
- As of the date of transfer of their existing
home, the seller or a spouse living with the seller must be at least
55 years of age or be severely and permanently disabled.
- The existing property must have been eligible for
the homeowners exemption or entitled to the disabled veterans
exemption.
- The replacement home must generally be of equal
or lesser value than the existing home.
- The replacement home must be purchased or
constructed within 2 years of (before or after) the sale of the
existing home.
- A claim must be filed within 3 years of the date
a replacement home is purchased or constructed.
In general, "equal or lesser value" means:
- 100% of the market value of the existing home if
a replacement home is acquired before the existing home is sold.
- 105% of the market value if a replacement home is
acquired within one year after the sale of the existing home.
- 110% of the market value if a replacement home is
acquired within the second year after the sale of the existing home.
Homeowners who qualify to transfer their base-year
value to a replacement dwelling need to file a claim with the county
assessor.
Article reprinted from Knight Ridder 1/6/05
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