Inheriting Property Taxes in California

Inheriting Property Taxes in California From a CPA’s Expert Point of View

Many accountants and property tax consultants these days have reinvented themselves to some degree and have become Proposition 19, 2021 revised property tax relief experts for middle class families and beneficiaries inheriting real property, and for new homeowners in both the middle and upper middle class California income brackets. 

One such noted CA property tax relief expert and CPA, Komal Kabra from Chugh.net, has a lot of interesting things to say, from her focused CPA perspective on property taxes and property tax relief in California.  She tells us:  “Property tax law  protected by Proposition 13 levies property taxes based on a home’s original purchase price, even as the home’s value appreciates over time. Additionally, the law caps property tax at 1% of sale price, with a maximum 2% increase per year.” 

Under  new Proposition 19 property tax regulations, the number of times the tax rate can be transferred to a new home is now three times, versus once under previous tax law… if you are age 55 or older.  Value of the new home compared to the previous home can be any value; and the location of any new home can be anywhere in California. 

Admittedly, this is an excellent improvement offered by Proposition 19, however it is clear that the age issue must be seriously revisited  in the near future, and opened up to embrace younger age groups.  Although it is an interesting turnabout of American age bias, which is typically going the other way around, with bias against folks in the 50 to 60 age group and older. 

CPA Kabra goes on to say:  “Proposition 19, which delivers property tax savings to eligible property owners, including residents who are age 55 or older; Folks that suffer from severe disabilities and people who have lost their house in a wildfire or officially validated natural disaster, such as a dramatic flood or extreme earthquake.” 

Proposition 19 preserves all of these new property tax breaks, while also enabling eligible middle class and upper middle class property owners in California to transfer their lower “base year” property tax rate to a new home of any value, anywhere in the state,  up to three times – affecting homes purchased on or after April 1st of 2021.

Miss Kabra concludes, with a real-world example: “If an eligible homeowner purchases a home of a greater value than their previous home now, under Proposition 19, they will pay a blended tax rate. For example –  let’s take a middle class couple in their 60s, who own  a home worth $600,000 in Los Angeles, which they purchased in 1972 for $200,000.  Let’s say they sell their L.A. home, and purchase a new home for $700,000 in San Diego.  The first $600,000 of the new San Diego home will be taxed based on their original 1972 purchase price of $200,000.  Only the next $100,000 will be taxed based on current or “fair market” value…” 

Saving Money on Property Taxes With Help From the Experts!

There are other challenging property tax issues, as well as critical property tax relief advantages and property tax breaks, for middle class and upper middle class families to address, with which to avoid property tax reassessment, when inheriting property taxes in California…

New property tax relief advantages include the right to transfer parents property taxes and then keep parents property taxes when inheriting property and inheriting property taxes in California, associated with any standard property tax transfer; leading up to and through the parent-child transfer and parent-to-child exclusion (from carrying a “fair market”, or current, property tax burden).  Leading towards Keeping Your Parent’s Low Property Tax Base When Inheriting a Home; or inheriting a new primary residence that requires a transfer of a parent’s low property tax base. 

If done properly with a trust loan from a trust lender a low property tax base can remain in place for decades, when inheriting property taxes in California, saving residential or commercial property owners hundreds of thousands of dollars in the long run.

All the more reason for you to call a property tax consultant or a trust lender experienced in Parent To Child Property Tax Transfer On An Inherited Home as well as the use of irrevocable trust loans and Proposition 19, as well as Proposition 13, to keep your parent’s low property tax base – if you are inheriting a home, or expect to inherit a home at a low property tax rate; and plan to transfer a low property tax base to a new home down the road. 

Or, if you wish to buyout existing co-beneficiaries that are looking to sell their inherited  property shares, while you are set on keeping that same inherited property in the family – plus keeping the same low property tax base your parents enjoyed.  All of these important family issues are well worth careful consideration.

To learn more about your options when inheriting a house from parents – transferring their principle residence’s low property tax base to your new primary residence – call our main line to ask to  speak with a Trust Fund Loan or Property Tax Savings specialist at Property Tax News, or the Commercial Loan Corp, at (877) 756-4454