Question:
“Is it true that if I’m over 55, I can sell my house and use the property ‘tax base’ as the tax base for a new purchase?”
Answer:
Under Proposition 60, if you sell a San Diego home that qualifies as your principal residence and buy another principal residence in San Diego, you can move your tax assessment one time in your life.
If you’ve owned your home for a long time, odds are your property taxes are very low compared to what a new owner would pay if they bought at today’s prices.
That’s because Proposition 13 generally limits your assessment increase to 2% per year, whereas home values over time go up by a much higher %.
Under Prop 60, you must follow these simple rules:
- If you buy BEFORE you sell, the new home’s price must be lower than or equal to the one you sell.
- If you buy within one year AFTER you sell, the new home can be up to 105% of the price of the old one.
- If you buy within two years after you sell, the new home can be up to 110% of the price of the old one.
Here’s a link to more info www.boe.ca.gov
If you click the link, they also reference Proposition 90, which allows you to move your tax base to certain participating (“reciprocating”) counties.
Let me know if you have more questions.
