Keep Your Current Tax Base When You Sell...

With Qualifications, of course!

Property Taxes being what they are in California, maybe you think that you’ll have to go on living in the same house forever.

Maybe you think that if you sell and move, you’ll lose that really great tax base you have now because you’ve lived in your house longer than you can remember.

Right???

Boy, have we got some good news for you, if you’re not familiar with Proposition 90 and Proposition 60!

Here’s what everyone approaching 55 and over needs to know about how to save on property taxes long into your future.

Proposition 90 applies to anyone over 55 who sells their home and moves to one of the specified and qualifying counties in California. (At last count there were 10 of them.)

It doesn’t matter where you live now in California. If you move to one of these counties, you will likely qualify to retain the excellent tax base situation that you have right now.

Here are the details on Proposition 90 which were approved in 1988, by the way.

A seller may transfer the BASE YEAR VALUE of their original residence to any replacement residence of equal or lesser value in another California county (with the following stipulations):

1. The buyer of the new residence or the spouse of the buyer must be 55 years of age (or older) on the day escrow closes on the original residence.

2. The new residence must be of the same or lesser value than the original residence.

3. The new residence must be in a county that has adopted Proposition 90 which will allow the property to be purchased without reassessing it at the current tax base rate.

Here’s a list of the participating counties in California:

• Alameda
• Kern
• Los Angeles
• Monterey
• Modoc
• Orange
• San Diego
• San Mateo
• Santa Clara 
• Ventura

Yes, Fremont qualifies as a city located in Alameda County.

Proposition 60, approved in 1986, is a bit more limiting in terms of location. It says that a seller may transfer the BASE YEAR VALUE of the original residence to any replacement residence of equal or lesser value in the SAME COUNTY.

Again, the county must have approved Proposition 60 and qualifications 1, 2 and 3 mentioned above must be met.

In order to take advantage of this potential terrific tax situation, you must file a claim with the office of the County Tax Assessor for a determination on the qualification of the transaction.

When you're ready to move, Watson's Realty can provide pointers on the governmental process to help you through the particulars of the qualification process. Counties and governments being what they are, we always suggest getting the application rolling quickly to get all the details worked out well in advance of closing.