California property tax inheritance
Prop 19 inheritance rules for a parent's home
- The Assessor keeps the parent's assessed value for a child who moves in, excluding up to $1,044,586 of added market value (2026).
- The child must make the home a principal residence and file a homeowners' or disabled veterans' exemption within a year, or the Assessor reassesses at market value.
- The Assessor grants the exclusion only on a claim, filed within three years of the transfer or before a sale to someone else.
Since February 16, 2021, under Proposition 19, a son who keeps his Clairemont house and rents out the inherited Point Loma home pays tax on its market value.
California property tax inheritance rules under Prop 19
- The Assessor keeps the old assessment only on a family home or family farm, and only while the child lives there as a principal residence.
- The Assessor reassesses rentals, second homes and commercial property transferred since February 16, 2021 at market value.
- A grandchild qualifies when the grandchild's parents who are the grandparents' children have died by the date of transfer.
- The Assessor accepts property held in a parent's trust, with the trust documents, and refuses property held by a corporation or partnership.
Prop 19 parent-child exclusion amount
| Transfer date | Exclusion above the parent's assessed value |
|---|---|
| February 16, 2023 to February 15, 2025 | $1,022,600 |
| February 16, 2025 to February 15, 2027 | $1,044,586 |
- The Board of Equalization resets the amount every two years from the Federal Housing Finance Agency's House Price Index for California.
- For a home worth more than the parent's taxable value plus the cap on the transfer date, the Assessor adds the excess to the old value.
Inherited property tax for a Point Loma home bought in 1988
A daughter who inherits a Point Loma home in 2026, taxable at $400,000 and worth $1,600,000, moves in and files the exemption within a year:
- Taxable value plus the exclusion: $400,000 + $1,044,586 = $1,444,586
- Excess over that: $1,600,000 − $1,444,586 = $155,414
- New taxable value: $400,000 + $155,414 = $555,414
- Tax at the County's 2025-26 average rate, before the homeowners' exemption: $555,414 × 1.16729 percent = $6,483.29 a year
- Tax on a full reassessment: $1,600,000 × 1.16729 percent = $18,676.64 (2026)
How to file a parent-child exclusion claim in San Diego County
- Complete the Assessor's Parent-Child Exclusion Application.
- Attach the trust documents when the home passed through a trust.
- Email the claim to ARCCPC@sdcounty.ca.gov, or mail it to the Intergenerational Exclusion Unit, 1600 Pacific Highway, Suite 103, San Diego, CA 92101.
- The Assessor accepts a claim within three years of the transfer or death, or before a sale to a third party.
- After a supplemental or escape notice, the Assessor accepts a claim within six months of its mailing.
- On a later claim before any sale to a third party, the Assessor grants the exclusion from the year of filing, with no refund for earlier years.
- To head off a supplemental tax bill, the child files as soon as possible after the transfer or death.
- The Intergenerational Exclusion Unit answers questions at 619-531-5848.
When to hire a CPA for an inherited home
Bring in a CPA before moving in when the child may sell within a few years. The IRS sets an inherited home's basis at its market value on the date of death, a rule separate from the property tax exclusion. Vet a firm using how to choose a CPA.