Buying or Selling Property? | Orange County Assessor Department (2023)

FAQs

How many times can you transfer your property tax base in California? ›

An eligible homeowner may transfer the taxable value of their home to a replacement property anywhere within California up to three times. Filing a form is required and the transfer must meet certain conditions; more information and forms are provided below. This provision applies to transfers starting April 1, 2021.

Prop. 13 sets a property's base-year value to what it was in 1975 or when it last changed ownership. Then it allows for annual property tax increases of no more than 2% until it changes hands again. In most cases, the portion that's transferred is reappraised to the full current market value.

What Was the Over-55 Home Sale Exemption? The over-55 home sale exemption was a tax law that provided homeowners over age 55 with a one-time capital gains exclusion. Individuals who met the requirements could exclude up to $125,000 of capital gains on the sale of their personal residences.

Transferring a Principal Residence Value within a County​​ ​

Property owners of at least 55 years of age may transfer the base year value of their principal residence to a replacement principal residence. The replacement must be of equal or lesser current market value and located within the same county.

The two years don't need to be consecutive, but house-flippers should beware. If you sell a house that you didn't live in for at least two years, the gains can be taxable.

If you are age 55 or older, you may have a significant equity in your home. California provides a special homestead exemption for seniors age 65 and over, people who are disabled, and people age 55 and over with low incomes.

Giving someone a house as a gift — or selling it to them for $1 — is legally equivalent to selling it to them at fair market value. The home is now the property of the giftee and they may do with it as they wish.

19 would narrow California's property tax inheritance loophole, which offers Californians who inherit certain properties a significant tax break by allowing them to pay property taxes based on the property's value when it was originally purchased rather than its value upon inheritance.

So long as the individuals and the legal entity have the same proportional ownership interests, the real property will not be reassessed when transferred to or from the entity or the individual. A and B can transfer property owned by them 50/50 to an LLC owned by them 50/50 without reassessment.

The Bottom Line. The IRS allows no specific tax exemptions for senior citizens, either when it comes to income or capital gains. The closest you can come is a back-end tax-advantaged retirement account like a Roth IRA which allows you to withdraw money without paying taxes.

How to avoid capital gains tax when selling a house in California? ›

Here's how it works: Taxpayers can claim a full capital gains tax exemption for their principal place of residence (PPOR). They also can claim this exemption for up to six years if they moved out of their PPOR and then rented it out.

Proposition 13, adopted by California voters in 1978, mandates a property tax rate of one percent, requires that properties be assessed at market value at the time of sale, and allows assessments to rise by no more than 2 percent per year until the next sale.

About Proposition 13

For many, Proposition 13 was a welcome relief by freezing the property tax base of their homes and thereby limiting annual increases in property taxes. Proposition 13 allows a transfer of primary resident between parent and child without reassessing the tax base of the home.

Under Prop 19, the only Prop 13 tax base that can be transferred to your children is that of your principal residence to your child—and then your child themselves must live on the property as their principal residence.

The 2-out-of-five-year rule states that you must have both owned and lived in your home for a minimum of two out of the last five years before the date of sale. However, these two years don't have to be consecutive, and you don't have to live there on the date of the sale.

The State of California offers three property tax relief programs for senior citizens. These programs can provide tax relief for low-income senior citizens who may be able to delay paying property taxes until a later date, and/or transfer assessed value from a prior home to a new one.

Key Takeaways. You can sell your primary residence and be exempt from capital gains taxes on the first $250,000 if you are single and $500,000 if married filing jointly.

Seniors in California are considered low-income if they make less than 50% of their area's median income. For instance, Los Angeles County's median income is $64,500, so a single-person household would be considered low-income if they made less than $32,250 a year.

The Senior Citizens Real Estate Tax Deferral Program provides tax relief for qualified senior citizens by allowing them to defer all or part of their property tax and special assessment payments on their principal residences.

How does Prop 19 work for seniors? ›

Prop 19 allows seniors 55 and older to move anywhere in California, up to three times, and keep their property tax basis.

You can sell a property for below market value to a family member, or anyone for that matter. However, you need to do so carefully. Under current tax law, the difference between the fair market value and the purchase price becomes part of your gift exclusion.

Adding a family member to the deed as a joint owner for no consideration is considered a gift of 50% of the property's fair market value for tax purposes. If the value of the gift exceeds the annual exclusion limit ($16,000 for 2022) the donor will need to file a gift tax return (via Form 709) to report the transfer.

Under Prop 13, all real property has established base year values, a restricted rate of increase on assessments of no greater than 2% each year, and a limit on property taxes to 1% of the assessed value (plus additional voter-approved taxes).

Proposition 19 is effective on and after April 1, 2021, and requires that a replacement home be purchased or newly constructed within two years of the sale of the original home in its damaged condition.

Allows transfers of a family home or family farm between parents and their children without causing a change in ownership for property tax purposes. It is an exclusion from change in ownership.

A transfer of property can occur by purchase or gift; it can also occur through a trust. For example, if a parent's property is put into a trust where upon the death of the parent, the children are the beneficiaries of the trust, a transfer occurs as of the date of death.

The assessment appeal process provides for the “equalization,” or the fairness of the assessment, of a property's value. You must file an Assessment Appeal Application, form BOE-305-AH, obtained from the clerk of the board of the county where your property is located.

New construction is generally assessable and may increase the taxable value of a property. The impact on a property tax assessment varies depending on the work being performed. Upon completion of the new construction, the assessor determines its fair market value and a base year value is established.

What age does capital gains stop? ›

The capital gains tax over 65 is a tax that applies to taxable capital gains realized by individuals over the age of 65. The tax rate is 0% for long-term capital gains on assets held for more than one year and 15% for short-term capital gains on assets held for less than one year.

However, the passing of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 abolished that exemption. Although you must now pay capital gains tax when selling investment properties, the over-55 home sale exemption has been replaced by a home sale exemption that can benefit taxpayers of any age.

On the state level, California's Franchise Tax Board (FTB) taxes all capital gains as regular income. Depending on your tax bracket, the tax can be anywhere from 1% to 13.3%. On the federal level, gains can either be considered short-term or long-term.

If the gain is less than $250,000, an individual will not have to pay capital gains tax, and the same is true for sales less than $500,000 for married couples. This exemption only applies to home sales where it was your primary residence, not investment properties or second homes.

If you have owned and occupied your property for at least 2 of the last 5 years, you can avoid paying capital gains taxes on the first $250,000 for single-filers and $500,000 for married people filing jointly.

How much money can you inherit before you have to pay taxes on it in California? California does not have an estate tax or an inheritance tax. If an estate is worth more than $12.06 million dollars for single individuals and $24.12 million dollars for married couples in 2022.

Is California property tax based on purchase price? ›

California real property taxes are based on a real property's purchase price. For instance, if you buy a real property in California, the assessed value is equal to the purchase price. The assessed value of the real property can rise with inflation every year, which is the change in the California Consumer Price Index.

Under Proposition 13, the property tax rate is fixed at 1% of assessed value plus any assessment bond approved by popular vote.

Proposition 15 guarantees that all school districts will receive at least $100 more per student regardless of their LCFF or basic aid status. Revenue projections for each district have been calculated based on 2019–2020 enrollments and have been identified by School Services of California (as published by EdSource).

Prop 13 insulates homeowners who are older, retired and living on fixed incomes from payment shock when property values increase dramatically in a short period of time. Thus, Prop 13 allows them to remain in their home throughout their retirement, as they can plan for predictable annual property tax increases.

Transfers of a principal residence from a parent to a child or from a child to a parent are exempt from a reassessment under Prop 13. Transfers of additional real property up to $1 million in assessed value are also exempt from a reassessment.

The transfer of taxable value can be filed up to three times by a property owner over their lifetime.

There is a limit to the value that can be excluded for a family home or each legal parcel of a family farm. The value limit is equal to the property's taxable value (factored base year value) at time of transfer plus $1 million. If the market value exceeds this limit, the difference is added to the taxable value.

It depends on the location of the property. The County Transfer Tax is a standard of $1.10 per $1,000 of the sales price throughout the State. However, there are certain cities that also collect their own City Transfer Tax and those differ.

The assessed value of a property is limited to an increase no greater than 2% each year unless a change in ownership or new construction occurs. The 2% increase is originally applied to the base year value, and is thus referred to as the factored base year value.

ACTION TO CONSIDER: To avoid property tax reassessment, do not transfer real property from individuals to a legal entity unless the individuals have the same proportionate interest in the legal entity as they did in the real property.

How do I avoid property tax reassessment in California? ›

Using Special LLCs to Avoid Property Tax Reassessment

Each situation is different, however, in general, we use a series of LLCs to systematically transfer the property to your children (or other beneficiaries) over a period of time. Each transaction avoids these detailed reassessment rules.

Owner must be at least 55 years of age. Both original and replacement properties must be utilized as a principal residence. Replacement residence must be purchased or newly constructed within two years of the sale of the original property. Location of replacement home can be anywhere in California.

Complete form BOE-19-P, Claim for Reassessment Exclusion for Transfer Between Parent and Child Occurring On or After February 16, 2021. Obtain the claim form from the County Assessor's office where the property is located.

On the state level, California's Franchise Tax Board (FTB) taxes all capital gains as regular income. Depending on your tax bracket, the tax can be anywhere from 1% to 13.3%. On the federal level, gains can either be considered short-term or long-term.

In California, the seller traditionally pays the transfer tax. Depending on local market conditions, transfer taxes can become a negotiating point during closing. For instance, in a strong seller's market, the seller may have multiple offers and will likely find a buyer who agrees to pay the transfer tax.

If you own a home and occupy it as your principal place of residence, you may apply for a Homeowners' Exemption. This exemption will reduce your annual assessed value by $7,000. Exemption becomes ineligible for the exemption. Homeowners' Exemptions are not automatically transferred between properties.