A worked example makes the mechanic clear. Suppose your mother's factored base year value is $300,000 and the house is worth $1,800,000 when she dies. Add $1,044,586 to the $300,000 and you get $1,344,586. The market value exceeds that by $455,414. That excess is added to the factored base year value, so your new taxable value is $755,414 rather than the full $1,800,000. At a roughly 1.25 percent effective rate, the annual bill goes from about $3,750 to about $9,400 instead of the roughly $22,500 a full reassessment would have produced. None of that relief happens automatically. You still have to occupy the house as your own principal residence, claim the homeowners' or disabled veterans' exemption within one year of the transfer, and file Form BOE-19-P with the county assessor within three years of the transfer or before a sale to a third party, whichever comes first. Miss those and the cap is irrelevant, because there is nothing to cap.
Prop 19 & Inherited Property Tax · California
How much value is excluded from reassessment under Prop 19?
The excluded amount is your parent's factored base year value plus $1,000,000, and that million-dollar figure is adjusted every two years. For transfers occurring between February 16, 2025 and February 15, 2027, the published amount is $1,044,586, and the next adjustment takes effect on February 16, 2027. The wording matters more than people realize. The $1,044,586 is not a flat cap on the house's value and it is not added to some loose notion of what the property is assessed at; it is added to the factored base year value, which is the low number your parents have actually been paying tax on, escalated by the annual inflation factor since they bought the property. If the market value at the date of transfer comes in at or below that combined figure, the whole transfer is excluded and you keep the low base outright. If market value is higher, only the excess is picked up, so the property is partially reassessed rather than fully reassessed.
This page is general information about California law, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Figures and deadlines change, and every family’s situation is different. Last reviewed August 2026.
Related Questions
The questions this one leads to.
Where do I file for the Prop 19 parent-child exclusion and what is the deadline?
File Form BOE-19-P with the county assessor within three years of transfer or before a sale, whichever comes first. Plus the one-year exemption deadline.
Read the answerCan I keep my parents' low property taxes when I inherit their house?
Only if you move in. California's Prop 19 parent-child exclusion now requires the home to become your own principal residence. What that takes, explained.
Read the answerDo I have to move into my parents' house to keep the low property tax?
Yes. Prop 19 requires the inherited home to become your principal residence, not a second home you visit. What California assessors accept as proof.
Read the answerNext Step
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