California Prop 19 Calculator (2026)

How the California Prop 19 Parent-Child Exclusion Works

Prop 19 added Article XIII A, Section 2.1 to the California Constitution. California voters approved it on November 3, 2020. The intergenerational transfer rules sit at Section 2.1(c), (d), and (e). The homeowner portability rule sits at Section 2.1(b).

Prop 19 replaced the broader parent-child exclusion previously codified at Revenue and Taxation Code Section 63.1 (Prop 58, 1986). The change applies to transfers occurring on or after February 16, 2021.

The implementing statute is Revenue and Taxation Code Section 63.2, added by SB 539 (Stats. 2021, ch. 427). The Governor signed it September 30, 2021. The same bill added Revenue and Taxation Code Section 69.6, which contains the homeowner portability provisions. The Board of Equalization’s implementing regulation is Property Tax Rule 462.520 (18 Cal. Code Regs. Section 462.520).

Prop 19 made two distinct rule changes that operate independently.

• Parent-child intergenerational transfer exclusion. This is the rule estate planning families feel most. The exclusion is limited to a primary residence (the family home) or family farm of the transferor. The transferee child must occupy the home as their primary residence within one year of transfer and continue to occupy it as a primary residence. The exclusion is capped at the parent’s factored base year value plus $1,044,586.
• Homeowner base year value portability. This is the beneficial rule, operative April 1, 2021, codified at Revenue and Taxation Code Section 69.6. Homeowners age 55 or older or severely and permanently disabled persons can transfer their Prop 13 base year value to a replacement primary residence anywhere in California, up to three times in a lifetime. Victims of a Governor-declared wildfire or natural disaster may use the transfer with no numerical limit.

This calculator addresses the parent-child transfer rule. Homeowner portability follows different rules and is not modeled here.

The Three Tests Your Inherited Home Must Pass

The transfer must satisfy all three of the tests below. Each test must be met to preserve any part of the parent’s Prop 13 base year value under Prop 19.

1. Eligible relationship and qualifying transferor residence test.

The transfer must be from parent to child. A grandparent-to-grandchild transfer can also qualify, but only when all of the grandchild’s parents (who are children of the transferring grandparent) are deceased. A son-in-law or daughter-in-law of the grandparent who is the grandchild’s stepparent need not be deceased. Stepchildren, sons- and daughters-in-law, adopted children, foster children meeting Revenue and Taxation Code Section 63.1(c)(3)(E), and children of registered domestic partners can qualify as a child.

These definitions in Section 63.1(c) are incorporated by reference into Section 63.2. The home must also have been the transferor parent’s primary residence at the time of transfer. A rental home, vacation home, or other investment property does not qualify regardless of how the child uses the home after transfer.

2. Transferee primary residence and exemption filing test.

The child must occupy the home as the child’s principal residence within one year of transfer and continue to occupy it as a primary residence. The child must also file either the Homeowners’ Exemption (Form BOE-266) or the Disabled Veterans’ Exemption (Form BOE-261-G) within one year of transfer.

On-time filing gives exclusion retroactive to the transfer date. If the exemption is filed late, exclusion begins only in the year the exemption claim is filed (prospective relief).

3. Value test.

If the fair market value at transfer is less than or equal to the parent’s factored base year value plus $1,044,586, the full exclusion applies. If the market value exceeds that sum, the new assessed value equals the market value minus $1,044,586. This figure equals the parent’s base year value plus the excess.

Worked Examples of Prop 19

The table below shows three common scenarios using the current $1,044,586 cap. Each scenario assumes a California primary residence inherited by a single child. The home was the parent’s primary residence at the time of transfer.

Annual tax figures are estimates only. Actual rates vary by parcel and include local levies not shown.

How the math works

1. Scenario 1. Market value ($1,200,000) is less than the parent’s factored base year value ($400,000) plus the cap ($1,044,586). That sum equals $1,444,586. The full exclusion preserves the parent’s $400,000 base.
2. Scenario 2. Market value ($2,000,000) exceeds the parent’s base plus the cap ($1,444,586) by $555,414. The new assessed value equals market value minus the cap. That works out to $2,000,000 minus $1,044,586, or $955,414.
3. Scenario 3. The child does not occupy the property as the child’s primary residence. The exclusion does not apply. The home is fully reassessed to market value.

The Filing Deadlines That Catch Families Off Guard

Two separate deadline tracks for the child to remember.

First, occupancy and the exemption claim. The child must occupy the home as the child’s principal residence within one year of transfer. The one-year occupancy requirement is a hard condition. If the family misses it, the exclusion does not apply at all, and the home is reassessed to market value.

The one-year occupancy requirement is not curable by the prospective-relief mechanism. That mechanism only applies to late-filed exemption claims and late-filed BOE-19-P claims.

The child must also file either the Homeowners’ Exemption (BOE-266) or the Disabled Veterans’ Exemption (BOE-261-G) within one year. If the exemption is filed late, the exclusion is not lost entirely. It is limited to prospective relief beginning the year the exemption is filed, rather than retroactive to the transfer date.

Second, the BOE-19-P claim itself. The reassessment exclusion claim has a separate filing window. Use Form BOE-19-P for parent-child transfers or Form BOE-19-G for qualifying grandparent-grandchild transfers. The claim may be filed within three years of the transfer date. The deadline also runs until the property is transferred to a third party, whichever comes first. An alternate six-month window runs after the mailing of a notice of supplemental or escape assessment, whichever is later.

Late filing of the BOE-19-P also yields prospective relief only, beginning the year the claim is filed.

In our experience working with San Diego County families, missing the one-year occupancy window is the single most damaging Prop 19 misstep. Prospective relief cannot cure it. Engaging a probate or trust administration attorney within the first 60 days of inheritance typically prevents it.

For the official Board of Equalization form library and Prop 19 guidance, see the California Board of Equalization Prop 19 portal.

What Is Not Included in the Calculator

The calculator estimates the change in assessed value and the resulting Prop 13 base property tax (1.0%). It adds a rough estimate for typical local levies, using a 1.1% effective rate as a working figure. It does not estimate the parcel-specific charges below.

• Voter-approved bond debt service. Typically 0.1% to 0.3% on top of the 1.0% base.
• Mello-Roos special taxes. Community facilities district taxes are common in newer developments such as Otay Ranch, Del Sur, and other planned communities.
• Parcel taxes. These vary by school district, fire district, and other special districts.
• Local supplemental rates. These vary by county and city.

Across San Diego County, the typical total effective property tax rate runs roughly 1.05% to 1.30%. Mello-Roos communities sometimes exceed 1.5%. The calculator uses 1.1% as a working estimate. That figure is reasonable for coastal North County cities such as Carlsbad, Encinitas, San Marcos, and Solana Beach. Your actual tax bill will vary by parcel location and applicable special assessments.

Can a Trust Avoid Prop 19 Reassessment?

California assessors look at the underlying transfer of beneficial ownership, not the legal form. A trust still helps in important ways for Prop 19 planning.

• Faster transition. A trust avoids the typical 12 to 18 month California probate timeline. The child can take possession and move in sooner. That timing preserves more of the one-year occupancy clock.
• Privacy. Trust transfers avoid public probate disclosure of the home’s market value.
• Administrative efficiency. The successor trustee can coordinate the BOE-19-P claim and the BOE-266 or BOE-261-G exemption filing as part of routine trust administration.

For the broader benefits of trust-based planning, see our California revocable living trust guide.

Prop 19 vs. Prop 58: What Changed

Prop 19 replaced Prop 58 for transfers occurring on or after February 16, 2021. The table below summarizes the most important differences.

The most significant practical change involves non-primary-residence real property. Parent-child transfers of investment property, second homes, and vacation homes no longer qualify for any exclusion under Prop 19.

Those transfers now trigger full reassessment to market value. Estate plans drafted before November 2020 may rely on the old Prop 58 exclusion for non-primary-residence real property. Those plans should be reviewed and, where appropriate, restructured.

Common Scenarios Where Prop 19 Hits Hardest

Some inheritance patterns lose the most under Prop 19. The list below shows the most common.

High-appreciation primary residence in coastal San Diego County.

A parent bought in 1990 for $200,000. Under Prop 13’s 2% annual adjustment, the factored base year value today is roughly $400,000. The home is now worth $2,500,000. Under Prop 58, the family kept the full exclusion and continued paying tax on roughly $400,000. Under Prop 19, the new assessed value is roughly $1,455,414 ($2,500,000 minus $1,044,586). At a 1.1% effective rate, the annual tax increase is roughly $11,600 (from about $4,400 to about $16,000).

Vacation home or second residence.

These are now ineligible for any parent-child exclusion. Expect full reassessment to market value.

Investment property (rental).

Also now ineligible for any exclusion. Full reassessment to market value applies.

Child who cannot move within one year.

Even on a primary residence under the cap, missing the one-year occupancy window means the exclusion does not apply at all. Unlike the exemption filing deadline, the occupancy requirement cannot be cured by prospective relief.

Multiple children with only one moving in.

If pro-rata distributions are made and only one child occupies the home, the exclusion is generally limited to the occupying child’s proportional interest under Property Tax Rule 462.520. The non-occupying children’s interests are typically reassessed. Some county assessors apply BOE informal guidance more permissively where title vests jointly at transfer, so the result can be fact-specific.

With proper planning (non-pro-rata distributions, qualified disclaimers, or sibling buyouts), the full exclusion can often be preserved by concentrating ownership in the occupying child. This requires deliberate trust administration and, in some cases, restructuring before the property is distributed out of the trust.

How Opelon LLP Helps San Diego County Families

Our trust, estate, and probate practice is built around predictable, flat-fee work for non-contested California estates. In our experience working with San Diego County families, Prop 19 problems are usually preventable when families involve a California estate planning attorney early.

Trust administration

We file the BOE-19-P parent-child exclusion claim within the statutory window. We also coordinate the BOE-266 or BOE-261-G exemption filing within one year of transfer. Finally, we confirm that the assessor’s reassessment notice matches the statutory calculation. Our San Diego trust administration team handles each filing step.

Estate planning

We review trusts drafted before November 2020 to identify provisions that depended on the broader Prop 58 exclusion. Where appropriate, we redesign trusts to address Prop 19 realities. This sometimes involves life estates, LLC restructuring, or strategic lifetime gifting.

Heggstad petitions

Under California Probate Code Section 850, we use Heggstad petitions to efficiently move incompletely funded real estate into a trust. This preserves the parent-child relationship for the Prop 19 transfer.

Disclaimer planning

In some cases, a non-occupying child can disclaim an interest in favor of an occupying sibling. This is allowed under California Probate Code Sections 260 through 295 and Internal Revenue Code Section 2518 (qualified disclaimer). This can preserve the exclusion on the entire property where the family agrees and the disclaimer is timely and validly executed.

Related Opelon resources:

• • California revocable living trust guide
  • San Diego trust administration attorney
  • Heggstad petition under Probate Code 850
  • California probate fees
  • California probate guide