Maggie Clemens | Downtown News
Few people realize that you can transfer the tax base for your current residence to your new home.
If you have been thinking of moving but haven’t simply because you think you’ll have to take on a large property tax bill every year, this could be your answer.
Propositions 60/90/110 are three constitutional amendments approved by the California voters. Simply put, they allow you to transfer your property tax base from an existing residence to a replacement residence. You or your spouse must be over the age of 55, or a person of any age who is severely and permanently disabled.
The properties must be in the same county, with a few exceptions. The value of the replacement property must be of equal or lesser value than that of the original residence. Value is defined as “current market value.”
Here is an example: Let’s say that you purchased your current residence 15 years ago at a price of $200,000. The kids have grown up and left and now it is just you and your spouse in a house that is too big. It’s time to move to that perfect retirement home. Your home now has a current market value of $350,000, so you may purchase a new(er) property for up to $350,000 and the lower property tax, based on that $200,000 purchase price, is now transferred to the new home.
Don’t let the thought of higher property taxes keep you from making that move if you or your spouse have reached the ripe old age of 55!
If you have already made that move, don’t worry, you can still apply for this transfer, as long as you have made the purchase within two years of selling your old property, you then have up to three years to file an application with the County Assessor’s office.
Beware, there are NO gray areas for this one-time tax transfer, you or your spouse must be over the age of 55, or a person of any age who is severely or permanently disabled, and the new property value cannot exceed the old property value by one penny!
If you have any questions please feel free to call me, or contact the San Diego County Assessor’s office.
Maggie Clemens served her customers with distinction for over 25 years in the local auto industry and for the last several years has been a licensed real estate agent with Keller Williams San Diego Metro. She can be reached at [email protected] or at maggieclemens.com.
