Over 55 and moving? You can take your low property tax with you
Prop 19 lets homeowners 55 and older move their tax base to a new home anywhere in California, up to three times.
Carmen Ledesma · October 1, 2026 · 5 min read
Some of my favorite clients are longtime owners who would like a smaller home, a single story, or a move closer to the grandkids, and who stay put because they are afraid of the property tax on a new place. For many of them that fear is out of date.
What Prop 19 allows
If you are 55 or older (or severely disabled), you can sell your home and carry your current taxable value to a replacement home:
- Anywhere in California, not only in Santa Clara County.
- Up to three times in your lifetime.
- At any price. If the new home costs more, part of the difference is added to your tax base.
Before 2021 this was a one time benefit and mostly limited to the same county.
The timing and price rules
You have to buy or build the new home within two years before or after selling the old one. How much of your tax base carries over depends on price and timing (BOE Prop 19):
- Bought before you sell: up to 100% of your old home's sale price counts as “equal or lesser value.”
- Bought in the first year after: up to 105%.
- Bought in the second year after: up to 110%.
Anything above those limits is added to the tax base you bring with you. The county has an estimator for your own numbers.
How to claim it
File form BOE-19-B with the county where your new home is, within three years of buying it, to get the full benefit. In Santa Clara County there is a $110 filing fee (County Assessor). The state's full guide is BOE publication 801.
Why this matters when you sell
This changes the math for downsizing. A couple who bought decades ago may pay a fraction of their neighbors' property tax. Under Prop 19 they can often keep much of that advantage in a new, easier home, and use the equity from the sale however they choose.
Planning the order matters: selling first, buying first, or a bridge loan each change the numbers. With my years in mortgage lending I can help you map out the order before you commit to anything. Call me and we will look at it together.
I am a REALTOR®, not an attorney or a tax advisor. Sources: BOE Prop 19, BOE publication 801, Santa Clara County Assessor, age 55+ and County base year transfer estimator. Checked September 2026. Confirm your own situation with the County Assessor.
Thinking about your own place?
I will give you a straight read on what it would bring and what I would change first. No obligation, and no pressure to list.
What’s my home worth?