Prop 19 and Your Inherited Home: What Orange County Heirs Should Know

What Prop 19 Changed

Since February 16, 2021, California's Proposition 19 limits when children can keep a parent's lower property tax value on an inherited home. Before that, most family homes could pass to children without a tax reassessment. Now the rules are much narrower.

The Family Home Rule

To keep the parent's taxable value, the inherited home generally must become the child's primary residence, and the child must file for the homeowners' or disabled veterans' exemption within one year. If the home's market value is above the parent's taxable value plus a set amount (about $1 million, adjusted for inflation every two years), part of the value is reassessed.

Why Market Value on the Date of Transfer Matters

Both the reassessment and the heirs' income tax basis depend on what the home was worth when the parent passed. A date of death appraisal documents that value with real comparable sales, so heirs, trustees and their CPA are working from a supported number.

• Planning whether to move in, rent or sell
• Estimating any partial reassessment
• Step-up in basis for a later sale
• Dividing the estate fairly between siblings

Filing With the Orange County Assessor

Heirs file a claim with the Orange County Assessor to request the parent-child exclusion. Deadlines and forms change, so confirm the details with the assessor's office and your estate attorney or CPA.

Talk to a Local Appraiser

Mallinson Home Appraisers is a family-run Dana Point firm that has served Orange County since 1979, and date of death appraisals are our specialty. Call 949.241.0310 to talk through your situation.