California's Proposition 19 lets you take your current property tax base to your next home, anywhere in the state, up to three times. Most people in Cameron Park, Shingle Springs and Placerville have never been told this.
Get your free equity review Or call Rachael directly at (530) 306-5253If two of those are true, the math below is worth five minutes.
If you bought your home years ago, your property tax is based on what you paid back then, not what it's worth now. That's been the reason a lot of people stay in houses that stopped fitting. Selling used to mean giving up one of the best deals in your financial life.
Since April 2021, that changed. If you're 55 or older, you can take your existing tax base with you to your next home, anywhere in California, up to three times in your lifetime.
You have two years to buy or build the replacement, and it works in either order. The transfer isn't automatic and it doesn't happen in escrow. You file one form after both sales close.
A typical example with round numbers. A couple bought their Cameron Park home in 1999.
Over a twenty year retirement, that rule is worth six figures.
In the foothills, your tax base isn't the only bill that follows you. Many homes up here now rely on California's FAIR Plan, the last-resort insurer, which won approval to raise rates about 29%, effective October 15, 2026 (California Department of Insurance). Homes with heavy wildfire exposure can see that part of the premium double, and a foothill home on the FAIR Plan can run $5,000 to $9,000 a year.
A lower-risk address usually carries a lower premium. So for a lot of people the insurance savings stack right on top of the Prop 19 tax savings. Your equity review puts your real insurance numbers next to your tax numbers, so you can see both together. Confirm the specifics with your insurance agent.
I'll put together what your home would likely sell for in today's market, what you'd walk away with after costs, and what your own Prop 19 math looks like in the next place. It's built from county records and recent nearby sales, it takes about four hours, and it costs nothing. If the math says stay put, I'll tell you that.
This is a sample. Yours is built from your property's actual records.
Get your free equity reviewI was raised in El Dorado County and I've never wanted to work anywhere else. I've been in real estate for over a decade and I've spent the last five years with Weichert, Realtors® - Sierra Pacific Group. I work with people who are thinking about the next chapter and want to understand the numbers before they decide anything.
DRE #02124356 · Cell (530) 306-5253 · rachael@wrspg.com
Homeowners who are 55 or older when their primary residence sells. It also covers people with severe disabilities and victims of a wildfire or Governor-declared disaster. The replacement home has to become your primary residence too.
Yes. The old rules limited you to a handful of counties. Prop 19 works statewide, at any price point.
You can still transfer. The amount above your sale price, plus an allowance of 5% to 10% depending on timing, gets added to your transferred base. It usually still beats being taxed on the full price of the new home.
You file form BOE-19-B with the assessor in the county where your new home is, after both sales close. It isn't handled in escrow and it isn't automatic. File within three years of buying the replacement to get the full benefit.
Up to three times in your lifetime. If you used the older Prop 60 or Prop 90 rules years ago, that doesn't count against your three.
Your numbers, on one page. No pressure.