Base Year Transfer after Disaster

If your property was damaged or destroyed by a Governor proclaimed disaster, you can transfer your property’s tax base (its assessed value immediately prior to the damage) to another property within the same county or another county in California. This prevents the replacement property from being reassessed at market value due to a change in ownership (the reassessment due to a change in ownership can significantly increase the property taxes of those paid on the damaged or destroyed property).

• Same County Base Year Transfer
• Different County Base Year Transfer
• Any County Base Year Transfer

Same County Base Year Transfer [Revenue & Taxation Code 69(Proposition 50)]

Form: BOE-65-P

Operative as of July 1, 1985, Section 2(e) and (f) of Article XIII A of the California Constitution (Proposition 50), implemented by R&TC section 69, allows an owner whose real property or manufactured home subject to local property taxation by the County Assessor has been substantially damaged or destroyed in a Governor-proclaimed disaster to transfer the base year value of the damaged property to a comparable replacement property acquired or newly constructed in the same county within five years of the disaster.

Physical damage must amount to more than 50 percent of the property’s market value immediately before the disaster. This base year value transfer is available for any type of real property, not just your home, and the damaged and replacement property must be the same property type and of comparable size, utility, and function. The damaged property does not need to be sold for this base year value transfer. While the damaged property does not need to be sold to transfer its base year value under California law (R&TC section 69), you are not allowed to also receive the new construction exclusion under California law (R&TC section 70(c), 70.5, or 170) if you rebuild the damaged or destroyed property.

Different County Base Year Transfer [Revenue & Taxation Code 69.3(Proposition 171)]

Form: BOE-65-PT

Operative as of October 20, 1991, Section 2 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution (Proposition 171), implemented by R&TC section 69.3, allows a homeowner whose principal place of residence is substantially damaged or destroyed in a Governor-proclaimed disaster to transfer the property’s factored base year value to a replacement principal residence acquired or newly constructed in another county if that county has adopted an ordinance accepting such base year value transfers (County of Ventura has such ordinance).

Substantially damaged or destroyed means that physical damage to the land or the improvements must amount to more than 50 percent of their full cash value immediately prior to the disaster.

The replacement property must be acquired or newly constructed within three years of the date of damage or destruction. The damaged property does not need to be sold, but will be reassessed at its market value upon transferring its base year value to another county. The damaged property’s land value will retain its base year value notwithstanding that transfer; however, if you rebuild the damaged or destroyed property improvement, you cannot also receive the new construction exclusion reassessment under California law (R&TC section 70(c), 70.5, or 170).

The market value of the replacement property must be of “equal or lesser value” than the market value of the damaged property just prior to its damage. This means the replacement property’s fair market value may not exceed a specified percentage of the original property’s fair market value, depending upon when the replacement property is acquired or newly constructed—105 percent if within the first year, 110 percent if within the second year, and 115 percent if within the third year.

Any County Base Year Transfer [Revenue & Taxation Code 69.6 (Proposition 19)]

Form: BOE-19-V

Operative as of April 1, 2021, Section 2.1(b) of Article XIII A of the California Constitution (Proposition 19), implemented by R&TC section 69.6, allows a homeowner whose primary residence was substantially damaged or destroyed by wildfire or Governor-proclaimed natural disaster to transfer the base year value to a replacement principal residence located in any California county. Physical damage must amount to more than 50 percent of the land’s or improvement’s market value immediately before the disaster. The original property must be sold in its damaged state, and replacement property must be purchased or newly constructed within two years of the sale of the original property.

You can purchase or newly construct a replacement property of any value. However, any value in excess of the equal or lesser value test of the original property’s market value is added to the transferred factored base year value. If the replacement property is purchased or newly constructed before selling the original property, then any market value of the replacement property over 100 percent of the original property’s market value will be added to the transferred factored base year value. If the original property is sold within the first year of purchasing or newly constructing the replacement, any market value of the replacement over 105 percent of the original is added, and if sold within the second year, any market value over 110 percent of the original is added to the transferred factored base year value.

If a replacement property’s market value was less than the original property’s market value when the base year value transfer was originally granted, any new construction to the replacement property within two years of selling the original property may be excluded from new construction assessment up to the threshold of the equal or lesser value test for the original property. Any additional new construction amount in excess of the threshold will be assessed at market value and added to the taxable value.