Inheritance · California

Prop 19 Inherited Home Calculator

See exactly how much property tax you'll pay if you inherit a California home — depending on whether you move in, rent it out, or sell.

iAll numbers shown are estimates only. They are not tax, legal, or financial advice. Consult a licensed California real estate agent and a CPA before relying on any figure for a real transaction.

Parent's original purchase price *Years parent has owned the property *

Current fair market value *What will you do with the home?

Your Comparison

Enter the parent's purchase price, years owned, and current value. We'll show what you'd owe over 30 years for each scenario.

The short answer

Under Prop 19, a child who inherits a parent’s home can keep the parent’s low Prop 13 assessed value only if the child makes it their primary residence — and even then the protection is limited if the home’s value far exceeds the old assessment (an exclusion capped at $1 million of the difference). Inherited homes that become rentals or second homes are reassessed to current market value.

Frequently asked questions

Since February 2021, inheriting a parent’s home no longer automatically keeps its low tax base. The child must move in and claim it as a primary residence to retain the parent’s assessed value, and a cap applies to high-value homes. Otherwise the property is reassessed to market value, often raising the tax bill sharply.

The prior law (Prop 58) let children inherit a parent’s home and keep its tax base regardless of how they used it, plus up to $1 million of other property. Prop 19 narrowed that to a primary-residence-only transfer with a $1 million cap on the assessed-value benefit.

No. The Prop 19 parent-to-child exclusion requires the home to become your own primary residence. If you rent it out or keep it as a second home, the county reassesses it to current market value.

Yes. The other half of Prop 19 lets homeowners who are 55 or older, severely disabled, or wildfire/disaster victims transfer their existing assessed value to a replacement home anywhere in California, up to three times. That portion expands benefits rather than limiting them.

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