Updated October 29, 2026
If you're 55 or older and sell your Irvine home, Prop 19 lets you take its low property-tax base to a new main home anywhere in California, up to three times. Buy the new home within two years before or after the sale. If it costs no more than the old home's sale value (100% if you buy first, 105% within the first year after the sale, 110% within the second), you keep the old taxable value. If it costs more, only the difference is added (California State Board of Equalization). For an owner who bought decades ago, that can mean paying property tax on a few hundred thousand dollars of value instead of on the full price of the new home.
Who qualifies
- Age, disability or disaster. You're 55 or older, severely and permanently disabled, or your home was substantially damaged in a wildfire or a declared natural disaster. You must qualify on the date you sell.
- Both homes are your main home. The home you sell was your principal residence, eligible for the homeowners' exemption, and the new one will be too.
- You sell the old home. The tax base moves only when the original home is sold. Handing it to a child under the parent-child rules doesn't count as a sale for this purpose.
- Within two years. The new home is bought, or finished if you build, within two years before or after the sale.
- Up to three times. Owners who qualify by age or disability can use it three times. Disaster transfers don't count toward that limit (BOE Letter to Assessors 2024/044).
The value test
When you buy the new home | It counts as "equal or lesser value" if it costs no more than |
|---|---|
Before you sell the old one | 100% of the old home's sale value |
Within the first year after the sale | 105% |
Within the second year after the sale | 110% |
If the new home costs more than the limit, the amount above it is added to your old taxable value. The comparison uses the market value of both homes, usually their sale and purchase prices. The value that moves is your old home's factored base year value, which is usually the assessed value on your Orange County tax bill.
Three Irvine examples
Say you bought your Irvine home in 1998. Its assessed value today is $380,000, and you sell it for $1,600,000. California's base property tax is 1% of assessed value, plus voter-approved bonds on top; these examples use the 1% to keep the math simple and leave out later inflation adjustments and exemptions. The county assessor sets the final value.
New home price and timing | Limit | New taxable value | Base tax a year (1%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
A. Downsize | $1,200,000, eight months after the sale | $1,680,000 (105%) | $380,000 | about $3,800 |
B. Buy a bit more | $1,800,000, 18 months after the sale | $1,760,000 (110%) | $420,000 | about $4,200 |
C. Buy first | $1,650,000, before the sale | $1,600,000 (100%) | $430,000 | about $4,300 |
Without Prop 19, those homes would be taxed on $1,200,000, $1,800,000 and $1,650,000: about $12,000, $18,000 and $16,500 a year at 1%. In example C, you pay tax on the full price of the new home until the old one sells, and that period isn't refunded (LTA 2024/044).
Prop 19 moves the assessed value, so the 1% tax and the voter-approved bond rates are both figured on the lower number. Mello-Roos and other fixed special taxes on the new home's bill don't change, and HOA dues are billed separately. If you're moving to a newer Irvine community, ask what the new home's Mello-Roos is. See what Mello-Roos means in Irvine.
How to file
- Close the sale and the purchase. The claim is filed after both are done.
- File with the assessor of the county where the new home is. Use form BOE-19-B if you qualify by age, BOE-19-D with a disability certificate (BOE-19-DC), or BOE-19-V for a disaster. In Orange County, start at the OC Assessor.
- File within three years of buying the new home. A claim filed later gets relief only from the tax year in which you file, with nothing back for earlier years.
For our sellers who are 55 or older, Prop 19 is part of our service: we help with all of the related paperwork. Because the 100%, 105% and 110% limits depend on the dates, plan the sale and the purchase together. If you need to buy before you sell, see bridge loans and buying before you sell.
Common mistakes
- Missing the two-year window. Count it from the sale date, both ways.
- Comparing the wrong numbers. The limit is based on the old home's sale value, not its assessed value.
- Assuming a refund for buying first. The time before the old home sells is taxed at full value, with no refund.
- Co-owners. Co-owners of one original home can't split its tax base between two new homes, and title, trusts or inherited shares can change the answer. Ask the assessor or a tax adviser about your situation.
FAQ
Who qualifies for a Prop 19 transfer in California?
Homeowners who are 55 or older, severely and permanently disabled, or whose home was substantially damaged by a wildfire or declared natural disaster, as of the date they sell. Both the old and new homes must be their main home.
Can I move my Irvine tax base to another county?
Yes. Prop 19 transfers work to a new main home anywhere in California.
How many times can I use Prop 19?
Up to three times if you qualify by age or disability. Disaster transfers don't count toward that limit.
What if my new home costs more than my old one?
You can still use it. If the new home costs more than the 100%, 105% or 110% limit, the amount above the limit is added to your old taxable value.
What happens if I buy before I sell?
You pay property tax on the new home's full value until the old home sells. After that, the old base moves over, but the earlier period isn't refunded.
Thinking about downsizing from your Irvine home? Start with what it would sell for. Get your home value.
About Irene and Ricky Zhang: RealTrends Verified ranks Irene and Ricky Zhang the #1 small team in Irvine by both sales volume and transaction sides (2026 City Rankings, based on 2025 production). Rules are from the California State Board of Equalization as of October 2026. This article is general information, not tax or legal advice.
