Every way to lower your California property tax bill
Including the ones that are easy to miss. Who qualifies, what each is worth, and where to file — and every one is free to apply for yourself.
There are four ways to lower a California property tax bill: lower the assessed value it's calculated on (a free decline-in-value review, when your home is worth less than its assessed value); subtract an exemption from that value (the homeowners' exemption, the far larger disabled veterans' exemption, or a senior exemption from a local parcel tax); keep a low value when you move, inherit, rebuild or improve (Prop 19 transfers, disaster relief, and the solar, seismic and accessibility exclusions); and stop paying for mistakes (a wrong county record or a late penalty). A fifth option, the State Controller's postponement program for homeowners 62 and older, blind or disabled, defers the bill instead. Every one is free to apply for directly with the county, the district or the state.
The table below is the whole list. Each row links to a section that explains who qualifies, what it's worth, and the exact form and deadline — and the law it comes from.
The whole list at a glance
| Program | Who qualifies | What it's worth | Where to file | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decline-in-value review (Prop 8)Lower the value | Any owner whose home was worth less on January 1 than its assessed value | About 1.1–1.2% of the gap, every year it lasts | County assessor (free informal review); Assessment Appeals Board (formal appeal) | Informal: varies by county. Formal: July 2 – September 15 (11 counties) or November 30 (47) |
| Homeowners' exemptionSubtract an exemption | Anyone who owns and lives in the home as their main residence on January 1 | $7,000 off your assessed value — about $70–$84 a year | County assessor, form BOE-266 (one page) | February 15 for the full exemption; by December 10 for 80% of it. New owners: within 30 days of the supplemental assessment notice |
| Disabled veterans' exemptionSubtract an exemption | Veterans rated 100% disabled (or paid at the 100% rate for unemployability), blind in both eyes, or who lost the use of two or more limbs from a service-connected cause; their unmarried surviving spouses | $180,671 off the home's assessed value, or $271,009 with household income up to $81,131 (2026) | County assessor, form BOE-261-G | Within 90 days of the rating or by the next January 1, whichever is later; the low-income version is refiled by February 15 each year |
| Prop 19 base-value transferKeep a low value | Homeowners 55 or older or severely and permanently disabled, and owners whose home suffered damage worth more than half its value in a wildfire or Governor-declared disaster | Your old home's Prop 13 value moves to the new one (with the difference added if the new home costs more) | Assessor of the county where the new home is (forms BOE-19-B, BOE-19-D, BOE-19-V) | Buy or build the new home within 2 years of selling the old one; file within 3 years of buying it |
| Prop 19 parent-child exclusionKeep a low value | Children (and in some cases grandchildren) who make the family home their main residence | The parents' Prop 13 value carries over, up to that value plus $1,044,586 (February 16, 2025 through February 15, 2027) | County assessor, form BOE-19-P (parent-child) or BOE-19-G (grandparent-grandchild) | Move in within 1 year and claim the homeowners' (or disabled veterans') exemption within 1 year; file the claim within 3 years, or before selling to someone else |
| Misfortune & calamity reliefLower the value | Owners whose property lost at least $10,000 of market value to fire, flood, earthquake or another disaster they didn't cause | Value (and tax) reduced for the damage until it's repaired; rebuilding like-for-like doesn't raise your base | County assessor (claim form on the assessor's site) | Within 12 months of the damage, or longer if your county's ordinance allows |
| Solar, seismic & accessibility exclusionsKeep a low value | Owners making those specific improvements | The improvement isn't added to your assessed value | County assessor (a claim is required for seismic and accessibility work) | Solar: in process or completed before January 1, 2027. Seismic and accessibility: claim before or within 30 days of completion |
| Parcel tax senior exemptionsSubtract an exemption | Usually owners 65 or older; in many districts also SSI or SSDI recipients | The full parcel tax for each measure that offers it | The school district that levies the tax (not the assessor) | Set by each district — often June 30 for the next tax year; some must be renewed every year |
| Correct the county's recordStop overpaying | Anyone whose recorded square footage, bedrooms, lot or improvements are wrong | Depends on the error; an overstated square footage inflates the value every year it stays | County assessor | Errors that don't involve a judgment about value can be corrected within four years of the assessment |
| Avoid or cancel late penaltiesStop overpaying | Everyone who pays their own bill | 10% of a late installment, plus a small cost on the second (often $10) | County tax collector (not the assessor) | First installment late after 5 p.m. December 10, second after 5 p.m. April 10, moved to the next business day on a weekend. For the 2026–27 bill: Thursday, December 10, 2026 and Monday, April 12, 2027 |
| State property tax postponementDefer the bill | Owners 62 or older, blind, or disabled who live in the home, with at least 40% equity and household income of $55,181 or less (2025–26 limit) | The State pays the year's tax for you, as a loan at 5% simple interest secured by the home | California State Controller's Office (not the county) | Apply every year between October 1 and February 10; funding is limited, first come, first served |
What should you look for on your bill?
Four questions, about two minutes, with your most recent secured property tax bill (or your county's online bill lookup) in front of you.
- 1
Is the homeowners' exemption on it?
Look for a $7,000 credit labeled "homeowners' exemption," "HOX" or "HO EX." If you live in the home and it's missing, that's the easiest money on this page.
- 2
Is the assessed value above what your home would have sold for?
Compare the assessed value to sales of similar nearby homes around January 1. If they point lower, you have a case for a free decline-in-value review.
- 3
Which parcel taxes are on it?
The "direct charges" or "voter-approved" section lists each local parcel tax with a phone number. School parcel taxes often exempt seniors — but only if you apply.
- 4
Is there a penalty or cost line?
A 10% penalty means an installment was paid late. If it was late for a reason outside your control, you can ask the tax collector to cancel it.
Our free check does the second question for you: it pulls your assessed value and compares it to a market estimate for your home. If there's no gap, it says so.
Check my property for freeIs your home assessed above what it was worth on January 1?
Your bill is a percentage of your assessed value. California law requires the assessor to enroll the lower of two numbers each year: your Proposition 13 value (your purchase price plus up to 2% a year) or what your home was actually worth on January 1. When the market softens, the Prop 13 number can end up above market value — and the county doesn't always catch it. That home is overassessed.
The fix is a decline-in-value review, also called a Prop 8 review. You send the assessor sales of similar nearby homes that closed near January 1; a county appraiser reviews them; your value goes down or stays the same. The informal review is free and can't raise your value. If it doesn't resolve it, the formal appeal to your county's Assessment Appeals Board is the second track. A $100,000 overassessment costs roughly $1,100–$1,200 a year at a typical 1.1–1.2% rate.
This is the only item on this page that depends on the market, and it's the one most worth checking in a flat or falling year. The statewide guide to appealing walks through both tracks and every county's deadline.
- Who qualifies
- Any owner whose home was worth less on January 1 than its assessed value
- What it's worth
- About 1.1–1.2% of the gap, every year it lasts
- Where to file
- County assessor (free informal review); Assessment Appeals Board (formal appeal)
- Deadline
- Informal: varies by county. Formal: July 2 – September 15 (11 counties) or November 30 (47)
Source: Revenue & Taxation Code § 51 (lower of Prop 13 value or market value); § 1603 (appeal deadlines)
Have you claimed the homeowners' exemption?
The homeowners' exemption takes $7,000 off the assessed value of the home you live in, which saves about $70–$84 a year depending on your county's rate. It isn't much, but it's free, it takes one short form, and once it's on file it stays on every year until you move or rent the home out.
It's also easy to miss, because it isn't automatic. The assessor mails the claim form to new owners — usually within a few months of the deed recording — and a new owner has to file it even if the seller had the exemption. A form lost in the moving boxes can mean years without it. About 4.7 million California homeowners received it in 2024–25, by the Board of Equalization's estimate.
Timing: file by February 15 for the full exemption that year, or by December 10 for 80% of it. If you just bought, file within 30 days of your Notice of Supplemental Assessment and the exemption applies to the supplemental bill too. To check whether you have it, look for a “homeowners' exemption” line (often shown as “HOX” or “HO EX”) with a $7,000 credit on your bill or your county assessor's property lookup.
- Who qualifies
- Anyone who owns and lives in the home as their main residence on January 1
- What it's worth
- $7,000 off your assessed value — about $70–$84 a year
- Where to file
- County assessor, form BOE-266 (one page)
- Deadline
- February 15 for the full exemption; by December 10 for 80% of it. New owners: within 30 days of the supplemental assessment notice
Source: Revenue & Taxation Code § 218; claim form BOE-266
Are you a veteran rated 100% disabled — or the surviving spouse of one?
It's worth about 25 times the homeowners' exemption. For 2026 it takes $180,671 off the assessed value of a qualifying veteran's home, or $271,009 if household income is no more than $81,131 — about $1,800–$2,200 a year off the bill for the basic version, and $2,700–$3,300 for the low-income one. The amounts rise with inflation every year.
It replaces the homeowners' exemption rather than stacking with it. The basic version is filed once; the low-income version is refiled each year between January 1 and February 15; a low-income claim filed after that but by December 10 still gets 90% of it. A veteran who receives a new 100% rating and files within 90 days of it (or by the next January 1) gets the exemption back to the rating's effective date, with a refund of taxes already paid for that period. An unmarried surviving spouse of a qualifying veteran can claim it too.
- Who qualifies
- Veterans rated 100% disabled (or paid at the 100% rate for unemployability), blind in both eyes, or who lost the use of two or more limbs from a service-connected cause; their unmarried surviving spouses
- What it's worth
- $180,671 off the home's assessed value, or $271,009 with household income up to $81,131 (2026)
- Where to file
- County assessor, form BOE-261-G
- Deadline
- Within 90 days of the rating or by the next January 1, whichever is later; the low-income version is refiled by February 15 each year
Source: Revenue & Taxation Code §§ 205.5, 276, 276.1; BOE Letters To Assessors 2025/014 and 2026/019
Are you 55 or older, severely disabled, or a disaster victim buying another California home?
Selling a long-held home usually means trading a low Prop 13 value for a new one at today's price. Proposition 19, approved by voters in 2020, lets three groups take the old value with them: homeowners 55 or older, homeowners who are severely and permanently disabled, and owners whose home was substantially damaged in a wildfire or Governor-declared disaster. The new home can be anywhere in California, at any price, and both homes must be your main residence.
If the new home is worth more than the old one, the difference is added to the value you bring. “More” is measured against the old home's market value when it sold: 100% of it if you buy before you sell, 105% if you buy within the first year after selling, and 110% in the second year. Homeowners 55 and older and disabled homeowners can use it up to three times.
The difference can be thousands a year. A couple whose home carries a $300,000 Prop 13 value, who sell and buy a $900,000 home, pays tax on $300,000 instead of $900,000 — about $6,000–$7,200 a year less. File the claim (BOE-19-B at 55+, BOE-19-D with a disability certificate, BOE-19-V after a disaster) with the new county's assessor within three years; a later claim still works, but only from the year you file.
- Who qualifies
- Homeowners 55 or older or severely and permanently disabled, and owners whose home suffered damage worth more than half its value in a wildfire or Governor-declared disaster
- What it's worth
- Your old home's Prop 13 value moves to the new one (with the difference added if the new home costs more)
- Where to file
- Assessor of the county where the new home is (forms BOE-19-B, BOE-19-D, BOE-19-V)
- Deadline
- Buy or build the new home within 2 years of selling the old one; file within 3 years of buying it
Source: California Constitution art. XIII A § 2.1 (Prop 19); Revenue & Taxation Code § 69.6; BOE LTA 2022/009
Did you inherit your parents' home and move in?
When a parent's home passes to a child, it's normally reassessed at market value. Under Proposition 19 the child can keep the parent's low value instead — but only for the family home, and only if the child makes it their own main residence within one year and claims the homeowners' exemption (or disabled veterans' exemption) within a year. Grandchildren qualify when their parents have died. A rental or vacation home doesn't qualify; a family farm does, with no residence requirement.
There's a cap: the exclusion covers the parent's value plus $1,044,586 (for transfers February 16, 2025 through February 15, 2027; the Board of Equalization re-indexes it every other year). Market value above that is added. For example, a home with a $400,000 Prop 13 value and a $1,800,000 market value would be enrolled at $755,414 rather than $1,800,000 — about $10,400–$12,500 a year less than a full reassessment.
The move-in and exemption deadlines are the ones people miss. File the exclusion claim (BOE-19-P, or BOE-19-G for grandparents) within three years of the transfer, or before the home is sold to anyone else, whichever comes first.
- Who qualifies
- Children (and in some cases grandchildren) who make the family home their main residence
- What it's worth
- The parents' Prop 13 value carries over, up to that value plus $1,044,586 (February 16, 2025 through February 15, 2027)
- Where to file
- County assessor, form BOE-19-P (parent-child) or BOE-19-G (grandparent-grandchild)
- Deadline
- Move in within 1 year and claim the homeowners' (or disabled veterans') exemption within 1 year; file the claim within 3 years, or before selling to someone else
Source: California Constitution art. XIII A § 2.1 (Prop 19); Revenue & Taxation Code § 63.2; BOE news release NR-25-02
Was your home damaged by fire, flood, earthquake, or another disaster?
If a fire, flood, earthquake or other disaster damages your home through no fault of yours and costs it at least $10,000 of market value, the assessor can lower its value for the damage. Every California county has adopted the ordinance that makes this available. The tax is reduced from the first of the month the damage happened, prorated for the rest of the year, and the lower value stays until the home is repaired.
Rebuilding doesn't cost you your Prop 13 value: a home rebuilt in a like or similar manner keeps its prior value, and only work beyond a substantially equivalent rebuild is assessed as new. File the claim within 12 months of the damage, or later if your county's ordinance gives more time (a 2025 law, SB 663, gives 24 months for the 2024–25 Palisades, Eaton and other fires it names). Some assessors act without a claim; don't count on it.
If you move instead of rebuilding, the Prop 19 transfer can carry your value to a replacement home. Deadlines to appeal a calamity reassessment are on the California deadlines page.
- Who qualifies
- Owners whose property lost at least $10,000 of market value to fire, flood, earthquake or another disaster they didn't cause
- What it's worth
- Value (and tax) reduced for the damage until it's repaired; rebuilding like-for-like doesn't raise your base
- Where to file
- County assessor (claim form on the assessor's site)
- Deadline
- Within 12 months of the damage, or longer if your county's ordinance allows
Source: Revenue & Taxation Code § 170; BOE disaster relief guidance and LTA 2026/022
Adding solar, a seismic retrofit, or accessibility features?
Most improvements raise your assessed value: the county adds the market value of the new work to your Prop 13 value. A few kinds of work are excluded by law, so they never show up on your bill.
Solar. An active solar energy system is excluded if it's in process or completed before January 1, 2027, unless the Legislature extends the date again. A system excluded by then stays excluded until the home changes hands. If you're planning solar anyway, the timing matters this year.
Seismic retrofits. Strengthening a home against earthquakes is excluded when you file form BOE-64 with the assessor before, or within 30 days of, completing the work, with supporting documents within six months.
Accessibility. Work that makes a home accessible for a severely disabled resident (form BOE-63), and accessibility improvements to an existing building (form BOE-63-A, within 30 days of completion), are excluded — features that are usual in comparable homes aren't.
- Who qualifies
- Owners making those specific improvements
- What it's worth
- The improvement isn't added to your assessed value
- Where to file
- County assessor (a claim is required for seismic and accessibility work)
- Deadline
- Solar: in process or completed before January 1, 2027. Seismic and accessibility: claim before or within 30 days of completion
Source: Revenue & Taxation Code §§ 73 (solar), 74.5 (seismic), 74.3 and 74.6 (disabled access); BOE LTA 2022/054; forms BOE-64, BOE-63, BOE-63-A
Do your local parcel taxes have a senior exemption?
A parcel tax is a flat charge per property that local voters approve — most often for schools — and it's billed on your property tax bill, separate from the 1% tax on your assessed value. State law lets school districts exempt owners 65 and older, people receiving SSI for a disability, and SSDI recipients with income up to 250% of the federal poverty level. Many districts do. None applies it automatically.
Three examples, to show how much the rules vary. San Francisco Unified exempts owner-occupants 65 and older from its three parcel taxes, applications due June 30, renewed automatically after that. Oakland Unified exempts owners 65 and older and low-income SSDI recipients, but you must apply every year. Palo Alto Unified exempts owners 65 and older and SSI or SSDI recipients, with one application by June 30. Late applications often aren't accepted, so check in the spring.
To find yours, look at the “direct charges” or “voter-approved” lines on your bill: each lists the agency and a phone number. Some county tax collectors also keep a “parcel tax exemptions” page listing each district's contact (Los Angeles County's does).
- Who qualifies
- Usually owners 65 or older; in many districts also SSI or SSDI recipients
- What it's worth
- The full parcel tax for each measure that offers it
- Where to file
- The school district that levies the tax (not the assessor)
- Deadline
- Set by each district — often June 30 for the next tax year; some must be renewed every year
Source: Government Code § 50079 (as amended by AB 2458, 2018); each district's measure
Is anything on the county's record of your home wrong?
Your county assessor keeps a record of your home — square footage, bedrooms, bathrooms, lot size, a pool or a garage — and that record feeds how your home is valued, including the county's own automated decline-in-value reviews. If it says 2,400 square feet and your home is 1,900, it's being valued as a bigger house than you own.
Look up your parcel on the assessor's website and check the details. A mistake that doesn't involve a judgment about value — a clerical error, a wrong measurement, an improvement that doesn't exist — can be corrected for assessments made within the last four years. Call or write the assessor with proof (a floor plan, an appraisal, permits). Our free check lets you fix the details its estimate uses, for the same reason.
- Who qualifies
- Anyone whose recorded square footage, bedrooms, lot or improvements are wrong
- What it's worth
- Depends on the error; an overstated square footage inflates the value every year it stays
- Where to file
- County assessor
- Deadline
- Errors that don't involve a judgment about value can be corrected within four years of the assessment
Source: Revenue & Taxation Code § 4831 (roll corrections)
How do you avoid the 10% late penalty — or get one canceled?
The secured bill comes in two installments. The first is due November 1 and becomes late after 5 p.m. on December 10; the second is due February 1 and becomes late after 5 p.m. on April 10. When either date falls on a weekend or holiday, you have until 5 p.m. the next business day — for the 2026–27 bill, that's Thursday, December 10, 2026 and Monday, April 12, 2027. A late installment gets a 10% penalty, and the second also carries a small cost charge (often $10). Taxes still unpaid after June 30 go into default, and redemption penalties of 1.5% a month start to add up.
A penalty isn't always final. California lets the county tax collector cancel it when the late payment was due to reasonable cause and circumstances beyond your control despite ordinary care — a hospitalization on the due date, a death in the family, a declared disaster. Ask in writing (most tax collectors have a form), include documentation, and pay the tax itself — the law allows cancellation only if the tax is paid within about four years of going late. Not every reason counts: San Diego, for one, says a late postmark isn't grounds.
- Who qualifies
- Everyone who pays their own bill
- What it's worth
- 10% of a late installment, plus a small cost on the second (often $10)
- Where to file
- County tax collector (not the assessor)
- Deadline
- First installment late after 5 p.m. December 10, second after 5 p.m. April 10, moved to the next business day on a weekend. For the 2026–27 bill: Thursday, December 10, 2026 and Monday, April 12, 2027
Source: Revenue & Taxation Code §§ 2617 and 2618 (due dates and penalties), 2619 (weekends and holidays), 2621 (cost), 4985.2 (cancellation)
Can you postpone your property taxes?
This one doesn't lower your bill; it moves it. If you're 62 or older, blind, or disabled, live in the home, have at least 40% equity, and your household income is within the State Controller's limit — $55,181 or less for the 2025–26 program; the Controller adjusts it most years — the State pays the current year's property tax for you. It's a loan: 5% simple interest, secured by a lien on the home, due when the home is no longer your main residence, when you refinance or take a reverse mortgage (homes with one don't qualify), or after your death unless a qualifying spouse or partner still lives there.
Apply to the Controller, not the county, between October 1 and February 10, and reapply every year. Funding is limited and applications are handled in the order received, so apply early in the window. It's built for homeowners with equity in the house and a fixed income.
- Who qualifies
- Owners 62 or older, blind, or disabled who live in the home, with at least 40% equity and household income of $55,181 or less (2025–26 limit)
- What it's worth
- The State pays the year's tax for you, as a loan at 5% simple interest secured by the home
- Where to file
- California State Controller's Office (not the county)
- Deadline
- Apply every year between October 1 and February 10; funding is limited, first come, first served
Source: State Controller's Office Property Tax Postponement program (Government Code § 16180 and following)
What won't lower your bill?
A paid “review request” from a mailer. Letters that look official and charge a fee to request a review or file an exemption are selling something you can do yourself for free. Some are legitimate companies charging for paperwork; some deliver nothing. How to tell a scam from a real company from real county mail.
Pointing to a neighbor's lower bill. Under Proposition 13, two identical homes bought years apart pay very different taxes, legally. A neighbor's bill isn't evidence; sales of homes like yours near January 1 are.
A market drop after January 1. Each year's value is fixed on January 1. A drop in March counts toward next year's review, not this one.
Asking the county to “reset” a high Prop 13 value because taxes feel too high. A decline-in-value review lowers the value only when market value is actually below it, and the reduction is temporary — when the market recovers, the value returns toward your Prop 13 track. How Prop 13 and Prop 8 fit together.
Common questions
There are four ways to lower a California property tax bill: lower the assessed value it's calculated on (a free decline-in-value review, when your home is worth less than its assessed value); subtract an exemption from that value (the homeowners' exemption, the far larger disabled veterans' exemption, or a senior exemption from a local parcel tax); keep a low value when you move, inherit, rebuild or improve (Prop 19 transfers, disaster relief, and the solar, seismic and accessibility exclusions); and stop paying for mistakes (a wrong county record or a late penalty). A fifth option, the State Controller's postponement program for homeowners 62 and older, blind or disabled, defers the bill instead. Every one is free to apply for directly with the county, the district or the state.
Your bill. Look for a homeowners' exemption line (a $7,000 credit, often labeled HOX); if you live in the home and it's missing, file the one-page claim with your assessor. Then compare your assessed value to what similar homes nearby sold for around January 1 — if they point lower, you have a case for a free decline-in-value review. Both checks take a few minutes and cost nothing.
Not a general one. California has no statewide exemption based on age alone, and mailers suggesting otherwise are selling something. What seniors do have: the Prop 19 base-value transfer at 55 and older, the State Controller's postponement program at 62 and older, senior exemptions on many local school parcel taxes, and the same homeowners' exemption and decline-in-value review every owner has.
Sometimes. Assessors run their own decline-in-value reviews and lower many homes without being asked, but the reviews are automated and miss individual homes. If your value on the bill is above what your home would have sold for on January 1, ask for a review rather than waiting — the reduction applies only to the year you're in, and the window to ask closes.
Usually not for a disagreement about value — a decline-in-value review or appeal covers one year at a time, so each year's window matters. Two exceptions are worth knowing: a factual error on the county's record of your home (not a judgment about value) can be corrected for assessments made within the last four years, and a veteran who files within 90 days of a new 100% disability rating gets the disabled veterans' exemption back to the rating's effective date, with a refund.
No. Every program on this page is claimed with a free form from the county assessor, the tax collector, a school district or the State Controller, and the county staff will answer questions by phone. Paid services exist for one of them — assembling comparable-sales evidence for a decline-in-value review or appeal — because the evidence is the hard part. Be wary of any mailer charging to file an exemption or a "review request" for you.
Start with the one that depends on the market
Our free check compares your assessed value to a market estimate for your home — about 60 seconds, no account. Not everyone qualifies, and we'll say so. If you do and want the evidence prepared, the Filing Guide is $45 once, never a percentage of your savings.
This page summarizes California property tax programs in general terms and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Eligibility rules have details this page leaves out; the county assessor, tax collector, or State Controller's Office decides each claim. Dollar limits that change each year are shown with the year they apply to. Overassessed isn't affiliated with any government agency and doesn't file claims for anyone.