California Property Tax Propositions
California's property-tax system is built from a stack of ballot propositions passed over four decades. This page lists the ones that actually shape your property tax — grouped by what they do — with each measure's year and current status, so you can see how they fit together.
Because California renumbers its propositions periodically, the numbers are not a timeline: a low number can be newer than a high one, and the same number gets reused across eras. Every proposition below is tagged with its year to avoid that confusion.
The foundation
The two 1978 measures that define how California assesses property and caps the tax.
The cornerstone. Caps the tax rate at 1% of assessed value, limits annual assessed-value growth to no more than 2%, and reassesses to market value only on a change of ownership or new construction. Creates the “base-year value” system.
Learn more & calculate →Passed the same November. Allows a temporary reduction when a property's market value drops below its Prop 13 factored base-year value — restored as the market recovers.
Learn more & calculate →Base-year transfers (“portability”)
Measures that let certain homeowners carry their low assessed value to a new home. All three were replaced by Proposition 19 (2020).
Let homeowners 55 or older transfer their base-year value to a replacement home of equal-or-lesser value within the same county.
Extended the 55+ base-year transfer to participating counties (county-to-county).
Extended the same base-year transfer benefit to severely and permanently disabled homeowners.
Inheritance exclusions
Measures that let property pass between generations without reassessment. Both were narrowed by Proposition 19 (2020).
Excluded parent-to-child transfers from reassessment — a primary residence of any value, plus up to $1M of assessed value in other property.
Extended the parent-child exclusion to grandparent-to-grandchild transfers when the parents are deceased.
The current consolidating measure
The measure that governs transfers and inheritance today.
Today's controlling measure, effective 2021. Expanded portability (55+, disabled, and disaster victims can transfer their base-year value anywhere in the state, up to three times) — replacing Props 60/90/110 — and narrowed the inheritance exclusion to a primary residence the heir also lives in, with a value cap — tightening Props 58/193.
Learn more & calculate →Local-tax approval rules
These don't touch your Prop 13 base value, but they govern the parcel taxes, assessments, and fees that appear elsewhere on your bill.
The “Right to Vote on Taxes Act.” Requires voter approval for local assessments, parcel taxes, and property-related fees — the non-Prop-13 lines on your tax bill.
Broadened what counts as a “tax” (versus a fee) requiring supermajority approval, affecting some charges that appear on property tax bills.
Disaster & eminent-domain transfers
Narrower measures that let a base-year value follow you when property is destroyed or taken.
Allows transfer of a base-year value when property is taken by eminent domain or government acquisition.
Allows transfer of a base-year value for property damaged or destroyed by disaster to a comparable replacement in the same county.
Extended the disaster base-year transfer between counties.
Notable measures that failed
These would have changed property taxes but were rejected by voters — so the law did not change.
The “split-roll” initiative that would have removed Prop 13 protection from commercial and industrial property (reassessing it to market value). Rejected by voters, so the law did not change.
An earlier attempt to expand 55+ base-year portability. Rejected — Prop 19 (2020) was the successful successor two years later.
Timeline at a glance
Ordered by year. Notice how the numbers climb through the old era and then drop — see the note below on why.
| Year | Measure | What it did | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Prop 13 | 1% cap, 2% growth limit, base-year value | In effect |
| 1978 | Prop 8 | Temporary decline-in-value reductions | In effect |
| 1982 | Prop 3 | Base transfer for eminent domain | In effect |
| 1986 | Prop 58 | Parent-child inheritance exclusion | Narrowed by Prop 19 |
| 1986 | Prop 60 | 55+ base transfer (same county) | Replaced by Prop 19 |
| 1986 | Prop 50 | Disaster base transfer (same county) | In effect |
| 1988 | Prop 90 | 55+ base transfer (between counties) | Replaced by Prop 19 |
| 1990 | Prop 110 | Disabled base transfer | Replaced by Prop 19 |
| 1993 | Prop 171 | Disaster base transfer (between counties) | In effect |
| 1996 | Prop 193 | Grandparent-grandchild exclusion | Narrowed by Prop 19 |
| 1996 | Prop 218 | Voter approval for assessments & fees | In effect |
| 2010 | Prop 26 | Defined taxes vs. fees | In effect |
| 2018 | Prop 5 | 55+ portability expansion | Failed |
| 2020 | Prop 15 | Split-roll (commercial reassessment) | Failed |
| 2020 | Prop 19 | Expanded portability, narrowed inheritance | In effect |
Why the numbers aren't in order
California resets its proposition numbers
Before 1998, California numbered propositions in one long, climbing sequence — which is why 1990s measures reach into the 200s (Prop 218 in 1996). Since 1998 the state has reset the numbering roughly each decade, so the count starts low again. That's why the 2020 property-tax Proposition 19 carries a lower number than the older Prop 218, even though it's newer.
The reuse is real: a different Proposition 19 appeared on the 2010 ballot (an unrelated measure that failed). Whenever you see “Prop 19,” check the year — on this site it always means the 2020 property-tax measure.
Two things that aren't propositions
A couple of common line items on a California tax bill are often mistaken for propositions:
- Mello-Roos is the Community Facilities Act of 1982 — a statute, not a ballot proposition. It funds local infrastructure through special taxes in designated districts. What is Mello-Roos?
- The Homeowners' Exemption ($7,000 off assessed value for owner-occupants) is a statutory exemption, not a proposition.
Learn More
This page is general educational information about California property-tax ballot measures, not legal or tax advice. Each proposition has many details, effective dates, and exceptions that change over time; consult your county assessor or a qualified California attorney or tax professional before acting.