Interspousal Transfer Deed in California: Property Tax and Transfer Tax
An interspousal transfer deed moves California real property between spouses: to add or remove a spouse from title, to give one spouse the home in a divorce, or to change how a married couple holds title. Two California taxes look at that deed. Property tax asks whether it is a change in ownership that resets the Proposition 13 value; the documentary transfer tax asks whether the deed is exempt. Both answers come from the statute, quoted below.
Quick answer
A transfer between spouses is never a change in ownership for California property tax (R&T §63), and the same goes for registered domestic partners (§62(p)): the base-year value stays. For the transfer tax, a divorce division is exempt under §11927 only if the deed carries a signed recital claiming it; a gift between spouses is exempt under §11930; a spouse who is paid for their share outside a divorce owes tax on the consideration (§11911). File a BOE-502-A with the deed.
Property tax: the interspousal exclusion (R&T §63)
Revenue and Taxation Code §63 in full:
Notwithstanding any other provision in this chapter, a change of ownership shall not include any interspousal transfer, including, but not limited to:
(a) Transfers to a trustee for the beneficial use of a spouse, or the surviving spouse of a deceased transferor, or by a trustee of such a trust to the spouse of the trustor,
(b) Transfers which take effect upon the death of a spouse,
(c) Transfers to a spouse or former spouse in connection with a property settlement agreement or decree of dissolution of a marriage or legal separation, or
(d) The creation, transfer, or termination, solely between spouses, of any coowner’s interest.
(e) The distribution of a legal entity’s property to a spouse or former spouse in exchange for the interest of such spouse in the legal entity in connection with a property settlement agreement or a decree of dissolution of a marriage or legal separation.
The list is “including, but not limited to”: the rule is the first sentence, and the lettered items are examples. For registered domestic partners, §62(p)(1) applies the same exclusion from January 1, 2000:
(p) (1) Commencing on January 1, 2000, any transfer between registered domestic partners, as defined in Section 297 of the Family Code, including, but not limited to:
followed by the same five kinds of transfer, (A) to (E). Because the transfer is excluded, the assessor does not set a new base-year value and no supplemental bill follows.
Transfer tax: divorce (§11927) vs gift (§11930)
The county documentary transfer tax (§11911) applies to a deed when the consideration or value conveyed exceeds $100, at 55 cents per $500. Two exemptions cover most interspousal deeds, and they work differently. A division in a divorce, §11927:
(a) Any tax imposed pursuant to this part shall not apply with respect to any deed, instrument, or other writing which purports to transfer, divide, or allocate community, quasi-community, or quasi-marital property assets between spouses for the purpose of effecting a division of community, quasi-community, or quasi-marital property which is required by a judgment decreeing a dissolution of the marriage or legal separation, by a judgment of nullity, or by any other judgment or order rendered pursuant to the Family Code, or by a written agreement between the spouses, executed in contemplation of any such judgment or order, whether or not the written agreement is incorporated as part of any of those judgments or orders.
(b) In order to qualify for the exemption provided in subdivision (a), the deed, instrument, or other writing shall include a written recital, signed by either spouse, stating that the deed, instrument, or other writing is entitled to the exemption.
A gift between spouses, or a transfer at a death, §11930:
Any tax imposed pursuant to this part shall not apply to any deed, instrument, or other writing which purports to grant, assign, transfer, convey, divide, allocate, or vest lands, tenements, or realty, or any interest therein, if by reason of such inter vivos gift or by reason of the death of any person, such lands, tenements, realty, or interests therein are transferred outright to, or in trust for the benefit of, any person or entity.
Neither covers a spouse who is paid for their share outside a divorce; that deed is taxed on the consideration unless another exemption applies. Cities with their own transfer tax apply their own exemption lists; the documentary transfer tax page has the 27 city schedules we have read.
Seven deeds between spouses
| Deed | Property tax reassessment? | Documentary transfer tax? |
|---|---|---|
| Add your spouse to title (sole owner to joint ownership with your spouse) | No — §63(d) | No — a gift (§11930) |
| Remove your spouse from title by an interspousal deed, no divorce | No — §63(d) | No if a gift (§11930); tax on any consideration paid (§11911) |
| Transfer the home to your spouse under a divorce judgment or a written agreement made in contemplation of one | No — §63(c) | No — §11927, with the signed recital on the deed |
| Transfer to a former spouse after the divorce, under the property settlement | No — §63(c) ("spouse or former spouse") | No — §11927 if the deed divides community property under the judgment or agreement and carries the recital |
| Home passes to the surviving spouse at a death | No — §63(b) | No — transfer at death (§11930) |
| Transfer into a trust for your spouse's benefit | No — §63(a) | No — §11930 (in trust for the benefit of a person) |
| Same transfers between registered domestic partners | No — §62(p)(1) | As for spouses where the deed is a gift or a transfer at death (§11930) |
The forms
- BOE-502-A, the Preliminary Change of Ownership Report, with the deed at the recorder (§480.3). Without it the recorder may charge $20 more.
- BOE-502-D after a spouse's death, within 150 days of the death, or with the inventory and appraisal if the estate is probated (§480(b)), even though §63(b) excludes the transfer.
- For a divorce deed, the §11927(b) recital on the deed itself, signed by either spouse, is what claims the transfer-tax exemption.
More on divorce, including the Homeowners' Exemption when one spouse moves out: divorce and property tax. Joint tenancies that include a spouse: joint tenancy and property tax.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an interspousal transfer deed trigger property tax reassessment in California?
No. R&T §63 says a change of ownership "shall not include any interspousal transfer", and lists examples: transfers into a trust for a spouse, transfers that take effect at a spouse's death, transfers under a property settlement or divorce decree, and creating, transferring or ending a co-owner's interest solely between spouses. The Prop 13 base-year value stays as it is.
Does the interspousal exclusion apply to registered domestic partners?
Yes, for transfers on or after January 1, 2000: §62(p)(1) excludes "any transfer between registered domestic partners, as defined in Section 297 of the Family Code", with the same list of examples as §63.
Do I pay documentary transfer tax on an interspousal transfer deed?
Usually not, but the exemption depends on why the deed is made. A division of community property required by a divorce or legal-separation judgment, or by a written agreement made in contemplation of one, is exempt under §11927, but only if the deed includes a written recital, signed by either spouse, claiming the exemption. A deed that is a gift between spouses is exempt under §11930. If one spouse pays the other outside a divorce, neither exemption fits, and the tax applies to the consideration over $100 (§11911) unless another exemption does.
Does a deed removing my spouse from title after divorce change my property tax?
No. §63(c) excludes "transfers to a spouse or former spouse in connection with a property settlement agreement or decree of dissolution of a marriage or legal separation", so the spouse who keeps the home keeps the existing base-year value. Selling the home to a third party is a change in ownership like any sale.
Is a PCOR needed with an interspousal transfer deed?
Yes. A Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (BOE-502-A) goes to the recorder with any recorded document effecting a transfer, and without it the recorder may charge an additional $20 (§480.3). It reports the transfer so the assessor can apply the interspousal exclusion; it does not make the transfer taxable.
What happens to property tax when a spouse dies?
Nothing changes for the surviving spouse: §63(b) excludes "transfers which take effect upon the death of a spouse", whether the home passes by will, by survivorship or through a trust. The surviving spouse or the trustee still files the Change in Ownership Statement — Death of Real Property Owner (BOE-502-D) within 150 days of the death (§480(b)).
Learn More
Sources: Revenue and Taxation Code §§62(p), 63, 480, 480.3, 11911, 11927 and 11930, current text from the Legislature's bulk data (quotations verbatim). Board of Equalization Property Tax Rules 462.001–462.260 apply the change-in-ownership sections case by case. Educational information, not legal or tax advice: a deed between spouses can also change community-property character, income-tax basis and title insurance, which are not property tax.
Last reviewed: November 2026.