To estimate property
taxes on a property in California, you can use 1.25% of
purchase price as a rule of thumb for the 1st
year's tax bill. When you purchase a home, the
county tax assessor reassesses the property and sets a new
property tax amount based on your purchase price. Your
property taxes will be approximately 1% of your purchase
price, plus any voter approved bonded indebtedness of the
community (hence the 1.25% rule of thumb). Additionally a community
may have a "Mello-Roos" assessment. For example, every home
located within the Mt. Diablo School District has a $67 per
year Mellos-Roos assessment added to their tax bill. Another
common item you may find on the tax bill is for "pest
abatement", or a bond for a sewer district.
Proposition 13 limits property tax increase to
2% annually
In future years, the tax assessor is allowed to increase the
accessed value by 2% appreciation per year.
Homeowner's Exemption
This is a deduction of $7,000 from the "accessed value" and
applies only to owner-occupied properties. Once you've
purchased a home you will received a card to fill out to
apply for the exemption. The card must be completed and
returned between March 1st and April 15th. Applications
submitted after April 15th, but before the end of the year
will qualify for only 80% of the exemption.
Supplemental Property Tax Bill
The Supplemental Property Tax Bill is for the difference
between the tax based on the seller's assessed value and the
tax based on your new assessed value.
