You bought your Lafayette home in 1995 for $350,000. It is now worth $2.1 million. Your property taxes are still based on that 1995 price, so you are paying way less than someone who bought recently. If you move to a smaller home anywhere in California, Prop 19 lets you keep that tax break.
Two years into the law, the answer to whether it is worth it depends on your situation. Let me walk through the math so you can decide.
How Prop 19 Works
Let us say you own a home in Orinda. Your home was worth $200,000 when you bought it, so your taxes are about $2,400 per year. You sell that home and buy a smaller one in Walnut Creek for $1.2 million.
Without Prop 19, your new home gets a new tax value of $1.2 million, and your taxes jump to $14,400 per year. That is an extra $12,000 every year.
With Prop 19, your new home keeps the old tax value of $200,000. Your taxes stay at $2,400 per year. Over 12 years, you save $144,000. That is a lot of money.
But here is the catch: if your new home costs more than your old home, you pay taxes on the difference.
For example, if you sell your home for $2.1 million and buy a new one for $1.2 million, you pay no extra taxes because the new home costs less.
But if you sell for $2.1 million and buy a new home for $2.5 million, you pay taxes on the extra $400,000. Your new tax value becomes $200,000 + $400,000 = $600,000. Your taxes become $7,200 per year. That is still much less than $30,000, but you are not escaping the hit completely.
Timeline and Paperwork
You have two years to make the move. If you sell your home on March 1, 2026, you have until March 1, 2028 to buy your new home. You can buy the new home first and sell later, as long as both sales happen within two years of each other.
You need to file a form called BOE-19-B with your county assessor. You have three years to file, but it is better to file early. If you file late, you might lose a year of savings.
Contra Costa County has handled hundreds of these cases. They know what to do. Call your county assessor when you are close to buying and they will help you with the paperwork.
Who Benefits the Most
If you sell a $2.1 million home in Orinda and buy a $1.4 million home in Walnut Creek, you win big. You save thousands every year and free up cash from the sale.
If you sell a $2.1 million home in Lamorinda and buy a $2.2 million home in Danville, you still do well. The extra $100,000 gets added to your taxes, but you are only paying taxes on $300,000 instead of $2.2 million.
If you sell a $2.1 million home in Orinda and buy a $2.5 million home in Palo Alto, the benefit is smaller. You are paying taxes on $600,000 instead of $2.5 million, which is still good, but you are not escaping the tax increase completely.
If you inherit a parent's home but miss the one-year move-in deadline, you lose the benefit. Prop 19 made it harder to pass homes to children. The exclusion is now capped at the taxable value plus about $1,044,586 for 2026.
What Is Happening in Lamorinda
Homes that have been in the same family since the 1980s are finally being sold. Parents stayed because moving would have meant much higher taxes. Prop 19 removed that problem. Now seniors can downsize, get cash from their home, and keep their taxes low.
Contra Costa County has seen more Prop 19 transfers than anywhere else in the Bay Area. People who were stuck are finally moving.
Is It Worth It for You?
Do the math. Call your county assessor and ask what your new taxes would be with and without Prop 19. If you are downsizing and saving $5,000 or more every year, the answer is clear.
If you are moving to a home that costs about the same or more, the benefit is smaller. Only move if the other reasons make sense, like being closer to family, having less maintenance, or better weather.
The law still helps downsizers the most. That is who benefits.
Want to run the numbers for a specific home you are looking at in Lamorinda or Contra Costa? I can walk through your exact situation and show you what Prop 19 would actually save. Let's talk through it.
