CA's Prop 19: The good, the bad, and your property taxes

The Good: Tax savings for seniors, the disabled, and disaster victims
This is the part of the law that helps people on the move. If you're 55 or older, severely disabled, or lost your home in a natural disaster, you can now transfer your low property tax rate to a new home anywhere in California.

re: The new home can be in any county in California, removing old restrictions.
Upgrade or downsize: You can buy a more or less expensive home and still benefit. If the new home is more expensive, your old tax rate is applied and you only pay a higher rate on the extra value.
Do it again: Eligible homeowners can use this tax transfer benefit up to three times in their life.
 
The Bad: Much higher taxes on inherited homes
This is the big change that has a major impact on many families. Before Prop 19, children could inherit their parents' home (or a rental property) and keep the low property tax rate, no matter how they used the home.
Now, to keep the low property tax, the child or grandchild who inherits the home must:
Use it as their primary residence: They have to move in within one year.
Face a tax hike on expensive homes: Even if the heir moves in, the property's value is reassessed if its market value is more than $1 million higher than the parents' original assessed value. This means a new, higher tax bill.
No tax break on other properties: Inherited vacation homes or rental properties now get completely reassessed to their current market value, leading to a much higher property tax bill.
 
Who Wins and Who Loses?
Think of it this way...
Winners: Seniors (55+), the severely disabled, and disaster victims gain huge flexibility. They can move anywhere in California without getting hit with a massive property tax increase. This helps people who want to downsize, relocate closer to family, or simply find a home that better suits their needs.
Losers: Heirs of inherited property are the big losers. If you don't move into your parents' home, the property taxes will reset to market value, potentially making it unaffordable to keep. This applies even if you wanted to keep the home as a family legacy or a rental income property.
 
The bottom line
Prop 19 essentially created a tradeoff: more benefits for a specific group of current homeowners in exchange for a significant tax increase for heirs. For many long-term homeowners in California, this has fundamentally changed their family's estate planning.