What is the property tax rate in California?
California property tax is 1% of a property’s assessed value, plus whatever rates local voters have approved to repay bonds. Proposition 13, passed in 1978, set that 1% ceiling in Article XIII A of the state constitution, and every county applies it the same way.
The bond add-ons are what make county rates differ. According to the State Board of Equalization’s 2024-25 Annual Report, average tax rates on assessed value ran from exactly 1.000% in Modoc and Sierra counties to 1.248% in Kern County. Those are rates on assessed value, which for long-held property can be far below market value. Measured against market value, California’s average effective rate is 0.70% (Tax Foundation 2026, based on 2024 American Community Survey data).
How California property tax is calculated
Your bill equals your taxable value times the county rate for your tax rate area. California does not use mills; the rate is quoted as a percentage of assessed value, made up of the 1% general levy and one or more bond rates.
Taxable value starts with the base year value, which is the purchase price (full cash value) when the property last changed ownership, or the value of new construction when it was finished. Each year the assessor multiplies that base by an inflation factor of no more than 2%. Special assessments and direct charges, such as sewer fees or district charges, appear on the same bill but are not part of the ad valorem rate.
The lien date is January 1, and the fiscal year runs July 1 to June 30. Secured bills go out by November 1. The first installment is due November 1 and becomes delinquent after December 10; the second is due February 1 and becomes delinquent after April 10.
Proposition 13 and the 2% yearly cap
Proposition 13 limits the yearly increase in a property’s base year value to the change in the California Consumer Price Index or 2%, whichever is less. That is why a building bought in 2005 can carry an assessed value at half its market value today.
For the 2026-27 roll, the measured CPI change was 3.307%, so the Board of Equalization told assessors to use the maximum factor of 1.02. In low-inflation years the factor has come in under 2%, but it cannot go above it.
The cap protects the value only while the same owner holds the property. It does not limit the bond rates, which can rise if voters approve new debt, and it does not stop the assessor from adding value for new construction such as a new unit or a major addition.
Reassessment on sale or change of ownership
A change in ownership resets the base year value to current market value, which for an arm’s-length sale is normally the price paid. The new owner then starts again at 2% a year from that higher base.
The reset reaches the buyer quickly. The county issues a supplemental assessment for the difference between the old and new value, prorated for the rest of the fiscal year, so the buyer gets a supplemental bill on top of the regular one. A drop in value produces a supplemental refund instead.
Entity sales and changes of control
Selling the LLC or partnership that owns a building, instead of the building itself, does not avoid reassessment in California. Under Revenue and Taxation Code section 64(c), when any person or entity gains more than 50% of the ownership interests in a legal entity, every California property that entity owns is reassessed.
There is a second trigger for entities that received property in a transfer that was excluded from reassessment, such as when co-owners deed a building into an LLC in the same proportions. Under section 64(d), those original co-owners are tracked, and once their transferred interests add up to more than 50% over one or more deals, the excluded property is reassessed even if no single buyer took control.
Changes in control and 64(d) changes must be reported to the Board of Equalization on Form BOE-100-B within 90 days. The BOE’s Legal Entity Ownership Program also works with the Franchise Tax Board to find unreported changes and tells county assessors which parcels to reappraise.
Why the effective rate is lower than the county rates
The 0.70% statewide effective rate and the 1.0% to 1.25% county rates measure different things. County rates are tax divided by assessed value. The effective rate is tax divided by what the property would sell for today.
Under Proposition 13 those two values drift apart the longer you own. Market values in much of California have grown faster than 2% a year for decades, while assessed values have not, so a long-held building pays a county rate of 1.2% on a value that may be half its price. Its effective rate is then closer to 0.6%.
For a seller, that gap is the whole story. Your effective rate looks low because your base is old. Your buyer starts with no gap at all and pays the full county rate on the full price, which is why the same building carries two very different tax bills on either side of the closing table.
California property tax rates by county
County average rates range from 1.000% to 1.248% of assessed value in the BOE’s 2024-25 report. A rate of exactly 1.000% means the county average carries no voter-approved bond rate at all. Rates differ within each county too, because each tax rate area has its own mix of school, city and special district bonds.
The table shows the five highest and five lowest county averages, with the yearly tax on a building newly assessed at $2,000,000.
| County | Average tax rate (2024-25) | Tax on $2,000,000 assessed value |
|---|---|---|
| Kern (highest) | 1.248% | $24,960 |
| Alameda | 1.220% | $24,400 |
| Fresno | 1.213% | $24,260 |
| San Benito | 1.204% | $24,080 |
| Santa Clara | 1.193% | $23,860 |
| Alpine | 1.030% | $20,600 |
| Lassen | 1.018% | $20,360 |
| Amador | 1.013% | $20,260 |
| Sierra | 1.000% | $20,000 |
| Modoc (lowest, tied) | 1.000% | $20,000 |
Decline in value: when the assessed value goes down
If a building’s market value on January 1 falls below its factored base year value, the assessor must tax it at the lower market value for that year. Owners often call this a Prop 8 reduction. Taxable value is the lesser of the two figures.
This matters for apartments bought near a price peak. If cap rates rose after you bought and the building is now worth less than your assessed value, you can ask the assessor for a review or file an appeal. Once values recover, the assessor can raise the value back up toward the factored base year value faster than 2% a year, but never above it.
How to appeal a California property tax assessment
You appeal by filing an application with your county assessment appeals board during the regular filing period, which opens July 2. The closing date depends on how your county mails value notices.
In counties where the assessor mails a value notice to every secured-roll taxpayer by August 1, the period ends September 15. For 2026 that list is Alameda, Alpine, Inyo, Kings, Mono, Placer, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, Sierra and Ventura. Everywhere else the 2026 period ends November 30, 2026. Counties can change their election each year, so confirm the date with your clerk of the board.
A supplemental assessment after a purchase has its own, shorter window that runs from the date of the supplemental notice, so a buyer who thinks the reset value is too high should act as soon as that notice arrives.
Property tax exemptions for California apartments
The main exemption for apartment buildings is the welfare exemption for low-income rental housing under Revenue and Taxation Code section 214(g). It covers units rented to qualifying lower-income households when the owner is a qualifying nonprofit, or a limited partnership whose managing general partner is one. BOE Property Tax Rules 137, 140, 140.1 and 140.2 set out the claims process.
A separate exemption covers property leased to and used exclusively for low-income rental housing. The homeowners’ exemption does not apply to rental units, so a conventional market-rate apartment building owned by individuals or an LLC generally has no exemption to claim.
Worked example: property tax on a $2 million apartment building
Take a 14-unit building in Alameda County, where the BOE average rate is 1.220%. The seller has owned it for many years, and the factored base year value on this year’s roll is $1,100,000. The seller’s bill is $13,420.
A buyer pays $2,000,000. The base year value resets to $2,000,000 and the bill becomes $24,400: $20,000 from the 1% general levy and $4,400 from bond rates. In the second year, with a full 2% factor, the base rises to $2,040,000 and the bill to $24,888.
That $10,980 jump comes straight out of the buyer’s net operating income. At a 5% cap rate, $10,980 of NOI is worth $219,600 of price. A buyer who underwrites on the seller’s tax bill would overpay by that much, which is why every serious offer on a California building re-underwrites taxes at the purchase price. The property tax calculator lets you test other prices and rates.
| Line | Seller (current roll) | Buyer (after sale) |
|---|---|---|
| Taxable value | $1,100,000 | $2,000,000 |
| Rate (Alameda County average) | 1.220% | 1.220% |
| Yearly property tax | $13,420 | $24,400 |
| Change in NOI | -$10,980 | |
| Value of that NOI at a 5% cap rate | $219,600 |
Selling a California apartment building to Skyline
Skyline buys apartment buildings with five or more units in California, and we price the reassessed tax bill into our offer up front so there are no surprises late in escrow. We buy directly, close on your timeline, and can work inside 1031 deadlines. For buildings under AB 1482 or a city rent ordinance, our guide to selling a rent-controlled building in California explains how the higher tax bill and capped rents interact.
