"When Sheri Duffy and her ailing mother, Jean, voted for Proposition 19 five years ago, an ad campaign running during episodes of "Judge Judy" convinced them the measure would provide what its title promised: "Home Protection for Seniors, Severely Disabled, Families, and Victims of Wildfire or Natural Disasters." Campaign mailers praised the measure for allowing children to inherit their parents' family home "without any tax increases." What the Duffys didn't realize, however, was that inherited primary residences would be reassessed to market value after the first $1 million."
"Just blocks from Apple's headquarters, the family's humble three-bedroom, two-bath house with "popcorn ceilings" that Sheri's father bought on a truck driver's salary in 1968 was worth more than $2 million. When her mother died in 2021, the property taxes soared from $1,300 to $18,000 a year. In August, she and her twin brother, Mike, had no choice but to sell."
Proposition 19 changed California rules for property tax reassessment of inherited primary residences, allowing reassessment to market value above a $1 million exclusion. Many heirs inherited homes now worth over $1 million and saw property taxes jump dramatically, as in one family where taxes rose from $1,300 to $18,000 annually, forcing a sale. Campaign ads and mailers promised protections and no tax increases but omitted the reassessment threshold, leaving voters and heirs feeling misled. The measure was approved by 51% of voters but has not clearly delivered promised benefits to wildfire funds or additional county revenue. Grassroots efforts now seek repeal of the inheritance provision.
Read at The Mercury News
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