Property tax relief for seniors in California

Property Tax Postponement (PTP)

The State Controller's Office (SCO) runs this program. It pays the property tax on your home for you. The amount becomes a loan, secured by your home, that you repay later.

Who qualifies

You must meet all of these rules every year you apply:

• You are 62 or older, or blind, or disabled.
• You own the home and it is your main home.
• You have at least 40 percent equity in the home. Unpaid property taxes count as money owed when equity is figured.
• You do not have a reverse mortgage on the home.
• Your total household income is under the yearly limit. SCO's pages still show the limit used for the 2025-26 year. Check the current limit for 2026-27 with SCO at (800) 952-5661.

Floating homes and houseboats do not qualify. Manufactured homes can qualify, but not if their taxes are already unpaid or in default.

Money for the program is limited, so not everyone who qualifies is approved.

What it costs

Interest is 5% a year. It is simple interest, figured each month, so interest is not charged on interest.

When you must repay

The postponed taxes and interest become due right away if you:

• Move out of the home
• Sell the home or transfer the title
• Die, unless a spouse, registered domestic partner, or other qualified person still lives there
• Let later property taxes or loans ahead of the state's lien go unpaid
• Refinance the home or take out a reverse mortgage

How to apply

1. Get the application by calling the State Controller's Office at (800) 952-5661 and asking them to mail you one. Forms come out in September. The filing period for each year runs from October 1 to February 10.
2. Fill it out. If you are applying because of a disability, send proof of the disability with each year's application.
3. Mail it to: California State Controller's Office, Departmental Accounting Office – PTP, P.O. Box 942850, Sacramento, CA 94250-0001.
4. Questions: (800) 952-5661 or [email protected].

If you are approved, the State Controller pays your property taxes straight to the county tax collector. Apply early in the period, since funds are limited. You must apply again each year; an earlier approval does not carry over.

Homeowners' exemption

If you own and live in your home, the homeowners' exemption takes $7,000 off its taxable value. This is open to homeowners of any age, but rentals and vacation homes do not qualify. You only need to file once with your county assessor. File by February 15 to get the full exemption; a claim filed by December 10 gets 80% of it.

Moving at 55 or older: Proposition 19

If you are 55 or older, you can sell your home and move your current taxable value to a new home anywhere in California. This can keep your property tax much lower than it would be at the new home's full value.

• You must be 55 or older on the date you sell.
• You can do this up to three times. Earlier Prop 60 or Prop 90 transfers do not count against the three.
• The new home must be bought or built within two years of selling the old one.
• Value rules: If the new home is worth the same or less, your old value moves over with no change. "The same or less" means up to 100 percent of the old home's sale value if you buy first, up to 105 percent if you buy in the first year after selling, or up to 110 percent in the second year. Anything above that is added to your taxable value.
• File form BOE-19-B with the county assessor where the new home is, after you move in and within three years of buying or finishing it. Escrow does not file it for you.

Similar rules help people who are severely and permanently disabled (forms BOE-19-D and BOE-19-DC) and people whose homes were hit by a wildfire or a disaster declared by the Governor (form BOE-19-V). Questions: BOE Property Tax Department, 1-916-274-3350.

Renter's credit

If you rent your main home in California, you may claim a nonrefundable credit on your state income tax return:

You must have:

• Paid rent in California for at least half the year, on a home that was not tax-exempt
• Not lived with someone who can claim you as a dependent
• Not received a property tax exemption that year (you or your spouse)

Claim it on your return (Form 540, line 46, or Form 540 2EZ, line 19). The credit only lowers California income tax you owe. It is not paid out as a refund on its own.

Common mistakes

• Waiting too long to apply for PTP. Funds run out. Apply soon after October 1.
• Forgetting to apply again. PTP must be renewed every year.
• Taking out a reverse mortgage while you have PTP. This makes the postponed taxes due at once.
• Missing the Prop 19 time limits: two years between selling and buying, and three years to file.

Free help

• State Controller's Office, Property Tax Postponement: (800) 952-5661.
• Your county assessor for the homeowners' exemption and Proposition 19.
• Area Agencies on Aging: Call 800-510-2020 to find your local agency.

See all benefits in California.

Phone numbers: Free help lines for California agencies

Check what you may qualify for