“How much do property taxes run when you buy a home?”
Answer:
In San Diego, your property taxes are about 1.1% of your assessed value. And in the year you buy your home, your assessed value is almost always what you paid for the home.
That makes for a simple formula: monthly taxes are just under 1/10 of 1% per month. So if your assessed value is $500,000, your taxes will be just under $500/mo, say about $475.
Can your assessment go up?
Yes, it’s supposed to go up annually if values go up.
Fortunately, Proposition 13 caps at 2% how much the county can annually raise your assessment, and thus your taxes. (Exception: if you do a room addition or other major improvement, the county can add the value of that to your assessment.)
Example: if your taxes are $1000 this year, they can only go up by $20 ($1000×2%) next year, to $1020. The next year it would go up by $20.40 (1020×2%) to $1040.40. Get the idea?
Can your assessment go down?
Yes, if the value of your home goes down, the county may drop it automatically. Whether they do or not, if you think the value is lower, you can “appeal” your assessment by going to the county’s website.
One more thing. “When is a property tax not a tax?”
When it’s called a “Mello-Roos” FEE.
To get around Proposition 13, most newer homes have an extra tax (hey, it’s really a tax, so we might as well call it that) that funds new infrastructure like parks and fire stations, etc. It varies, but usually runs a few hundred dollars per month.
And what’s up with the name “Mello-Roos”?
It is the common name for the Community Facilities District Act, enacted by the California State Legislature in 1982. The name comes from its co-authors, Senator Henry Mello of Monterey and assemblyman Mike Roos of Los Angeles.
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