Property Tax Freeze Programs in California and Florida (2024)

You asked for a description of laws in California and Florida that freeze property taxes for homeowners who meet age and income eligibility requirements.

SUMMARY

Neither state has a property tax freeze program. However, two California programs protect seniors from property tax increases. The property tax postponement program gives qualified seniors the option of having the state pay all or part of their property taxes until the owner moves, sells the property, or dies. The replacement housing program allows seniors to sell their residence, buy a new one of equal or lesser value, and transfer the old residence's assessed value to the new home. This enables them to keep the property tax ceiling obtained under California's Proposition 13 that is normally lost when purchasing a new home.

Florida restricts increases in the assessment of the principal home of a permanent residents of all ages to the lower of 3% or the change in the Consumer Price Index. Fla. Stat. § 193.155(1).

PROPERTY TAX POSTPONEMENT PROGRAM

This program gives seniors (62 or older), blind, or disabled citizens the option of having the state pay all or part of the property taxes on their residence until the individual moves, sells the property, dies, or the title is passed to an ineligible person. In most cases, the applicant's total household income cannot exceed $ 24,000 and the applicant must have at least a 20% equity interest in the home. All of the taxes must be repaid when the property is sold or title is transferred.

To obtain the postponement, an applicant must submit a claim to the state controller's office. Then a senior lien is placed on the property. Interest is charged on the postponed taxes and is added to the amount of the lien. Participants can choose to pay all or part of their taxes at any time.

Approved applicants receive a certificate of eligibility that they sign and present to the county tax collector. The collector accepts the certificate in lieu of the property owner's tax payment, and the state pays the county for postponed taxes. Participants in this program can also participate in California's equivalent of the Connecticut circuit breaker program. Any tax assistance a participant in that program receives is deducted from the state's lien on the property. Further information about the program is available at http://www.sco.ca.gov/col/taxinfo/ptp/geninfo/description.shtml#4.

In Connecticut, CGS § 12-129o allows municipalities to provide property tax relief for elderly and disabled homeowners. It also allows the municipality, under certain circ*mstances, to impose a lien on the home in the amount of the relief provided.

REPLACEMENT HOUSING PROGRAM

This program allows individuals who are at least 55 years old to sell their residence, buy a new one of equal or lesser value, and transfer the old residence's assessed value to the new home. The new home must be purchased within two years of selling the previous one and must be in the same county. The program is available to homeowners regardless of income or wealth.

By preventing the market-value reassessment of the replacement home, the program provides tax relief to the extent the replacement home market value is greater than the assessed value of the previous home. Under Proposition 13, property is reassessed at market value only when it is sold (see Office of Legislative Research Report 97-R-1337 for a detailed description of Proposition 13). Proposition 13, adopted in 1978, created an unintended incentive for seniors to hold on to larger homes as they become "empty nesters," since moving to a new home would trigger a market-value assessment and the consequent tax increase. The replacement-housing program, adopted in 1986 under Proposition 60, is a means of extending Proposition 13 tax limits to a new home under these conditions. A Sacramento County Website, http://www.assessor.saccounty.net/general-information/prop13/prop60qa.html, explains this program.

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