California property tax changes for 2026-27

Base year values were factored by 2% for the 2026-27 roll. The cap is 2% or the change in the California CPI, whichever is lower, and the CPI came in above the cap this cycle. Worth knowing: the October index the factor is normally drawn from was never published, because the federal shutdown in autumn 2025 stopped the survey, so the Board of Equalization used the August-to-August change instead. It was over 2% either way.

California's Disabled Veterans' Exemption reduces assessed value by $180,671 for 2026, or $271,009 for a claimant whose household income is under $81,131. Both figures are adjusted annually.

It is a fixed reduction, not a full exemption: whatever assessed value remains above that figure is still taxed. This matters because SB 23, which would have created a complete exemption for 100%-disabled veterans, did not become law — it was returned to the Secretary of the Senate under Joint Rule 56 on 2 February 2026. A genuine full exemption would need a constitutional amendment. If you have read elsewhere that your bill goes to zero, that is describing a bill that died.

A property can carry either this exemption or the $7,000 homeowners’ exemption, not both. The veterans’ exemption is far larger, so it is the one to claim if you qualify.

The family-home exclusion is $1,044,586 of value above the factored base, for transfers between 16 February 2025 and 15 February 2027. It resets on 16 February 2027. The child has to move in and file for the homeowners’ exemption within a year of the transfer; inheriting a house and renting it out means a full reassessment at market value.

Two of these catch people out. The instalment due dates and the delinquency dates are different, and most people pay on the later ones. And the appeal deadline is 30 November in most of California — not 15 September, which applies in only eleven counties.