How much is this actually worth?

The gap between your Proposition 13 assessed value and what the new home would otherwise be assessed at, times about 1%. On a $600,000 gap that is roughly $6,000 a year, for as long as you own the replacement.

Can the new home be in a different county?

Yes. Proposition 19 removed the old county restrictions — the replacement can be anywhere in California, so long as both homes are in the state.

I am rated 100% by the VA. Does that qualify me?

Not automatically. The test is severe and permanent disability certified by a licensed physician of the appropriate specialty, stating specific reasons. Many 100%-rated veterans will meet it; the rating alone is not the finding.

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Proposition 19 Base Year Value Transfer for Severely Disabled Homeowners

Carry your Proposition 13 assessed value to a replacement home anywhere in California, up to three times. For a long-time owner this is frequently worth more than every other benefit here combined.

Verified August 18, 2026

What this benefit is

Proposition 13 assesses your home on what you paid for it, with growth capped at 2% a year. A home bought in 1990 and worth $900,000 today may be assessed near $300,000 — and taxed on that.

§69.6 lets a severely and permanently disabled owner carry that assessed value to a replacement home anywhere in California, up to three times, instead of being reassessed at market.

What it's worth: Your old assessed value, carried to a new home

Shown as a range and excluded from your annual total, because the saving is the gap between your Proposition 13 assessed value and what the new home would otherwise be assessed at — which depends entirely on when you bought.
A home bought in 1990 and now worth $900,000 may be assessed near $300,000. Carrying that assessment rather than being reassessed at $900,000 saves roughly $6,000 a year, every year, indefinitely.
That is comfortably more than the Disabled Veterans’ Exemption is worth, and the two can be held together.

Who is entitled to it

An owner of a primary residence who is severely and permanently disabled, certified by a physician on form BOE-19-DC,
who sells that residence and buys or builds a replacement in California within two years,
and who has not already used three transfers.

Exceptions

A severely disabled homeowner may transfer their base year value up to three times. After the third the benefit is exhausted. Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code §69.6

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

The thing most people get wrong

For a long-time owner this is worth more than every veteran benefit on this site

The Disabled Veterans’ Exemption is worth about $1,807 a year. This can be worth several times that, every year, indefinitely — because it preserves an assessed value that may be a third of what a replacement home would otherwise be assessed at. And you can hold both. The reason no veteran benefits guide mentions it is that it is not a veteran benefit: it is a disability provision under Proposition 19, and it turns on a physician’s certification rather than a VA rating. If you have owned your home since the 1980s or 1990s and are considering moving, work this out before anything else on this page.

How to claim it

Deadline: Within three years of buying or building the replacement

1Get form BOE-19-DC signed by a licensed physician or surgeon of the appropriate specialty, stating the specific reasons for the disability.
2File BOE-19-D with BOE-19-DC at the assessor for the county where the REPLACEMENT home is — not where you moved from.
3Mind the two-year window between selling and replacing, and the three-year window for filing the claim.
4Keep your Disabled Veterans’ Exemption too. These are separate and you can hold both.

Form: BOE-19-D and BOE-19-DC
File with: The county assessor where the REPLACEMENT property is located
Documents you will need: boe 19 dc certificate · proof of sale · proof of residence
No renewal needed: A one-time claim per transfer, and you may transfer up to three times.

Common mistakes that cost people this benefit

Assuming a VA rating decides it. The test is a physician’s certification of severe and permanent disability on form BOE-19-DC — not a percentage.
Filing with the wrong assessor. The claim goes to the county where the REPLACEMENT home is, not where you moved from.
Missing the two-year window between selling the original and buying the replacement, or the three-year window for filing the claim.
Thinking it is one-and-done. A severely disabled homeowner may transfer up to three times.
Treating it as an alternative to the Disabled Veterans’ Exemption. They are separate and you can hold both.

Worth knowingWe publish this even though it is not a veteran benefit, and label it as such. For a veteran who has owned their home since the 1980s or 1990s it is very often the single most valuable thing on this site — worth several times the Disabled Veterans’ Exemption — and it appears on no veteran benefits list anywhere, because it is a disability provision.

Worth knowingThe test is a physician’s certification of severe and permanent disability, not a VA rating. That cuts both ways: a 100%-rated veteran whose condition is not severely disabling in this sense may not qualify, and a veteran with a modest rating who is severely disabled may.

Worth knowingProposition 19 removed the old county restrictions. The replacement home can be anywhere in California, and the transfer can be used up to three times.

Questions people ask

How much is this actually worth?: The gap between your Proposition 13 assessed value and what the new home would otherwise be assessed at, times about 1%. On a $600,000 gap that is roughly $6,000 a year, for as long as you own the replacement.
Can the new home be in a different county?: Yes. Proposition 19 removed the old county restrictions — the replacement can be anywhere in California, so long as both homes are in the state.
I am rated 100% by the VA. Does that qualify me?: Not automatically. The test is severe and permanent disability certified by a licensed physician of the appropriate specialty, stating specific reasons. Many 100%-rated veterans will meet it; the rating alone is not the finding.

Sources

authority · statuteCal. Rev. & Tax. Code §69.6; Cal. Const. art. XIII A, §2.1(b)
operating · published policyCalifornia BOE — Proposition 19 Fact Sheet (Pub. 801)

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.