When it comes to calculating property taxes most homeowners are in the dark

Are you looking for aCalifornia Property Tax Calculator? Unfortunately there is no reliable state property tax calculatoravailable online or elsewhere since tax rates vary from state to state and county to county within each state. Your individual California county will even have different laws that apply to your property tax rate.

However, there is an easy way to estimate how much you’ll pay in property taxes in California.

Here’s how to calculate property taxes on your California home, commercial property, or real estate investment

There are multiple California propositions that affect property taxes. Proposition 8 an 13 are probably the most important.Proposition 13 was passed in California in 1978 and implemented major property tax system changes. The California State Board of Equalization administers all of its various forms of taxes. They explain Prop 13 like this: “Prop 13 backdated assessed real estate values of properties in California, pushing them back to their level during 1975 and 1976. Then, it limits property tax rates to 1% of a property’s assessed value. Furthermore, Prop 13 limits how much a property’s assessed value rises each year. It can rise only 2% or an amount equal to the state’s inflation rate-whichever is less. Californians often disagree as to whether Prop 13 is a boon to the state or a curse, but under Prop 13 calculating property taxes is less difficult.

The next best thing to a Property Tax Calculator

Reach out to the County Assessor’s Office and find out what the levy for property tax is in your California county. See Property Tax Consultants’ California Counties Pagefor in-depth property tax information on all Southern California Counties.

Dig for your mortgage documents and find the price of your home when you purchased it. The California State Board or Equalization states that an ownership change can lower or raise property tax. A new real estate property is taxed the fair market value at the at the time of purchase . But each year the assessed value of your home will only go up at the inflation rate or 2 percent (the lowest of the two). That’s a Prop 13 perk.

Finally, you must multiply the purchase price or your new home by the property tax rate of your California county. Say you purchased a new house at a fair market value of $800,000 in Los Angeles county… $800,000 times 0.01 (1%). Your property tax for the year in Los Angeles County, for this simple example, is $8,000.