Concepts Definitions

Proposition 13: A California ballot proposition passed in 1978 that established the base property tax rate at 1% of a property’s value and limited annual increases in its assessed value to no more than 2%.

Property Tax: An ad valorem tax, meaning “according to value,” assessed on the value of real property by local government agencies.

Full Cash Value (Assessed Value): The value of a property used for tax assessment purposes, generally based on its purchase price or its most recent reassessment.

Special Assessments: Additional property tax levies that can be added to a homeowner’s property tax bill for specific local public improvements, such as new roads, parks, or schools (e.g., Mello-Roos taxes). These are separate from and in addition to the base 1% tax rate.

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