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California Property Tax Calculator

FIN·US

California property tax at the effective rate real bills actually land at — 0.72% of value at the ACS 2025 medians — California is modelled the Proposition 13 way: your assessed value is your purchase price grown at most 2% a year — enter what you paid and when, not just what the home is worth now. Pilot counties included: Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Clara, Alameda, Sacramento.

California's median bill is $5,537 on a $770,700 median home. On the page's $450,000 test home the model gives $2,953 a year ($246 a month) on an assessed value of $410,081.

The home Tax = assessed value × effective rate.

Estimated annual property tax
$2,953

$246 a month

The assessment

Assessed value$410,081
Homestead exemption$0
Effective rate0.72%
Annual tax$2,953

How property tax works in California

The effective rate

California's median homeowner pays $5,537 on a $770,700 home — 0.72% effective (ACS 2025). Nominal rates mislead across states (assessment ratios differ); the effective rate is the honest comparator. Your parcel's bill follows its own assessment and the overlapping local levies.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2025 1-year estimates.

California's defining feature

Proposition 13: base levy capped at 1% of assessed value (plus voter-approved debt); assessed (factored base-year) value grows at most 2%/yr; reassessment to market value only on change of ownership or new construction - a calculator must model tenure/purchase year, not current market value alone.

Source: state source in the research file (see hub).

What a pilot covers

This family is the pilot the plan called for: all 51 state pages plus the 25 most populous counties — not thousands of county pages with rates nobody verified. County figures here are the same ACS medians at county level.

County assessors publish parcel-level figures.

Frequently asked questions

Why doesn't my bill match?

Assessments lag markets, exemptions differ (senior, veteran, disability), and local levies stack differently street by street. The effective-rate model gives the typical bill for the value, not your parcel's bill.

Which state has the highest property taxes?

By effective rate, Illinois (1.92%) and New Jersey (1.82%); by median dollars, high-value states like New Jersey ($9,648) and California ($5,537) — the hub table shows both lenses.

Sources & verification. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2025 1-year estimates — median real estate taxes paid and median home values (tables B25103/B25077); effective rate = the ratio of the medians, a survey measure, labelled as such. Assessment-cap and exemption mechanics from state sources (CA BOE Prop 13 guidance; Fla. Stat. §193.155 + Amendment 5 exemption; Texas Tax Code §§11.13, 23.23). Verified 4 November 2026. This is the PILOT: state pages + the 25 largest counties — not a 3,000-county build.

California Property Tax Calculator for 2026: at California's 0.72% effective rate (ACS 2025), a $450,000 home pays about $2,953 a year under the state’s assessment-cap model. The state median bill is $5,537.

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UNDERSTAND YOUR RESULTS

California Property Tax Calculator (Pilot) guide

What property tax typically costs in California: the ACS 2025 effective rate applied to your home, with the state’s assessment cap modelled.

How to use this tool

  1. Enter the home’s market value.
  2. Enter purchase price and years owned (the cap needs them).
  3. Read the assessed value and exemption.
  4. Read the annual estimate.

A worked example

California’s effective rate is 0.72%; the median bill is $5,537.

What you can do with this tool

How it works

On the $450,000 test home the model gives $2,953 a year.

Frequently asked questions

How much is property tax in California?

Typically $5,537 a year at the median (0.72% effective).

Is this my exact bill?

No — an effective-rate estimate; assessments and exemptions move real bills.