CHAPTER 1. Base Year Values [50. - 53.]

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC 1.

in effect

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 50. Section 50.

For purposes of base year values as determined by Section 110.1, values determined for property which is purchased or changes ownership after the 1975 lien date shall be entered on the roll for the lien date next succeeding the date of the purchase or change in ownership. Values determined after the 1975 lien date for property which is newly constructed shall be entered on the roll for the lien date next succeeding the date of completion of the new construction. The value of new construction in progress on the lien date shall be entered on the roll as of the lien date. However, the value of new construction in progress shall not be a base year value until completion of that construction, as described in Section 71.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 51. Section 51.

(a) For purposes of subdivision (b) of Section 2 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution, for each lien date after the lien date in which the base year value is determined pursuant to Section 110.1, the taxable value of real property shall, except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b) or (c), be the lesser of: (1) Its base year value, compounded annually since the base year by an inflation factor, which shall be determined as follows: (A) For any assessment year commencing prior to January 1, 1985, the inflation factor shall be the percentage change in the cost of living, as defined in Section 2212. (B) For any assessment year commencing after January 1, 1985, and prior to January 1, 1998, the inflation factor shall be the percentage change, rounded to the nearest one-thousandth of 1 percent, from December of the prior fiscal year to December of the current fiscal year in the California Consumer Price Index for all items, as determined by the California Department of Industrial Relations. (C) For any assessment year commencing on or after January 1, 1998, the inflation factor shall be the percentage change, rounded to the nearest one-thousandth of 1 percent, from October of the prior fiscal year to October of the current fiscal year in the California Consumer Price Index for all items, as determined by the California Department of Industrial Relations. (D) In no event shall the percentage increase for any assessment year determined pursuant to subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) exceed 2 percent of the prior year’s value. (2) Its full cash value, as defined in Section 110, as of the lien date, taking into account reductions in value due to damage, destruction, depreciation, obsolescence, removal of property, or other factors causing a decline in value. (b) If the real property was damaged or destroyed by disaster, misfortune, or calamity and the board of supervisors of the county in which the real property is located has not adopted an ordinance pursuant to Section 170, or any portion of the real property has been removed by voluntary action by the taxpayer, the taxable value of the property shall be the sum of the following: (1) The lesser of its base year value of land determined under paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) or full cash value of land determined pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a). (2) The lesser of its base year value of improvements determined pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) or the full cash value of improvements determined pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a). In applying this subdivision, the base year value of the subject real property does not include that portion of the previous base year value of that property that was attributable to any portion of the property that has been destroyed or removed. The sum determined under this subdivision shall then become the base year value of the real property until that property is restored, repaired, or reconstructed or other provisions of law require establishment of a new base year value. (c) If the real property was damaged or destroyed by disaster, misfortune or calamity and the board of supervisors in the county in which the real property is located has adopted an ordinance pursuant to Section 170, the taxable value of the real property shall be its assessed value as computed pursuant to Section 170. (d) For purposes of this section, “real property” means that appraisal unit that persons in the marketplace commonly buy and sell as a unit, or that is normally valued separately. (e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the assessor to make an annual reappraisal of all assessable property. However, for each lien date after the first lien date for which the taxable value of property is reduced pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), the value of that property shall be annually reappraised at its full cash value as defined in Section 110 until that value exceeds the value determined pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a). In no event shall the assessor condition the implementation of the preceding sentence in any year upon the filing of an assessment appeal.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 51.5. Section 51.5.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, any error or omission in the determination of a base year value pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 110.1, including the failure to establish that base year value, which does not involve the exercise of an assessor’s judgment as to value, shall be corrected in any assessment year in which the error or omission is discovered. (b) An error or an omission described in subdivision (a) which involves the exercise of an assessor’s judgment as to value may be corrected only if it is placed on the current roll or roll being prepared, or is otherwise corrected, within four years after July 1 of the assessment year for which the base year value was first established. (c) An error or an omission involving the exercise of an assessor’s judgment as to value shall not include errors or omissions resulting from the taxpayer’s fraud, concealment, misrepresentation, or failure to comply with any provision of law for furnishing information required by Sections 441, 470, 480, 480.1, and 480.2, or from clerical errors. (d) If a correction authorized by subdivision (a) or (b) reduces the base year value, appropriate cancellations or refunds of tax shall be granted in accordance with this division. If the correction increases the base year value, appropriate escape assessments shall be imposed in accordance with this division. (e) The existence of a clerical error shall be proved by a preponderance of the evidence, except that if the correction is made more than four years after July 1 of the assessment year for which the base year value was first established the clerical error shall be proved by clear and convincing evidence, including the papers in the assessor’s office. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to change the standard of proof applicable to a determination of the value of property. (f) For purposes of this section: (1) “Assessment year” means an assessment year as defined in Section 118. (2) “Clerical errors” means only those defects of a mechanical, mathematical, or clerical nature, not involving judgment as to value, where it can be shown from papers in the assessor’s office or other evidence that the defect resulted in a base year value that was not intended by the assessor at the time it was determined.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 52. Section 52.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, property which is enforceably restricted pursuant to Section 8 of Article XIII of the California Constitution shall be valued for property tax purposes pursuant to Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 421) and Article 1.9 (commencing with Section 439) of Chapter 3 of Part 2. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, property restricted to timberland use pursuant to subdivision (j) of Section 3 of Article XIII of the California Constitution shall be valued for property tax purposes pursuant to Article 1.7 (commencing with Section 431) of Chapter 3 of Part 2. (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, property subject to valuation as a golf course pursuant to Section 10 of Article XIII of the California Constitution shall be valued for property tax purposes in accordance with such section. (d) Notwithstanding the provisions of this division, property subject to valuation pursuant to Section 11 of Article XIII of the California Constitution shall be valued for property tax purposes in accordance with such section.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 53. Section 53.

(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the initial base year value for fruit and nut trees and grapevines subject to exemption pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 3 of Article XIII of the California Constitution shall be the full cash value of those properties as of the lien date of their first taxable year. (b) A county board of supervisors may, after consulting with affected local agencies within the county’s boundaries, provide by ordinance that the initial base year value for replacement grapevines that are planted to replace grapevines less than 15 years of age that were removed solely as a result of phylloxera infestation or Pierce’s Disease, and are planted on the same parcel as the replaced grapevines, as certified in writing by the county agricultural commissioner, shall be the base year value of the removed grapevines factored to the lien date of the first taxable year of the replacement grapevines. The assignment of base year replacement value shall be limited to that portion of the replacement grapevines that are substantially equivalent to the grapevines that were replaced, if the replacement grapevines are planted at a greater density.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026