New 2021 Rules for Transferring Property Taxes In California

When Proposition 19 was voted into law in Nov 2020, taking affect in Feb of 2021 – a learning curve was suddenly in effect for new homeowners and beneficiaries inheriting property from parents. It became essential, especially for middle class and upper middle class families, to quickly learn about changes to tax relief laws that would impact both existing trusts and inherited real estate…

Buying Out Sibling Property Shares While Keeping Your Inherited Home at a Low Proposition 13 Tax Base

Californians know, a loan to an irrevocable trust can also be used to buyout siblings’ property shares, inherited from a parent… while allowing beneficiaries who wish to retain that property, to transfer property taxes and keep that home at their parents’ low Proposition 13 protected tax base. It’s essentially a home equity loan on inherited property, made to the trust.

What a lot of people don’t know is the fact that the trustee and beneficiaries who are intent on keeping their inherited property will frequently borrow money to have their trust funded by a qualified trust lender licensed in the state of California so that an equal distribution of the trust can be made in order to meet California Proposition 19 Board of Equalization requirements.

Typically, beneficiaries enlist funding from a trust lender when a trust does not have sufficient cash to make an equal distribution to all the beneficiaries who are looking to sell their inherited property. Hence, the ability to transfer property taxes, mainly to transfer parents’ property taxes; and avoid property tax reassessment of an inherited home. Usually a savings of more than $6,400 per year in property taxes. 

Avoiding Fair Market Values with Proposition 19 Trust Loan Exclusion from Property Reassessment

Changes to California property tax rules in 2021 are a challenge to  understand.  Trusts, Californians have discovered, are now used for more purposes than merely deferring property taxes for a few months. Californians have also discovered that they can avoid being reassessed at fair market rates by moving into inherited property as their principle residence  – bearing in mind a $1,000,000 cap on an exclusion from existing property tax rates.

The benefits of making a lifetime transfer of inherited property has to be compared to a transfer at the passing of a parent, which may cause you, as an heir, to inherit a “stepped-up basis” in transferred property. In other words, when you inherit assets that increased in value from when your deceased parent owned it, the asset’s “basis” is increased to the property’s current or “fair market” value on the date of the parent’s passing.  Unless you take steps to avoid this increase, to be able to transfer property taxes successfully, and avoid property tax reassessment altogether!

Saving Money on Property Taxes With Help From Experts!

When purchasing a new home or inheriting your parents’ residence
it makes sense to call a specialist experienced in the use of irrevocable trust loans to maintain your parent’s low property tax base, for example like the Michael Wyatt Consulting firm out in Corona, CA.  If you are inheriting a home, or expect to inherit a home and plan to transfer the low property tax base to a new home down the road, through an irrevocable trust loan in conjunction with Proposition 19, or Prop 58.

If you’re inheriting a home from a parent and wish to avoid property tax reassessment you still have all the tools to do so, as long as all new requirements are met.  If you’re a beneficiary, a brand new homeowners, you can  transfer parents property taxes when inheriting property and thus inheriting property taxes; with the ability  to keep parents low property tax base, as long as you live in your inherited home. 

Michael Wyatt, an Expert on CA Tax Savings for Homeowners Shares His Viewpoint on  Keeping a Low Property Tax Base

As Michael Wyatt Consulting, tells us: 

“When it comes to keeping a low property tax base, with Prop 58 [or now Prop 19] and a trust loan, I always bring my clients to Commercial Loan Corp.  Their loans to trusts give my clients several invaluable benefits. Their terms can be a lot more flexible than an institutional lender like Wells Fargo or Bank of America.  They’re self funded, and that’s why they can extend easier terms to clients…

When your parents die, and your trust agreement says ‘equal shares’  –  That means equal shares!  People basically just get the overall concept of getting money from a trust loan even if it doesn’t sell. It makes more sense all around to get a trust loan; and everyone gets more money.“

Regarding the ever-present issue concerning families deciding to either sell inherited property; Or opting to keep property inherited from their parents – Mr. Wyatt  weighs in, telling us: 

“More heirs and beneficiaries end up not wanting to sell their inherited property. And  if they did want to sell, a lot of people can be easily convinced, with more cash from a trust loan and trust lender than an outside buyer would come up with, ‘equalizing’ things for them…

You have to look at it this way: there are always  one or two, minimum, who  insist on selling their shares in an inherited property. And there is our initial client contact, with those who want to sell.  And that is where these family estate or trust conflicts begin.  If they sell their property, capital gains tax always hits them. That’s where a trust loan comes in, to avoid that.

A trust lender like Commercial Loan Corp, that doesn’t charge any fees up-front, that’s another great benefit.  Plus, they don’t charge interest on their trust loan in advance. Not only that, there is never a “due-on-sale” clause… that requires the mortgage to be repaid in full when sold; or that all or some of the interest owed must be paid up-front to secure the mortgage. No “alienation clause”… in the event of a property transfer, stating the borrower has to pay back the mortgage in full before the borrower can transfer the property to anyone. 

Going with a firm like that – all costs are offset, unless you plan to keep a property for 2, 3 years or less. Then it doesn’t make sense. But generally you’re looking at keeping that property for seven or more years, as a rule...” 

contact inforation for trust loans and property tax consulting

To learn more about your options when inheriting a home from parents – transferring their low property tax base to your new primary residence – contact Michael Wyatt  Consulting, or the Commercial Loan Corp, at (877) 464-1066 to speak with a Trust Loan or Property Tax Savings specialist. Chances are the end result will be a much lower property tax bill.

Information for this California Property Tax News article was supplies from PropertyTaxNews.org. Please visit the Property Tax News website for additional information on California specific property tax news and information.