How Did Prop 19, Senate Bill 539 Change Property Taxes For Agriculture Inheritance? Find Out November 17

Join SLO County Farm Bureau on Wednesday, November 17 at 10am for a free online webinar explaining the implications for California farmers and ranchers from the recently-passed Senate Bill 539. Speakers include SLO County Assessor Tom Bordonaro and Victor J. Herrera, attorney at Carmel & Naccasha LLP. SB 539 clarifies a confusing, narrowly-passed Nov. 2020 initiative, Proposition 19, which limits tax protections for a parent or grandparent passing down their land to their kids. The three key provisions for property tax assessments under Prop. 19 as it was passed were: If you don’t live in the property that was also your parent’s primary residence, the low Prop. 13 assessment will be stripped away and replaced with a new, much higher market value. This new approach also would have limited the transfer of the old tax base to the first $1 million of market value over the old tax base for an entire farm or ranch. It would have raised the taxes on the difference between the old tax base and the market value above $1 million plus the old tax base on the entire ranch or farm. Since Prop. 19’s passage, Farm Bureau and Assessor Tom Bordonaro have negotiated with state leaders to minimize the property tax implications for agriculture, and we are proud to report that SB 539 actually strengthens the tax protections that existed prior to Prop. 19 for family farmers and ranchers. SB 539 now clarifies that each legal parcel, rather than the farm or ranch as a whole, will be assessed as a “family farm” under Prop. 19. The bill also clarifies that a “family home” and a “family farm” legal parcel upon which the family home is located are eligible for individual exclusions from property tax reassessment under Prop. 19. Hear from the experts and get your questions answered in this free event hosted by San Luis Obispo County Farm Bureau. For questions, please contact SLO County Farm Bureau Executive Director Brent Burchett at 805-543-3654 or bburchett@slofarmbureau.org This webinar will be recorded and available for registrants. To register, visit slofarmbureau.org