California Proposition 13 & Propostion 8
CALIFORNIA PROPOSITION 13
Under Proposition 13, real property is only reassessed when a change- in-ownership occurs, or when new construction or home improvements take place. Generally, these are the only two instances that allow for property assessments to be increased above original assessed value. (Except for these two instances only a 2% increase of previous Fiscal years assessed value is allowed annually to keep up with inflation.)
CALIFORNIA PROPOSITION 8
Under Proposition 8, if the current market value of a property (Within the statute for appeal purposes) falls below the current assessed value, the property owner is entitled to a temporary reduction in real property taxes upon appeal.
The county assessor is required to annually enroll either a property's Proposition 13 value (Factoring in inflation no more than 2% annually), or its current market value if it's less. When a lower market value replaces the Proposition 13 value it's referred to as the "Prop 8 Value."
