Prop 13's 2 percent limit is on the factored base-year value

Start with three county figures. Find the assessed value and the factored base-year value. Also check for a Proposition 8 decline-in-value status.

The base-year value is generally the 1975 value. A new one may be set when the property changes ownership or gets new construction. State law has some exclusions. Each year, the base-year value is adjusted by the lower of two amounts: the change in the California Consumer Price Index or 2 percent. The result is the factored base-year value.

January 1 is the lien date for the annual assessment. On that date, the assessor uses the lower of the factored base-year value or current market value. A temporary Proposition 8 cut can later rise by more than 2 percent in one year as the market comes back. But it cannot rise above the factored base-year value unless there is another change in ownership or new construction.

So, the 2 percent limit does not cap every rise in assessed value. It also does not cap the full tax bill. Proposition 13 limits the tax rate to 1 percent, plus the rate needed for bonded debt that voters approved. Ask the assessor about the value. Ask the tax collector about the bill.