The exclusion claim must be filed either
- within three years of the purchase or transfer of the property, or
- prior to the subsequent transfer of the property to a third party, whichever is earlier. However, if the claim is filed within six months after the date of mailing of the Assessor's notice of supplemental or escape assessment issued as a result of the purchase or transfer for which the claim is filed, the claim will be deemed timely. Further, if the property has not been transferred to a third party, the Assessor may grant the exclusion prospectively pursuant to an otherwise untimely claim, if certain conditions are met.
Let's explain these terms. The base year is the year when the property or portion thereof was purchased, newly constructed, or underwent a re-appraisable change in ownership by the current transferor. The base year value (also called 'original base year value') is the full market value of the home in that base year, typically either the purchase price or the 'Proposition 13 value.'
Proposition 13 was a 1978 Constitutional amendment to control rising property taxes. It limited the assessed value of existing real property to the1975-1976 assessed values, limited tax rates to one percent of assessed value (plus voter-approved surcharges), and limited inflation-based value increases to no more than two percent annually. Proposition 13 value is the full market value, adjusted by these limits. The factored base year value is the original base year value, adjusted by the annual inflation factor for each taxable year of the current transferor?s ownership.