Californians Pay Low Property Taxes, Yet Tax Bills Are Spiking

LOS ANGELES, CA — Compared to other blue states, California residents pay among the lowest property taxes in the country with average property taxes of $5,087 in 2017, a fraction of what a New Yorker might pay, according to a new analysis from ATTOM Data. The 2017 property tax analysis found that California had the only 38th highest property tax rate — .76 percent— in the country.

Despite the low tax rates, the analysis found that the average tax amount in California actually jumped 6 percent in 2017 when compared to 2016. The average annual property tax in California for 2017 was $5,087 in 2017 and in 2016 that figure was $4,783.

County by county, the average property tax amount varies wildly thanks to the dramatic fluctuations in home values across the state. Residents in Marin County paid the highest average property tax in 2017: $11,295. The new tax bill signed into law by President Trump caps the state and local tax deduction, limiting the deduction residents can claim on their 2018 tax returns to $10,000. While the average property tax in 2017 was $5,729 in Los Angeles, $6,402 in Orange County, and $7,646 in San Francisco, many residents living in the counties’ most expensive neighborhoods are going to see taxes rise significantly in 2018.

The effective tax rate in Los Angeles-Orange County last year was .73 percent, an increase of 7 percent when compared to 2016, which was way higher than the increase in average property taxes nationwide — 3%.

“Across California, it’s not the percentage of property tax increase that is as concerning to consumers, as it is the net effect to cash flow, especially for an aging population on fixed incomes,” Michael Mahon, president at First Team Real Estate explained in the report. “This erosion of disposable income for many homeowners coupled with an aging housing inventory stock in need of repair across many areas of the state puts some homeowners in a difficult position where they have ample housing equity on paper but aren’t able to realize home value gains until a future sale of the property.”

Nationwide, ATTOM found that property taxes levied on single family homes went up 6 percent. Average property taxes for a single family home in 2017 went up 3 percent to $3,399 from the average property tax of $3,296 in 2016.

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