What happens to property tax when you buy in San Mateo County, California?
Why your bill can jump at purchase
California uses an acquisition-value basis (California Proposition 13 (BOE)): your assessed value is set at purchase and grows under an annual cap of 2%.
Current owners here pay a typical bill of about $9,518/yr (on the $1,559,600 county-median home).
Estimated bill by your purchase price
| Purchase price | Estimated annual tax | vs typical bill |
|---|---|---|
| $1,559,600 | $9,518/yr | +$0/yr |
| $1,949,500 | $11,898/yr | +$2,380/yr |
| $2,339,400 | $14,277/yr | +$4,759/yr |
Effective rate: 0.6103% · Tier 1 · Confidence: Medium. Reassessment toward the sale price modeled from the jurisdiction's assessment basis.
Source, method & confidence
Data as of 2024-12-31 (data version 2024.1).
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year, table B25103; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year, table B25077; California State Board of Equalization, Proposition 13.
How we model reassessment (methodology) · San Mateo County property tax overview