How do I fill out form BOE-19-B?

5 min read · Checked against BOE: 4 November 2026 · [Reviewer: pending attorney review]

Form BOE-19-B is the claim that moves the tax base of the home you sold to the home you bought. Its full name is the Claim for Transfer of Base Year Value to Replacement Primary Residence for Persons at Least Age 55 Years. Nothing happens until you file it. Escrow does not do it for you.

This guide follows the current sample form on the California Board of Equalization (BOE) site, revision 04 (05-25). Your county may hand you its own copy, so use the one the assessor gives you.

Who files it

You file it if you were at least 55 on the day your old home sold. The BOE instructions list the rules you must meet.

• The old home was sold, and it was in California.
• The old home was your main residence, either when it sold or within two years of buying the new one.
• The new home was bought or built within two years of the sale.
• You own the new home and live in it as your main residence on the day you file.
• The sale or the purchase happened on or after April 1, 2021.

The instructions also say an owner who is 55 or older, or severely disabled, can transfer a base year value up to three times. If the new home costs more than the limit, you still get partial relief. The calculator shows how that works.

Where and when

The claim goes to the assessor of the county where the new home is. The assessor list has a link for every county.

The form says the claim must be filed within three years of the date you bought the new home or finished building it. If you file after that, relief starts with the calendar year you file. Earlier years are not covered.

BOE's Prop 19 page says the claim is filed after both the sale and the purchase are done and you are living in the new home. See boe.ca.gov/prop19.

Section A: the new home

This part is about the replacement home.

• The assessor's parcel number and, if you know it, the recorder's document number.
• The date of purchase and the price, or the date and cost of new construction.
• The address, city and county.
• Whether you live there as your main residence.
• Whether it has more than one unit, and which unit is yours.
• Whether the work is new construction on a home that already got the transfer in the last two years.

Section B: the old home

This part is about the home you sold.

• The parcel number, the sale date and the sale price.
• The address. The form says the property must be in California.
• Whether it was your main residence, and the date it stopped being one.
• Whether it had more than one unit.
• Whether it went to a grandparent, parent, child or grandchild.
• Whether there was new construction after the last tax bill and before the sale.

If the old home is in a different county, the form says you must attach a copy of its latest property tax bill and any supplemental bills issued before the sale.

Section C: you, the claimant

The form asks for your name, date of birth and Social Security number, and whether you were at least 55 when the old home sold. It asks you to bring valid ID that shows your date of birth.

The instructions say giving your Social Security number is mandatory. The assessor uses it to check that you qualify, and the state uses it to stop anyone going over three transfers. The form says the claim is confidential and not open to public inspection.

You also say whether you have had a Prop 19 transfer for age or disability before. If yes, list the county and parcel number for each one.

Signing

You sign a statement under penalty of perjury. It says you live in the new home as your main residence, you were at least 55 when the old home sold, and everything on the form is true. Add your printed name, date, mailing address, phone and email.

What happens next

The form says all information is subject to verification, and an incomplete claim may not be processed. If it is approved, the base year value moves to the new home as of the latest of three dates: the sale, the purchase, or the end of construction.

That means if you buy first and sell later, you pay the higher tax on the new home until the old one sells. BOE's Prop 19 page says there is no refund for that period.

What to gather before you start

• ID with your date of birth.
• Your Social Security number.
• Sale date, sale price and parcel number of the old home.
• Purchase date, price and parcel number of the new home.
• County and parcel number of any earlier Prop 19 transfer.
• The old home's latest tax bill, if it is in another county.

Other versions of the form

• BOE-19-D is for owners who are severely and permanently disabled, filed with the certificate of disability, BOE-19-DC.
• BOE-19-V is for owners whose home was hit by a wildfire or other natural disaster.

For the bigger picture on filing, see how to file a Prop 19 claim. If you want help with the sale and the purchase, you can talk to Zarko.

This is general information from the BOE sources linked above. It is not tax or legal advice. Ask your county assessor for the current form, since counties may use their own version.

Quick questions

Source: California Board of Equalization, Proposition 19