How is Los Angeles property tax calculated if a 50% owner later buys out the other 50%?
When property changes hands the sale prices may or may not be used to determine the appraised value of the property, and they may or may not be used to determine the appraised value of other properties. Because of the nature of the transaction: you already have an existing business relationship, the local government is likely to ignore the data point provided by your transaction when determining values of similar properties. They have no idea if there was some other factor used to determine the price. They will also not include in the calculation transactions that are a result of foreclosure becasue the target price is the loan value not the true value.  California and some other jurisdictions do add another wrinkle. You will need to determine if the transaction will trigger a reevaluation of the property value. In some states the existing laws of the state limited the annual growth of the assessment, but that could now be recaptured if the jurisdiction rules that this is a new ownership: California Board of Equalization - Change in Ownership - Frequently Asked Questions How does a change in ownership affect property taxes? Each county assessor's office reviews all recorded deeds for that   county to determine which properties require reappraisal under the   law. The county assessors may also discover changes in ownership   through other means, such as taxpayer self-reporting, field   inspections, review of building permits and newspapers. Once the   county assessor has determined that a change in ownership has   occurred, Proposition 13 requires the county assessor to reassess the   property to its current fair market value as of the date ownership   changed. Since property taxes are based on the assessed value of a property at   the time of acquisition, a current market value that is higher than   the previously assessed Proposition 13 adjusted base year value will   increase the property taxes. Conversely, if the current market value   is lower than the previously assessed Proposition 13 adjusted base   year value, then the property taxes on that property will decrease. Only that portion of the property that changes ownership, however, is   subject to reappraisal. For example, if 50 percent of the property is   transferred, the assessor will reassess only 50 percent of the   property at its current fair market value as of the date of the   transfer, and deduct 50 percent from any existing Proposition 13 base   year value. In most cases, when a person buys a residence, the entire   property undergoes a change in ownership and 100 percent of the   property is reassessed to its current market value.