Start at roughly 1% of assessed value under Prop 13, so about $10,000 a year on a $1,000,000 home, then add the local extras. California's base rate is set by Prop 13 at about 1% of assessed value. Two add-ons move the real number: - Voter-approved local bonds add a bit on top of the 1%, and the amount varies by district. - Mello-Roos assessments on some newer communities fund local infrastructure and can add a meaningful chunk. Because of those, lenders often qualify you using about 1.25%, which is deliberately conservative and usually runs higher than the true figure. In plenty of established San Diego and Orange County neighborhoods the effective rate lands closer to 1.1%. Don't estimate when you can look it up. The county assessor's site lets you search the exact parcel and see the actual assessed value and current rate, and listing sites like Redfin show the assessed value and annual tax dollars, which tend to be accurate for homes that sold recently near their current price. Rates and assessments vary parcel by parcel, so confirm the number for the specific home before it goes into your budget. If you want that real figure folded into your full payment math, that's exactly what we do in the free Roadmap conversation, about 20 minutes where we run your real numbers.