Berkeley Tax Measure Impact Calculator

How much will Berkeley's proposed tax measures cost you — and what happens if some don't pass?

Berkeley property tax measures come in two flavors. Some are charged based on your home's assessed value (AV) — the higher your AV, the more you pay. Others are charged per square foot (sq ft) of your home — the bigger your home, the more you pay. Measure names below are colored to match: blue = AV-based, orange = sq ft-based. Even if no new measures pass, your bill will still go up every year: under Proposition 13, California limits AV growth to 2% per year, and Berkeley's assessed values increase by that full 2% annually. That baseline increase is already built into the result below. Additionally, there are new sales taxes also being proposed.

Tax Measures — check to include, uncheck to exclude

Proposed New Property Tax Measures

Public Bank Tax per sq ft levy

$0.06 / sq ft

Arts Tax per sq ft levy

$0.07 / sq ft

Infrastructure Bond $300M bond as placed on ballot 6/2026 (city est. avg rate)

$22.14 / $100k AV

Proposed New Sales Taxes

Berkeley Sales Tax Increase flat estimate — edit to match your spending

+0.5%

County Sales Tax Increase for BART flat estimate — edit to match your spending

+0.5%

Increases in Existing Parcel Taxes

Parcel Tax Rate Increase FY2027 adopted increase for existing city parcel taxes (4.95% escalator), totaling $0.0519 / sq ft

$0.0519 / sq ft

Baseline Assumptions

AV Increase (Prop 13)

2% per year

California law caps annual AV growth at 2%

Base Tax Rate

1.2323%

Set by Alameda County · not a policy lever

Baseline Increase Formula

AV × 2% × 1.2323%

Year-over-year increase from AV growth alone

Your Estimated Tax Increase

Assessed Value

Square Footage

Last Year's Tax Bill (optional) Look it up →

Estimated Year-Over-Year Increase

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Breakdown

Total $ increase in taxes

Columns represent the assessed value of your home, not its market value. Rows represent the square footage.

To show % increase, enter last year's total property tax bill.
Look it up at the Alameda County Property Tax portal →

Last Year's Total Bill ($)

Notes:

The result shows the estimated year-over-year increase in your property tax bill for your home's size and assessed value. The assessed value is what the county has on record — typically lower than market value, and capped at 2% annual growth by Prop 13. Berkeley applies that full 2% cap every year, so even with all measures unchecked you'll see a non-zero increase.

Uncheck any measure to instantly model a world where it didn't pass. Enter last year's bill to see the increase as a percentage.

What's on your Berkeley tax bill? → — A full breakdown of every line item on a typical Berkeley property tax invoice, including all existing parcel taxes, ad valorem rates, school district levies, and proposed 2026 measures.

Take the straw poll → — Which proposed 2026 measures would you vote for? Record your preferences and see how your neighbors feel.