CHAPTER 3. Assessment Generally [401. - 681.]
Chapter 3 enacted by Stats. 1939, Ch. 154.
§§ 401–681 · 175 sections
ARTICLE 1. General Requirements §§ 401–409 · 31 sections
- § 401 Every assessor shall assess all property subject to general property taxation at its full value.
- § 401.3 The assessor shall assess all property subject to general property taxation on the lien date as provided in Articles XIII and XIIIA of the Constitution and any…
- § 401.4 When valuing an owner-occupied single-family dwelling and the land on which it is situated that may be required for the convenient occupation and use of such…
- § 401.5 The board shall issue to assessors data relating to costs of property, or, with respect to commercial and industrial property, shall, after a public hearing,…
- § 401.6 (a) In any case in which the cost approach method is used to value special use property for purposes of taxation, the assessor shall not add a component for…
- § 401.8 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, commencing with the 1995–96 fiscal year, the county assessor shall determine the property tax assessed value in…
- § 401.10 (a) Notwithstanding any other law relating to the determination of the values upon which property taxes are based, values for each tax year from the 1984–85…
- § 401.12 Sections 401.10 and 401.11 do not abrogate, rescind, preclude, or otherwise affect any separate settlement agreement entered into prior to the effective date…
- § 401.13 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, on or after January 1, 1998, the assessor shall determine the assessed value of pipelines and related rights-of-way…
- § 401.15 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for any county that makes available the credits provided for in Section 5096.3, the full cash values of…
- § 401.16 If, for purposes of property taxation, the county assessor utilizes the reproduction or replacement cost approach to value to determine the value of tangible…
- § 401.17 (a) For the 2005–06 fiscal year to the 2016–17 fiscal year, inclusive, it shall be rebuttably presumed that the preallocated fair market value of each make,…
- § 401.20 (a) (1) The State Board of Equalization shall, in consultation with the California Assessors’ Association and representatives of the computer, semiconductor,…
- § 402 Cultivated and uncultivated land of the same quality and similarly situated shall be assessed at the same value.
- § 402.1 (a) In the assessment of land, the assessor shall consider the effect upon value of any enforceable restrictions to which the use of the land may be subjected.…
- § 402.2 Contracts with government agencies restricting the use of property for owner-occupied housing available at affordable cost shall be recorded. Nothing in this…
- § 402.3 An assessor shall consider any restrictive covenant, easement, restriction, or servitude adopted pursuant to Section 25202.5, 25222.1, or 79055 of the Health…
- § 402.5 When valuing property by comparison with sales of other properties, in order to be considered comparable, the sales shall be sufficiently near in time to the…
- § 402.9 In valuing property for persons of low and moderate income that is financed under Section 236 or Section 515 of the federal National Housing Act, since federal…
- § 402.95 In valuing property under the income method of appraisal, the assessor shall exclude from income the benefit from federal and state low-income housing tax…
- § 403 Land sold by the State for which no patent has been issued shall be assessed like other land, but the owner is entitled to a deduction from the assessed…
- § 404 All taxable property, except State assessed property, shall be assessed by the assessing agency of the taxing agency where the property is situated.
- § 405 (a) Annually, the assessor shall assess all the taxable property in his county, except state-assessed property, to the persons owning, claiming, possessing, or…
- § 405.5 The assessor shall periodically appraise all property not subject to the provisions of Article XIIIA of the Constitution to substantiate the judgment of its…
- § 407 Annually, on the second Monday in July, the assessor shall transmit a statistical statement to the board, supplying any statistical information which the board…
- § 408 (a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivisions (b), (c), (d), (e), and (g), any information and records in the assessor’s office that are not required by law…
- § 408.1 (a) The assessor shall maintain a list of transfers of any interest in property, other than undivided interests, within the county, which have occurred within…
- § 408.2 (a) Except as otherwise provided in Sections 63.1, 69.5, 451, and 481 of this code and in the provisions listed in Section 7920.505 of the Government Code, any…
- § 408.3 (a) Except as otherwise provided in Sections 451 and 481 and in the provisions listed in Section 7920.505 of the Government Code, property characteristics…
- § 408.4 (a) The assessor shall disclose information, furnish abstracts, or permit access to all records in his or her office to designated employees of a city’s…
- § 409 (a) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 7922.530 of the Government Code or any other statutory provision, if the assessor, pursuant to the request…
ARTICLE 1.3. Assessment of Implements of Husbandry §§ 410–414 · 5 sections
- § 410 It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this article to provide for a uniform system of assessment of all implements of husbandry in this state,…
- § 411 For the purposes of this article, “implement of husbandry” includes, but is not limited to, any tool, machine, equipment, appliance, device or apparatus used…
- § 412 The assessor of the county in which the implement of husbandry is located shall assess the implement as provided in this article.
- § 413 In assessing the implement of husbandry, the county assessor shall determine the value of the implement in accordance with standards and guides to the full…
- § 414 Upon request of the assessor of the county in which an implement of husbandry is located, the owner shall file with him a statement setting forth the make,…
ARTICLE 1.5. Valuation of Open-Space Land Subject to an Enforceable Restriction §§ 421–430.5 · 19 sections
- § 421 For the purposes of this article: (a) “Agricultural preserve” means an agricultural preserve created pursuant to the California Land Conservation Act of 1965…
- § 421.5 For purposes of this article, the following terms have the following meaning: (a) “Agricultural conservation easement” shall have the same meaning as defined…
- § 422 For the purposes of this article and within the meaning of Section 8 of Article XIII of the Constitution, open-space land is “enforceably restricted” if it is…
- § 422.5 For the purposes of this article, open-space land is “enforceably restricted” within the meaning of Section 8 of Article XIII of the California Constitution if…
- § 422.7 (a) For purposes of this section, the term “open-space land” includes land subject to contract for an urban agricultural incentive zone, as defined in…
- § 423 Except as provided in Sections 423.7 and 423.8, when valuing enforceably restricted open-space land, other than land used for the production of timber for…
- § 423.3 Any city or county may allow land subject to an enforceable restriction under the Williamson Act or a migratory waterfowl habitat contract to be assessed in…
- § 423.4 Land subject to a farmland security zone contract specified in Section 51296.1 of the Government Code shall be valued for assessment purposes at 65 percent of…
- § 423.5 When valuing open-space land which is enforceably restricted and used for the production of timber for commercial purposes, the county assessor shall not…
- § 423.7 (a) When valuing open-space land subject to a wildlife habitat contract, as defined in subdivision (f) of Section 421, the board, for purposes of surveys…
- § 423.8 (a) Notwithstanding the acreage requirement specified in subdivision (f) of Section 421, both of the following apply with respect to enrollment in a wildlife…
- § 423.9 Land which is zoned as timberland production pursuant to Chapter 6.7 (commencing with Section 51100) of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 5 of the Government Code…
- § 424 Parties to existing agreements and scenic easement deeds may modify such agreements and deeds to the requirements of Section 422.
- § 426 (a) Notwithstanding any provision of Section 423 to the contrary, if either the county, city, or nonprofit organization or the owner of land subject to…
- § 427 Nothing in this article shall prevent the board or the assessor, in valuing open-space land for assessment purposes from taking into consideration the…
- § 428 The provisions of this article shall not apply to any residence, including any agricultural laborer housing facility as provided for in Sections 51220, 51231,…
- § 429 Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 105(b) of this code, in valuing land enforceably restricted pursuant to this article, fruit-bearing or nut-bearing…
- § 430 There shall be a rebuttable presumption that the present use of open-space land which is enforceably restricted and devoted to agricultural use is its highest…
- § 430.5 No land shall be valued pursuant to this article unless an enforceable restriction meeting the requirements of Section 422 is signed, accepted, and recorded on…
ARTICLE 1.7. Valuation of Timberland and Timber §§ 431–437 · 10 sections
- § 431 For purposes of this article, the following terms have the following meaning: (a) “Timber” means trees of any species maintained for eventual harvest for…
- § 432 Any rule or regulation required to be adopted pursuant to this article shall be in compliance with procedures set forth for adoption of rules under the…
- § 433 When land is zoned as timberland production a notation of such zoning shall be made on the assessment rolls by the words “Timberland Production Zone” or the…
- § 434 On or before September 1, 1976, the board, after consultation with the Timber Advisory Committee, shall prepare instructions setting forth temporary criteria…
- § 434.1 (a) On or before March 1, 1977, the board after consultation with the Timber Advisory Committee shall adopt rules setting forth final procedures for grading…
- § 434.2 Within 30 days of the effective date of this section, the board shall appoint the timber advisory committee as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 431.
- § 434.5 (a) On March 1, 1984, for the Redwood Region and Pine-Mixed Conifer Region, and on January 1, 1985, for the Whitewood Subzone of the Redwood Region, and…
- § 435 (a) In preparing the assessment roll for the 1984–85 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, the assessor shall use as the value of each parcel of…
- § 436 On the lien date for the 1977–78 fiscal year and thereafter, all timber on both privately and publicly owned lands shall be exempt from property taxation,…
- § 437 Whenever the debt limit of a taxing agency is based wholly or in part on the assessed value of the agency, there shall be added to such assessed value the…
ARTICLE 1.9. Historical Property §§ 439–439.4 · 5 sections
- § 439 For the purposes of this article and within the meaning of Section 8 of Article XIII of the Constitution, property is “enforceably restricted” if it is subject…
- § 439.1 For purposes of this article “restricted historical property” means qualified historical property, as defined in Section 50280.1 of the Government Code, that…
- § 439.2 When valuing enforceably restricted historical property, the county assessor shall not consider sales data on similar property, whether or not enforceably…
- § 439.3 Notwithstanding any provision of Section 439.2 to the contrary, if either the county or city or the owner of restricted historical property subject to contract…
- § 439.4 No property shall be valued pursuant to this article unless an enforceable restriction meeting the requirements of Section 439 is signed, accepted and recorded…
ARTICLE 2. Information From Taxpayer §§ 441–470 · 27 sections
- § 441 (a) Each person owning taxable personal property, other than a manufactured home subject to Part 13 (commencing with Section 5800), having an aggregate cost of…
- § 441.5 (a) In lieu of completing the property statement as printed by the assessor pursuant to Section 452, the assessor may accept the information required of the…
- § 442 (a) The property statement shall show all taxable property owned, claimed, possessed, controlled, or managed by the person filing it and required to be…
- § 443 The property statement shall also show: (a) The county where the property is taxable. (b) If taxable in the county where the statement is made, any city or…
- § 443.1 If the property statement is timely filed in duplicate with a request that the assessor mark on the duplicate statement opposite each category of property…
- § 445 The property statement shall show a description of property, in the detail required. Such required detail may include the cost of the property if the…
- § 448 The property statement shall show all information as of 12:01 a.m. on the lien date.
- § 451 All information requested by the assessor or furnished in the property statement shall be held secret by the assessor. The statement is not a public document…
- § 452 (a) For the assessment year beginning in 1968 and each assessment year thereafter, the board shall prescribe in detail the content of property statements,…
- § 453 The assessor may request any person found within his county to make and subscribe an affidavit, showing his name, place of residence or place of business, and…
- § 454 The assessor may subpena and examine any person in relation to: (a) any statement furnished him, or (b) any statement disclosing property assessable in his…
- § 455 The assessor shall not combine parcels into a single assessment when any of those parcels have been declared to be tax defaulted for delinquent taxes. This…
- § 456 If the assessor has not received from the owner of a tract of land a legal description or a description which geographically locates the property, he may…
- § 457 If the owner, agent, or person in possession neglects to furnish the assessor with the description within 10 days after the request, the assessor shall cite…
- § 458 If the court finds the land has not been surveyed or divided so that it can be legally described, the court shall, by order duly entered in open court, direct…
- § 459 The expense of making the survey and description by the county surveyor is a lien on the land, and, when approved by the superior court, shall be certified by…
- § 459.5 Sections 457, 458, and 459 are applicable when the owner, his agent, or person in possession neglects to furnish the assessor of any taxing agency, including a…
- § 460 If the owner or claimant of any property, not listed by another person, is absent or unknown, the assessor shall estimate its value.
- § 461 Every person who willfully states anything which he knows to be false in any oral or written statement, not under oath, required or authorized to be made as…
- § 462 Every person is guilty of a misdemeanor who, after written request by the assessor, does any of the following: (a) Refuses to make available to the assessor…
- § 463 (a) If any person who is required by law or is requested by the assessor to make an annual property statement fails to file an annual property statement within…
- § 464 All moneys recovered by the assessor under Section 463 shall be paid into the county treasury.
- § 465 (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the assessor may destroy any document when six years have elapsed since the lien date for the tax year for which…
- § 467 Annually, on or before March 20th, every taxing agency shall file with the assessor of the county in which the property is located statements containing legal…
- § 468 In addition to any other remedies described in this article, if any person fails to furnish any information or records required by this article upon request by…
- § 469 (a) The assessor shall annually conduct a significant number of audits of the books and records of taxpayers engaged in a profession, trade, or business who…
- § 470 (a) Upon request of an assessor, a person owning, claiming, possessing, or controlling property subject to local assessment shall make available at his or her…
ARTICLE 2.5. Change in Ownership Reporting §§ 480–487 · 16 sections
- § 480 (a) Whenever there occurs any change in ownership of real property, a manufactured home, or a floating home that is subject to local property taxation and is…
- § 480.1 (a) Whenever there is a change in control of any corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other legal entity, as defined in subdivision (c) of…
- § 480.2 (a) Whenever there is a change in ownership of any corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or other legal entity, as defined in subdivision (d) of…
- § 480.3 (a) Each county assessor and recorder shall make available, without charge and upon request, a form entitled “Preliminary Change of Ownership Report,” which…
- § 480.4 (a) The preliminary change of ownership report referred to in Section 480.3 shall give information relative to the transfer. The information shall include, but…
- § 480.5 (a) Every owner of tax-exempt real property shall report to the local assessor the creation, renewal, sublease, or assignment of any lease, sublease, license,…
- § 480.6 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a holder of a possessory interest in real property that is owned by a state or local governmental entity is not…
- § 480.7 (a) On or after January 1, 1996, in addition to any filing required to be made pursuant to Section 441, 480, 480.1, or 480.2, any domestic life insurance…
- § 480.8 (a) (1) For purposes of complying with the change in ownership provisions of Section 65.1 and subdivision (i) of Section 61, upon a written request of the…
- § 481 All information requested by the assessor or the board pursuant to this article or furnished in the change in ownership statement shall be held secret by the…
- § 482 (a) (1) If a person or legal entity required to file a statement described in Section 480 fails to do so within 90 days from the date a written request is…
- § 482.1 If there is a failure to file a change in ownership statement within the time required by subdivision (b) of Section 480, the successor in interest to the…
- § 483 (a) If the assessee establishes to the satisfaction of the county board of equalization or the assessment appeals board that the failure to file the change in…
- § 484 With the exception of the penalty provision of Section 463, the provisions of Article 2 (commencing with Section 441) shall be available to the assessor for…
- § 485 If, after written request by the assessor, any person fails to comply with any provision of law for furnishing information required by Section 480, the…
- § 487 Any life insurance company that completes a real property transaction for which approval was obtained from the Insurance Commissioner pursuant to Section 10506…
ARTICLE 3. Arbitrary and Penal Assessments §§ 501–506 · 6 sections
- § 501 If after written request by the assessor, any person fails to comply with any provision of law for furnishing information required by Sections 441 and 470, the…
- § 502 If any person willfully conceals, fails to disclose, removes, transfers or misrepresents tangible personal property to evade taxation which results in an…
- § 503 If any taxpayer or the taxpayer’s agent through a fraudulent act or omission causes, or if any fraudulent collusion between the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s…
- § 504 There shall be added to any assessment made pursuant to Section 502, except those assessments as are placed on the current roll prior to the time it is…
- § 505 The assessor shall make an assessment subject to penalty by entering on the local roll the assessment and penalty in such form and manner as prescribed by the…
- § 506 The tax rate applicable to any assessment made pursuant to this article shall be the tax rate to which the property would have been subject if it appeared upon…
ARTICLE 4. Property Escaping Assessment §§ 531–538 · 18 sections
- § 531 If any property belonging on the local roll has escaped assessment, the assessor shall assess the property on discovery at its value on the lien date for the…
- § 531.1 Upon the termination of an exemption pursuant to Section 271.5 or 276.3, upon receipt of a notice pursuant to Section 284, or upon indication from any audit or…
- § 531.2 (a) When the property is real property which subsequent to July 1 of the year of escape for purposes of this article, or subsequent to July 1 of the year in…
- § 531.3 If the assessor requires an assessee to describe personal property in such detail as shows the cost thereof but the assessee omits to report the cost of the…
- § 531.4 When an assessee files with the assessor a property statement or report on a form prescribed by the board with respect to property held or used in a…
- § 531.5 If a business inventories exemption has been incorrectly allowed because of erroneous or incorrect information submitted by the taxpayer or his agent…
- § 531.6 The taxpayer who has filed a claim for the homeowners’ exemption which has not been denied by the assessor is responsible for notifying the assessor when the…
- § 531.7 If property has not been legally assessable on the local secured roll for any year because the property has been tax deeded to a taxing agency other than the…
- § 531.8 No escape assessment shall be enrolled under this article before 10 days after the assessor has mailed or otherwise delivered to the affected taxpayer a…
- § 531.9 A county board of supervisors may, by ordinance, prohibit an assessor from making an escape assessment of an appraisal unit where that assessment would result…
- § 532 (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), any assessment made pursuant to either Article 3 (commencing with Section 501) or this article shall be made within…
- § 532.1 (a) If, before the expiration of the period specified in Section 532 for making an escape assessment, the taxpayer and the assessor have agreed in writing to…
- § 532.2 Notwithstanding Section 532, the assessor shall assess as escaped property any property for which a welfare exemption was granted while that property was “in…
- § 533 (a) If an escape assessment is made as a result of an audit that discloses that property assessed to the party audited has been incorrectly assessed either for…
- § 534 (a) Assessments made pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 501) or this article shall be treated like, and taxed at the same rate applicable to,…
- § 535 This article does not apply to intangibles.
- § 536 Any amount paid by the state to reimburse local taxing agencies for loss of revenue resulting from incorrectly allowed exemptions, if not repaid to the state,…
- § 538 (a) If the assessor believes that a specific provision of the Constitution of the State of California, of this division, or of a rule or regulation of the…
ARTICLE 5. Tax Deeded Property § 568 · 1 section
- § 568 (a) All property which has been declared tax defaulted, whether or not subject to a power of sale by the tax collector for defaulted taxes, shall be assessed.…
ARTICLE 6. Assessment Roll §§ 601–623 · 21 sections
- § 601 The assessor shall prepare an assessment roll, as directed by the board, in which shall be listed all property within the county which it is the assessor’s…
- § 602 This local roll shall show: (a) The name and address, if known, of the assessee. The assessor is not required to maintain electronic mail addresses. (b) Land,…
- § 606 (a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c), when any tract of land is situated in two or more revenue districts, the part in each district shall be…
- § 607 Land and improvements thereon shall be separately assessed.
- § 607.5 In the event that a separate assessment of rights and privileges appertaining to mines or minerals and land is made, the descriptive words “mining rights” or…
- § 608 Improvements shall be assessed by the assessor by showing their value opposite the description of the parcel of land on which they are located, if they are…
- § 609 Taxable improvements on land exempt from taxation shall be shown like other real estate on the roll. Value shall not be assessed against the exempt land and…
- § 610 (a) Land once described on the roll need not be described a second time, but any person, claiming and desiring to be assessed for it, may have his or her name…
- § 611 If the name of an absent owner is known to the assessor, or in the case of real property, if it appears of record in the office of the county recorder, the…
- § 612 When a person is assessed as agent, trustee, bailee, guardian, conservator, executor, or administrator, his representative designation shall be added to his…
- § 613 A mistake in the name of the owner or supposed owner of real estate does not render invalid an assessment or any deed to a purchaser at a tax sale. A mistake…
- § 614 After each assessment of tax-defaulted property the assessor shall enter on the roll the fact that it is tax defaulted and the date of the declaration of…
- § 615 The assessor shall prepare an index to the local roll, in the form prescribed by the board, showing the name of the assessee, each place therein where his…
- § 616 On or before July 1, annually, the assessor shall complete the local roll. He shall make and subscribe an affidavit on the roll substantially as follows: “I,…
- § 617 As soon as the assessor completes the local roll, he shall deliver it to the auditor.
- § 618 Notwithstanding any other provisions of state law, when the assessment roll is a machine-prepared roll the contents of the roll and the arrangement of property…
- § 619 (a) Except as provided in subdivision (f), the assessor shall, upon or prior to completion of the local roll, do either of the following: (1) Inform each…
- § 619.2 Where the personal property on the secured roll of a person not required to file a property statement pursuant to Section 441 is assessed in excess of one…
- § 620 If the assessor does not send a notice pursuant to Section 619 or 621 to an assessee whose property was not on the prior year’s secured roll, or to an assessee…
- § 621 In any county the assessor, with the approval of the board of supervisors, may give the information required by Section 619, and similar information with…
- § 623 The assessor may place a single assessment on the roll for all leased personal property in the county that is assessed with respect to the same taxpayer. Any…
ARTICLE 7. Information to Other Taxing Agencies §§ 646–649 · 4 sections
- § 646 The records of the assessor are at all times, during office hours, open to the inspection of any person charged with the duty of assessing property in the…
- § 647 (a) If any city or lighting, water, or irrigation district, or any district described in Section 2131, on behalf of which the county does the assessing, makes…
- § 648 If any city or lighting, water, or irrigation district makes a written request for a description of all property within its limits that is on the unsecured…
- § 649 The assessor may charge other taxing agencies the actual cost for each copy of the secured roll or description from the unsecured roll furnished them.
ARTICLE 8. Appraiser Qualifications §§ 670–673 · 4 sections
- § 670 (a) No person shall perform the duties or exercise the authority of an appraiser for property tax purposes as an employee of the state, any county or city and…
- § 671 (a) In order to retain a valid appraiser’s certificate every holder shall complete at least 24 hours of training conducted or approved by the State Board of…
- § 672 At the time of certification, each applicant shall disclose, on forms provided by the Board of Equalization, his or her financial interest in any corporation.…
- § 673 The State Board of Equalization may issue a temporary certificate to a person who is newly employed by the state, any county, city and county, or appraisal…
ARTICLE 8.5. Assessment Analyst Certificates §§ 674–680 · 7 sections
- § 674 (a) An assessor or any person employed by the office of the county assessor shall not make decisions with regard to changes in ownership unless he or she is…
- § 675 (a) (1) In order to retain a valid certificate, every certified assessment analyst shall complete at least 24 hours of training conducted or approved by the…
- § 676 (a) At the time of certification, each applicant shall disclose, on forms provided by the board, his or her financial interest in any legal entity. Thereafter,…
- § 677 The board may issue a temporary certificate to an assessor who is newly elected or appointed or to any person newly employed by the office of the county…
- § 678 The board may issue an interim certificate to a current assessor or to any person who is currently employed by the office of the county assessor, and who is…
- § 679 This article shall not be construed to impede an assessor from managing his or her staff resources efficiently, and in a manner that allows noncertificated…
- § 680 This article shall only apply in counties or cities and counties that have passed a resolution upon the recommendation of the assessor to require certification…
ARTICLE 9. Consultant Contracts § 681 · 1 section
- § 681 (a) All contracts for the performance of appraisal work for assessors by any person who is not an employee of the state, any county, or any city shall be…