531-538
REVENUE AND TAXATION CODE
SECTION 531-538
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 year for which it escaped
assessment. It shall be subject to the tax rate in effect in the year
of its escape except as provided in Section 2905 of this code.
Property shall be deemed to have escaped assessment when its owner
fails to file a property statement pursuant to the provisions of
Section 441, to the extent that this failure results in no assessment
or an assessment at a valuation lower than would have obtained had
the property been properly reported. Escape assessments made as the
result of an owner's failure to file a property statement as herein
provided shall be subject to the penalty and interest imposed by
Sections 463 and 506, respectively. This paragraph shall not
constitute a limitation on any other provision of this article.
531.1. Upon the termination of an exemption pursuant to Section
276.3, upon receipt of a notice pursuant to Section 284, or upon
indication from any audit or other source that an exemption has been
incorrectly allowed, the assessor shall make a redetermination of
eligibility for the exemption. If an exemption or any portion of an
exemption has been terminated or has been incorrectly allowed, an
escape assessment in the amount of the exemption, or that portion of
the exemption that has been terminated or erroneously allowed, with
interest as provided in Section 506, shall be made; except that where
the exemption was terminated pursuant to Section 276.3 or where the
exemption or a portion of the exemption was allowed as the result of
an assessor's error, the amount of interest shall be forgiven. If the
exemption was incorrectly allowed because of erroneous or incorrect
information submitted by the claimant with knowledge that the
information was erroneous or incomplete, the penalty provided in
Section 504 shall be added to the assessment.
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 which the property should have
been lawfully assessed, for purposes of Article 3 (commencing with
Section 501), but prior to the date of that assessment and the
showing thereof on the secured roll, with the date of entry specified
thereon, has (1) been transferred or conveyed to a bona fide
purchaser for value, or (2) become subject to a lien of a bona fide
encumbrance for value, the escape assessment pursuant to either of
these articles shall not create or impose a lien or charge on that
real property, but shall be entered on the unsecured roll in the name
of the person who would have been the assessee in the year in which
it escaped assessment and shall thereafter be treated and collected
like other taxes on that roll. The tax rate applicable shall be the
secured tax rate of the year in which the property escaped
assessment.
(b) If the real property escaped assessment as a result of an
unrecorded change in ownership or change in control for which a
change in ownership statement required by Section 480, 480.1, or
480.2, or a preliminary change in ownership report, pursuant to
Section 480.3, is not filed, the assessor shall appraise the property
as of the date of transfer and enroll the difference in taxable
value for each of the subsequent years on the secured roll, with the
date of entry specified thereon. However, if prior to the date of the
assessment the property has (1) been transferred or conveyed to a
bona fide purchaser for value, or (2) become subject to a lien of a
bona fide encumbrance for value, the escape assessment pursuant to
this paragraph shall not create or impose a lien or charge on that
real property, but shall be entered on the unsecured roll in the name
of the person who would have been the assessee in the year in which
it escaped assessment and shall thereafter be treated and collected
like other taxes on that roll. The tax rate applicable shall be the
secured rate of the year in which the property escaped assessment.
"Assessment year" means the period defined in Section 118.
In the event of a failure to file a change in ownership statement
required by Section 480, 480.1, or 480.2, or a preliminary change in
ownership report, pursuant to Section 480.3, the interest provided in
Section 506 may, by the order of the board of supervisors, be added.
(c) (1) Taxes resulting from escape assessments shall be prorated
pursuant to paragraphs (2) to (5), inclusive, only if the board of
supervisors of a county has adopted a resolution specifying that
taxes shall be prorated pursuant to this subdivision.
(2) When real property has been transferred or conveyed to a bona
fide purchaser for value subsequent to July 1 of the year of escape
for purposes of this article, or subsequent to July 1 of the year in
which the property should have been lawfully assessed, for purposes
of Article 3 (commencing with Section 501), taxes resulting from
escape assessments pursuant to this section shall be prorated between
the following:
(A) The person who would have been the assessee if the change in
ownership had not occurred.
(B) The person who purchased the property.
(3) If the real property has been transferred or conveyed to a
bona fide purchaser for value more than once during the year of
escape or assessment, each owner of record during that period shall
be liable for a pro rata share of taxes based on the length of time
during that period each bona fide purchaser was the record owner of
that real property.
(4) When the assessor has identified the fact and amount of the
escape assessment, the assessor shall identify the owners of record
during the year of escape or assessment and the dates of ownership
for each owner.
(5) The auditor shall compute the respective prorated shares of
taxes for each owner of record. The share of taxes of the current
owner of the real property shall be placed on the secured roll as a
lien on the parcel for which the escaped assessment was discovered.
The share of taxes of any previous owner during the year of escape or
assessment shall be entered on the unsecured roll.
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 property accurately, notwithstanding
that this information is available to the assessee, to the extent
that this omission on the part of the assessee causes the assessor
not to assess the property or to assess it at a lower valuation than
he would enter upon the roll were the cost reported to him
accurately, that portion of the property as to which the cost is
unreported, in whole or in part, shall be assessed as required by
law. If the omission is willful or fraudulent, the penalty and
interest provided in Sections 504 and 506 shall be added to the
additional assessment; otherwise only the interest provided in
Section 506 shall be so added.
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 profession, trade or business and the
statement fails to report any taxable tangible property accurately,
regardless of whether this information is available to the assessee,
to the extent that this failure causes the assessor not to assess the
property or to assess it at a lower valuation than he would enter on
the roll if the property had been reported to him accurately, that
portion of the property which is not reported accurately, in whole or
in part, shall be assessed as required by law. If the failure to
report the property accurately is willful or fraudulent, the penalty
and interest provided in Sections 504 and 506 shall be added to the
additional assessment; otherwise only the interest provided in
Section 506 shall be added.
531.5. If a business inventories exemption has been incorrectly
allowed because of erroneous or incorrect information submitted by
the taxpayer or his agent misclassifying as business inventories
property not includible in "business inventories," as that term is
defined in Section 129, an escape assessment in the amount of the
exemption shall be made on discovery of the error. Interest shall be
added to the assessment in the amount and manner provided by Section
506. If the exemption was incorrectly allowed because of erroneous or
incorrect information submitted by the taxpayer or his agent with
knowledge that such information was erroneous or incorrect, the
penalty provided in Section 504 shall be added to the assessment.
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 property is no longer eligible
for the exemption.
Upon any indication that a homeowners' exemption has been
incorrectly allowed, the assessor shall make a redetermination of
eligibility for the homeowners' exemption. If the assessor determines
that the property is no longer eligible for the exemption, he shall
immediately cancel the exemption on the property.
If a homeowners' exemption has been incorrectly allowed, an escape
assessment as allowed by Section 531.1 in the amount of the
exemption with interest as provided in Section 506 shall be made,
except that where the exemption was allowed as the result of an
assessor's error, the amount of interest shall be forgiven. If the
exemption was incorrectly allowed because of erroneous or incorrect
information submitted by the claimant with knowledge that such
information was erroneous or incomplete or because the claimant
failed to notify the assessor in a timely manner that the property
was no longer eligible for the exemption, the penalty provided in
Section 504 shall be added to the assessment. If the property subject
to this paragraph has been transferred or conveyed to a bona fide
purchaser for value during the period commencing with the lien date
and ending July 1 of the fiscal year for which such exemption was
incorrectly allowed, and the claimant is not the purchaser, any
amount of penalty provided by Section 504 or any amount of interest
provided by Section 506 imposed pursuant to the escape assessment due
to such incorrect homeowners' exemption shall be forgiven.
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 state, the property shall be deemed
to have escaped assessment for that year and shall be subject to this
article if any of the following circumstances apply:
(a) The property has not been declared tax defaulted for
delinquent taxes.
(b) The property has been redeemed from the tax sale and deeded to
the taxing agency.
(c) The tax deed to the taxing agency has been held to be invalid
and has been canceled; provided, however, that the statute of
limitations provided for in Section 532 shall not apply.
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 "Notice of Proposed Escape Assessment"
with respect to one or more specified tax years. The notice shall
prominently display on its face the following heading:
"NOTICE OF PROPOSED ESCAPE ASSESSMENT"
The notice shall contain all of the following:
(a) The amount of the proposed escape assessments for each tax
year at issue.
(b) The telephone number of the assessor's office to allow a
taxpayer to contact that office with respect to the proposed escape
assessment or assessments.
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 in an amount of taxes due which is less
than the cost of assessing and collecting them. In no event may the
ordinance apply to any escape assessment of an appraisal unit if the
amount of taxes resulting from the escape assessment would exceed
fifty dollars ($50).
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 four years after July 1 of the
assessment year in which the property escaped taxation or was
underassessed.
(b) (1) Any assessment to which the penalty provided for in
Section 504 must be added shall be made within eight years after July
1 of the assessment year in which the property escaped taxation or
was underassessed.
(2) Any assessment resulting from an unrecorded change in
ownership for which either a change in ownership statement, as
required by Section 480 or a preliminary change in ownership report,
as required by Section 480.3, is not timely filed with respect to the
event giving rise to the escape assessment or underassessment shall
be made within eight years after July 1 of the assessment year in
which the property escaped taxation or was underassessed. For
purposes of this paragraph, an "unrecorded change in ownership" means
a deed or other document evidencing a change in ownership that was
not filed with the county recorder's office at the time the event
took place.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), in the case where
property has escaped taxation, in whole or in part, or has been
underassessed, following a change in ownership or change in control
and either the penalty provided for in Section 503 must be added or a
change in ownership statement, as required by Section 480.1 or 480.2
was not filed with respect to the event giving rise to the escape
assessment or underassessment, an escape assessment shall be made for
each year in which the property escaped taxation or was
underassessed.
(c) For purposes of this section, "assessment year" means the
period defined in Section 118.
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 extend the time for making an
assessment, correction, or claim for refund, the assessment may be
made at any time prior to the expiration of the period agreed upon.
The period may be extended by subsequent agreements in writing made
before the expiration of the period previously agreed upon.
(b) If the assessor mails or otherwise delivers a "Notice of
Proposed Escape Assessment" under Section 531.8 as to any assessment
year for which the period for making an escape assessment, including
any extension pursuant to subdivision (a), will expire in less than
90 days after the date of mailing or delivery of that notice, then
that period, and any limitations period on the filing of a refund
claim with respect to the same assessment year, shall be extended to
the 90th day after the date of mailing or delivery. Subsequent
mailings or deliveries of a "Notice of Proposed Escape Assessment"
for the same assessment year shall not establish any further
extension.
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 the course of construction," as
defined in Section 214.2, if either of the following occurs:
(a) Construction is abandoned.
(b) Upon completion of the construction, the property is used
other than exclusively for religious, hospital, or charitable
purposes. If, upon completion of construction, a portion of the
property is used other than exclusively for religious, hospital, or
charitable purposes, the assessor shall assess as escaped property
only that portion of the property so used.
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 a past tax year for which taxes have
been paid and a claim for refund is not barred by Section 5097 or for
any tax year for which the taxes are unpaid, the tax refunds
resulting from the incorrect assessments shall be an offset against
proposed tax liabilities, including accumulated penalties and
interest, resulting from escaped assessments for any tax year covered
by the audit.
(b) If a tax refund, authorized under this section exceeds any
proposed tax liabilities, including accumulated penalties and
interest, the party audited shall be notified by the tax collector of
the amount of the excess and of the fact that a claim for
cancellation or refund may be filed with the county as provided by
Section 5096 or 5096.7.
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, property regularly assessed on the roll on
which it is entered, unless the assessment relates to a prior year
and then the tax rate of the prior year shall be applied, except that
the tax rate for years prior to the 1981-82 fiscal year shall be
divided by four.
(b) No assessment described in subdivision (a) shall be effective
for any purpose, including its review, equalization and adjustment by
the Board of Equalization, until the assessee has been notified
thereof personally or by United States mail at his or her address as
contained in the official records of the county assessor. For
purposes of Section 532, the assessment shall be deemed made on the
date on which it is entered on the roll pursuant to Section 533, if
the assessee is notified of the assessment within 60 days after the
statute of limitations or the placing of the escape assessment on the
assessment roll. Otherwise the assessment shall be deemed made only
on the date the assessee is so notified.
(c) The notice given by the assessor pursuant to this section
shall include all of the following:
(1) The date the notice was mailed.
(2) Information regarding the assessee's right to an informal
review and the right to appeal the assessment, and except in a case
in which paragraph (3) applies, that the appeal shall be filed within
60 days of the date of mailing printed on the notice or the
postmarked date therefor, whichever is later. For the purposes of
equalization proceedings, the assessment shall be considered an
assessment made outside of the regular assessment period as provided
in Section 1605.
(3) For counties in which the board of supervisors has adopted a
resolution in accordance with subdivision (c) of Section 1605, and
the County of Los Angeles, receipt by the assessee of a tax bill
based on that assessment shall suffice as notice under this section
if the tax bill advises the assessee of the right to appeal the
assessment, and that the appeal shall be filed within 60 days of the
date of mailing printed on the tax bill or the postmark therefor,
whichever is later. For the purposes of equalization proceedings, the
assessment shall be considered an assessment made outside of the
regular assessment period as provided in Section 1605.
(4) A description of the requirements, procedures, and deadlines
with respect to an application for the reduction of an assessment
pursuant to Section 1605.
(d) (1) The notice given by the assessor under this section shall
be on a form approved by the board.
(2) Giving of the notice required by Section 531.8 shall not
satisfy the requirements of this section.
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, shall be deducted under
Section 12419.5 of the Government Code from the next reimbursement to
such agencies.
The county auditor shall notify the State Controller of all
incorrectly allowed exemptions for which local taxing agencies have
been reimbursed by the state for loss of revenue, and all escape
assessments made because thereof.
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 board is unconstitutional or invalid, and
as a result thereof concludes that property should be assessed in a
manner contrary to such provision, or the assessor proposes to adopt
general interpretation of a specific provision of the Constitution of
the State of California, or this division, or of a rule or
regulation of the board, that would result in a denial to five or
more assessees in that county of an exemption, in whole or in part,
of their property from property taxation, the assessor shall, in lieu
of making such an assessment, bring an action for declaratory relief
against the board under Section 1060 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
The court shall allow intervention in such action by potential
assessees and other assessors under Section 387 of the Code of Civil
Procedure to the greatest extent practicable.
(b) If the assessor obtains judgment in such action upholding the
validity of such assessment, the assessor shall correct the roll in
accordance with Section 4831 consistent with such judgment within 60
days of the date upon which the judgment becomes final, regardless of
the time limit otherwise provided in Section 4831. The assessor
shall not levy an assessment based upon the subject matter of the
action under any other section of this division.
(c) Within 60 days of notice of such assessment, a person assessed
under subdivision (b) may file a claim for refund relating to the
assessment of any of the person's property for the fiscal year to
which the assessment under subdivision (b) relates regardless of the
time limit otherwise provided in Section 5097.