The Louisiana Association

Tax Administrators

ADVALOREM TAX GUIDE

Publication Date

Revised 9/07/2004

VOLUME II

CONTENTS

PART THREE AD VALOREM TAX

AD VALOREM TAX REGULATIONS - TITLE 47

CHAPTER FOUR - PAYMENT & COLLECTIONS1

PART II - PAYMENT & COLLECTION PROCEDURES

CHAPTER FIVE

PART I - SALES14

PART II - REDEMPTIONS34

PART III - TAX & SALES AND REDEMPTIONS FOR 1974 & SUBSEQUENT YRS.42

AD VALOREM TAX REGULAT1ONS TITLE 33

CHAPTER SIX - TAXATION & FISCAL AFFAIRS49

CHAPTER THIRTEEN -A - SALE OF ABANDONED PROPERTY64

CHAPTER THIRTEEN -B - DONATION OF ABANDONED OR BLIGHTED 68

HOUSING PROPERTY

CHAPTER THIRTEEN -C - SALE OF ADJUDICATED VACANT LOTS; 73

ADJOINING PROPERTY OWNERS

APPENDIX C

AD VALOREM TAXES

Article 7, Section 25, Louisiana Constitutions of 1974 78

DefinitionsR.S. 47:1702 80

Basic Ad Valorem Tax Collection Steps Movable Property 82

Basic Ad Valorem Tax Collection Steps Immovable Property 83

Topical Index85

Part III

Introduction

Ad Valorem Tax

Chapter 4 of this publication contains the current text of

R.S. 47:2101 - 2114.1 Chapter 5 contains the current text of R.S.47:2171-2262. Chapter 6 contains the current text of R.S. 33:2861 thru 2881; R.S. 33:2891.1 thru 33:2891.5, as amended. Chapters 13-A-C contains current text of

R.S. 33:4720.11 thru 33:4720.49. Where appropriate, explanatory comments are inserted in italics for further clarification or edification. As with other parts of this manual, it is essential for the reader to understand that the tax collector in a particular taxing jurisdiction may develop and implement rules and regulations regarding collection methods and procedures in that taxing jurisdiction, and should be consulted regarding any particular issue regarding taxes due.

In addition, it should be noted that the State of Louisiana no longer

levies or collects ad valorem taxes, however, many of the statutes have not

been changed and the wording is obsolete. In general, the parish and/or

municipality may be substituted where the State is referenced in these

regulations.

Part III

Ad Valorem Taxes

Scope

I. Chapters Four & Five Includes the following regulations from Title 47.

Title 47 "Revenue and Taxation"

Subtitle III "Provisions Relating to Ad Valorem Taxes"

Chapter 4 "Payment and Collection"

Part II "Payment and Collection Procedures"

(47:21012114)

Chapter 5 "Tax Sales and Redemptions"

Part I "Sales" (47:21712194)

Part II "Redemptions" (47:22212230)

Part III "Tax Sales and Redemptions of Immovable Property

Adjudicated for taxes for 1974 and Subsequent

years" (47:22512262)

II. Chapter Six Includes the following regulations from Title 33.

Title 33 "Municipalities and parishes"

Chapter 6 "Taxation and Fiscal Affairs"

Part II "Levy and Collection of Taxes"Subpart E "Property Adjudicated to Municipality" (33:28612881)

Subpart F “Property Adjudicated more than Five years to Parish or Municipality” (33:2891.1 - 2891.5)

Chapter13-A Sale of Abandoned Property (33:4720.11-4720.19)

Chapter 13-B Donation of Abandoned or Blighted Housing Property

(33:4720.25-4720.33)

Chapter 13-C Sale of Adjudicated Vacant Lots; Adjoining Landowners (33:4720.41-4720.49)

AD VALOREM TAX REGULATIONS

LOUISIANA REVISED STATUTES TITLE 47

CHAPTER 4 PAYMENT & COLLECTION

PAYMENT AND COLLECTION PROCEDURES

R.S. 47:2101. Time for payment; notice when due

A. (1) All taxes shall be collected in the calendar year in which the assessment thereof is made, and they shall be designated as the "taxes for the year _", accordingly as they are collectible, and the taxes assessed in each year shall be due in that calendar year as soon as the tax roll is filed in the office of the recorder of mortgages, except taxes on movable property in the event of a bulk sale under the provisions of the Bulk Sales Law', and they shall be paid on or before the thirtyfirst day of December in each respective year in order to avoid the notice, advertisement, and sale required by Article VII, Section 25 of the Louisiana Constitution. In the event of a bulk sale of movable property under the provisions of the Bulk Sales Law, all taxes due on movable property shall be due ten days prior to completion of the transfer or the payment of any consideration therefor and shall be payable upon completion of the bulk sale.

(2) No forced collection of taxes on movable property shall be made before the first day of February of the succeeding year unless the collector has good reason to believe that the state, parish, or municipal corporation will lose the collection.

(3) The interest on all ad valorem taxes, whether levied on movable or immovable property, which are delinquent shall begin on the thirtyfirst day of December of each and every year and shall bear interest from December thirtyfirst of such year until paid, at the rate of one percent per month or any part thereof from. In the event of an erroneous assessment and adjustment by the tax commission, the taxpayer shall have fifteen days from receipt of notice of the revised assessment in which to pay the adjusted amount without interest penalty. If the address provided by the tax assessor on the tax roll proves to be incorrect and the tax debtor does not receive a timely notice, the tax collector may extend to the debtor a fifteenday notice in which to pay without interest penalty.

Interest shall not be charged when the payment was mailed on or before the due date as evidenced by proof of mailing or postmark.

B. (1) Immediately following the filing of the tax roll by the assessor in each calendar year, the tax collector with whom such tax roll is filed shall mail a notice in addition to the notices required elsewhere in this Title, by postcard or letter, to each tax debtor listed on the tax roll at the address shown on such roll. This notice shall disclose the total amount of taxes due by the tax debtor for the current year, the ward in which the property taxed is located, and the number of the assessment.

Ad Valorem Tax

(2) In addition to the notice to the tax debtor, the tax collector shall also send a notice to each person holding a properly recorded mortgage on immovable property if such mortgagee has notified the tax collector of such recorded mortgage and has requested the notice of taxes due. If the mortgagee has designated another person to receive the notice, the tax collector shall send a notice of taxes due to that person. The notification by the mortgagee to the tax collector shall state the legal description of the immovable property and the name of the record owner. The mortgagee requesting notice shall pay a reasonable sum to the sheriff to defray the cost of providing the notice. The notification by the mortgagee to the tax collector shall be renewed annually. The notice to the mortgagee may be in the form of a computer printout.

C. The notice shall request the tax debtor to return the notice to the tax collector with remittance, and shall remind the tax debtor of the date that taxes become delinquent following issuance of such notice and that interest will accrue on the taxes from the date the taxes become delinquent. Interest shall accrue at the rate prescribed by law, which rate, or a brief description of the manner in which the rate is calculated, shall be stated in the notice.

D. Failure of the collector to send this notice or failure of the taxpayer assessed to receive the notice shall not affect any sale for taxes of any of the property assessed upon which the taxes are not paid.

E. The provisions of this Section requiring a notice to the taxpayer shall in no way affect and shall not be held to be inconsistent or in conflict with the provisions of R.S. 47:2171, 47:2180, 47:2181, 47:2182, or 47:2189, or any other Section relating to notice to tax debtors.

: R.S. 47.2101(A) 3.Most jurisdictions calculate interest beginning January l st. rather than December 31. Some jurisdiction require interest to be paid from December 31 on any reduced amount, but give the taxpayer 15 days to pay any increased amount without interest.

: R.S. 47.2101(D). Court cases have held that taxing jurisdictions must take "reasonable steps" to notify properly owners and/or mortgage holders of taxes due.

R.S. 47:2101.1 Payment requirements

All liens imposed upon immovable property under R.S. 13:2575, R.S.33:1236, 4752, 4753, 4754, 4766, 5062, and 5062.1 shall be included in the ad valorem tax bill and shall be paid along with such taxes. Failure to pay the liens shall cause the immovable property to be subject to the same provisions of law as govern tax sales of immovable property.

R.S. 47:2102. Payment of taxes on property administered by fiduciaries

All receivers, referees, trustees, or other officers appointed by any court, both state and federal,

to administer or conduct any business in this state, or liquidators, whether judicial or extra judicial, shall be subject to all state and local taxes applicable to such business, the same as if such business were conducted by an individual or corporation, and before deducting or paying any salaries, fees or compensation to themselves or to any employees or agents, they shall pay all taxes owed by the

Title 47 Statute & Regulation

individual, partnership, association or corporation, for whom they act, to the state or its subdivisions or municipalities. The receivers, referees, trustees or liquidators, upon assuming their official duties, shall immediately ascertain from the proper authority the amount of taxes owed by the individual, partnership, association or corporation, whose estate they are administering, and in the event of their failure to pay all such taxes, shall be personally responsible for the unpaid taxes, to the extent of the inventoried value of the estate.

R.S. 47:2102. This provision is not applicable to bankruptcy trustees.

R.S. 47:2103. Manner of payment; tax collector to give receipt

All taxes assessed under this Subtitle may be paid in any money which at that times is legal tender for private debts of the same amount under the laws of the United States, and the tax collectors are authorized and required to receive in payment of taxes due the respective funds of each year, all valid warrants of the state, which may have been drawn as directed by law against such funds. The tax collectors are required to give a receipt to the person from whom they shall receive any warrant for taxes and shall furnish the auditor with a sworn statement of the persons who have thus paid their taxes, and the amount received from each. The auditor shall include such statement in his report. No collector shall receive or turn into the treasury any other warrants than those included in the sworn statement, and which have actually been received by him in payment of taxes by the taxpayers, and any tax collector violating the provisions of this Section shall be deemed guilty of a crime, and on conviction shall be punished by imprisonment at hard labor for not less than one year nor more than five years. No parish or municipality shall receive for parish or municipal taxes any bond, coupons, or warrants, approved accounts, or any evidence of indebtedness, except for the year in which indebtedness was created except juror and witness certificates which the parishes are authorized to receive for taxes.

Whenever taxes are paid in full, the tax collector shall give his tax receipt therefor, and shall write in proper columns on the tax rolls in his own office the word "paid," and number and date of receipt as per stub book. The tax receipt shall be in the form prescribed by the tax commissions.

The state tax collector for the city of New Orleans, in conjunction with the state auditor and the chairman of the tax commission, is authorized and directed, as the majority of such three officers may decide, either to have all tax bills or receipts for taxes assessed to each owner of real and personal property in the city of New Orleans made up annually in advance of the time for collection under the state tax collector's own direction, or to let out a contract to make up such tax bills in advance of collection to the lowest bidder. The cost thereof shall be paid by the state tax collector out of the appropriation made by the legislature for the conduct and operation of his office.

Ad Valorem Tax

The tax collector shall make quarterly statements of the delinquents who have paid their taxes, the amount paid, and the year for which they are paid, and such statements shall be sworn to by the tax collector and sent to the auditor.

The clerks and exofficio recorders and the recorder of mortgages for the parish of Orleans respectively, shall, on the application of any party in interest who has paid his taxes in full, cancel and erase all inscriptions of tax privileges and tax mortgages on the payment of ten cents for each cancellation; provided, that if the application be made by the taxpayer, or by any party in interest who has paid the taxes before they become delinquent, the cancellation shall be free to him.

R.S. 47:2103. Instructions regarding the "auditor" in this provision are no longer pertinent.

R.S. 47:2104. Register of conveyances for parish of Orleans to furnish copy of reports to state tax collector

The register of conveyances for the parish of Orleans shall furnish to the state tax collector for the city of New Orleans, a duplicate or copy of his report made to the board of assessors in the city of New Orleans, of each and every sale and other conveyance registered in his office, which report of transfer shall be noted on the books of the state tax collector and all notices for delinquent taxes thereafter served shall be served on the person or persons, corporation or corporations thus shown to be the owner of the property.

R.S. 47:2105. Payment by other than tax debtor

The state tax collectors on behalf of the state and parish authorities and the tax collectors of the municipal authorities of the various towns and city governments and political subdivisions throughout the state are authorized to receive payment from any person other than the person in which name the property has been assessed, of any taxes demandable by the state, parish, municipal corporation, or other political subdivisions, after the date upon which such tax becomes delinquent, and to subrogate the person paying the same to all rights, liens, and privileges of the state, parish, or municipal corporation or political subdivision, incident to or growing out of the tax and its recordation in the office required by law; provided, that when such payment is sought to be made by any person not holding a bond or note secured by a mortgage or privilege upon the taxed property, the written consent thereto of the taxpayer must be filed with the tax collector. The payment herein contemplated to be made by a person other than the tax debtor shall not be construed or held to be a payment or satisfaction of the tax. When the taxes have been paid by persons other than the persons in whose name the property is assessed, it shall be the duty of the tax collector to note this fact in writing upon his roll, and at the same time to make a notation in writing of the name and address of the person by whom the taxes were paid;

Title 47 Statute & Regulation

and if such person (or successive assignees) shall assign his interest to another, the name and address of such assignee, upon the filing with him of written evidence of such assignment. The tax collector, or his duly authorized deputy, shall deliver to the person paying such taxes a tax receipt or tax bill therefor, in the form now or hereafter prescribed by law and shall attach thereto a certificate of transfer and subrogation substantially in the following form:

CERTIFICATE OF SUBROGATION

The tax due the (taxing district) for the year , as evidenced by the attached tax receipt No. , together with all accrued interest and costs, to wit, the sum of

$ , having been this day paid to me by the below named assignee, and the tax debtor named in said receipt having in writing consented hereto, the undersigned, being the officer charged by law with the duty of collecting said tax, does hereby transfer and assign to , assignee, and does hereby subrogate said assignee to all of the rights, liens and privileges of said

(taxing district) for the collection and enforcement of said tax as the law provides.

I further certify that the within assignment and subrogation has been noted by me upon the tax rolls and records as required by law.

This certificate may be transferred or hypothecated by endorsement hereon.

Thus done this day of , , at , Louisiana.

(Taxing district)

Such certificate shall be prima facie evidence of all facts recited therein. A duplicate certificate, so marked, shall be issued by the sheriff or tax collector upon satisfactory proof of the loss or destruction of the original. If for any reason the certificate issued shall be invalid in law, the holder of the certificate shall be entitled to be reimbursed by the taxing authority which has received the payment. The tax debtor who shall give the written consent to the tax payment by another shall be estopped, together with his heirs and assigns, from asserting the irregularity of invalidity of such tax or of any of the proceedings relating thereto to the time of such payment, and shall be held to have ratified and confirmed the same.