SECTIONS 201-241 - California Statutes

REVENUE AND TAXATION CODE

SECTION 201-241

201. All property in this State, not exempt under the laws of the
United States or of this State, is subject to taxation under this
code.

201.1. Property owned by a nonprofit entity, in which a transit
development board has the sole ownership interest in the entity,
shall be deemed to be property owned by the transit development board
for purposes of this division. To the extent that the property is
possessed, or a claim to or right to possession of the property
exists, for other than public purposes, the interest shall be deemed
a possessory interest as defined in Section 107.
It is the intent and purpose of this section to clarify Section 3
of Article XIII of the California Constitution and, therefore, this
section does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, the
existing law. Furthermore, this section shall not be construed to
exempt, from ad valorem property taxation, property of any transit
development board located outside of its boundaries.

201.2. (a) A nonprofit corporation which has contracted with the
board of supervisors pursuant to Section 25905, 25906, 25907, or
25908 of the Government Code for the conduct of an agricultural fair,
shall be deemed to be an agency of the county for purposes of this
part and for no other purpose, and county-owned property, including
possessory interests in that property, used or possessed by the
nonprofit corporation in the conduct of an agricultural fair shall be
exempt from taxation under subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article
XIII of the State Constitution.
(b) This section shall not be construed to exempt any
profit-making organization or concessionaire from any property tax,
including a property tax on a possessory interest, for the use of
property which is used by a nonprofit corporation for the conduct of
a fair.

201.3. Property which is exclusively devoted to public purposes and
is owned by a nonprofit entity, in which a chartered city with a
population of over 750,000 and located in a county of the third class
has the sole ownership interest shall be deemed to be property owned
by the chartered city.
This section shall not be construed to exempt from ad valorem
property taxation property of the chartered city located outside of
its boundaries.

201.4. (a) The possessory interest of a nonprofit entity, solely
owned by the City of Palm Springs, in property which is located
wholly within the boundaries of an Indian reservation and owned by
the United States in trust for named Indian allottees, and which is
leased to the City of Palm Springs under a master lease a portion of
which for purposes of financing is subleased to a nonprofit entity,
and subleased by that nonprofit entity to the City of Palm Springs
which devotes that property exclusively to convention or related
public purposes, shall be deemed to be property owned by the City of
Palm Springs.
(b) Property which is owned in fee by a nonprofit entity in which
the City of Palm Springs has the sole ownership interest, and leased
by that nonprofit entity to the City of Palm Springs which devotes
that property exclusively to convention or related public purposes,
shall be deemed to be property owned by the City of Palm Springs.
(c) This section shall not be construed to exempt from ad valorem
property taxation any possessory interest in otherwise tax-exempt
property not devoted exclusively to convention or related public
purposes or any property or possessory interest in property of the
City of Palm Springs located outside of its boundaries.

201.5. (a) Possessory interests in property acquired by or for the
California Pollution Control Financing Authority pursuant to Division
27 (commencing with Section 44500) of the Health and Safety Code,
whether in real or personal property, shall be subject to taxation
under this code.
(b) If the amount determined pursuant to subdivision (a) is less
than the amount of tax which would have been imposed if the
participating party owned the pollution control facility, the
contract or lease between the California Pollution Control Financing
Authority and such party shall provide that the difference between
the amount of tax paid pursuant to subdivision (a) and the amount
determined on the basis of the full cash value of the property shall
be paid by such party to the tax collector for the taxing agency at
the same time as the property tax is paid.

201.6. (a) Subject to subdivision (b), property that is exclusively
devoted to a public purpose and is owned by a nonprofit entity, the
property, assets, profits, and net revenues of which are irrevocably
dedicated to the Ventura Port District, shall be deemed to be
property that is owned by the Ventura Port District.
(b) This section shall not be construed to exempt from ad valorem
property taxation, including, but not limited to, any ad valorem
property tax levied with respect to a possessory interest, either of
the following:
(1) Any property owned by a profit-making organization or
concessionaire.
(2) Any property of the Ventura Port District that is located
outside of the boundaries of that district.

202. (a) The exemption of the following property is as specified in
subdivisions (a), (b), (d), and (h) of Section 3 of Article XIII of
the Constitution, except as otherwise provided in subdivision (a) of
Section 11 thereof:
(1) Growing crops.
(2) Property used for free public libraries and free museums.
(3) Property used exclusively for public schools, community
colleges, state colleges, and state universities, including the
University of California.
(4) Property belonging to this state, a county, or a city.
Property belonging to the State Compensation Insurance Fund is not
property belonging to this state.
(b) The exemption described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a)
shall apply to off-campus facilities owned or leased by an
apprenticeship program sponsor, if such facilities are used
exclusively by the public schools for classes of related and
supplemental instruction for apprentices or trainees which are
conducted by the public schools under Chapter 4 (commencing with
Section 3070) of Division 3 of the Labor Code.
(c) Without prejudice to the right to assert an exemption
otherwise available under subdivision (a), (d), or (e) of Section 3
of Article XIII of the Constitution, a property tax under this
division shall be imposed upon that portion of the bookstore property
determined to be generating the unrelated business taxable income,
as defined in Section 512 of the Internal Revenue Code, to the extent
property is:
(1) Owned by an educational institution of collegiate grade or
used by a nonprofit corporation operating a student bookstore
affiliated with such an educational institution, and
(2) Is primarily devoted to bookstore use that produces income
that is taxable as unrelated business taxable income.
This tax shall be determined by establishing a ratio of the
unrelated business taxable income to the bookstore's gross income as
defined by the Internal Revenue Code. That percent shall be the
maximum percentage of such bookstore property on which a property tax
can be levied.
At the end of a fiscal year when unrelated business income has
been generated, the nonprofit organization shall file with the
assessor copies of the organization's most recent tax return filed
with the Internal Revenue Service.

202.2. Any reduction in property taxes on leased property used for
libraries and museums that are free and open to the public, leased
property used exclusively for public schools, community colleges,
state colleges, or state universities, including the University of
California, or leased property used exclusively for educational
purposes by a nonprofit institution of higher education and granted
the exemption set forth in subdivision (d) or (e) of Section 3 of
Article XIII of the California Constitution shall inure to the
benefit of the lessee institution. If the lessor claims the exemption
and if the lease or rental agreement does not specifically provide
that the exemption contained in subdivision (d) or (e) of Section 3
of Article XIII is taken into account in fixing the terms of the
agreement, the lessee shall receive a reduction in rental payments or
a refund thereof, if already paid, in an amount equal to the
reduction in taxes.
If the lessor does not claim the exemption on property eligible
for the exemption contained in subdivision (d) or (e) of Section 3 of
Article XIII, the lessee may file a claim for refund under Section
5096 with respect to taxes paid by the lessor on the property. For
purposes of Sections 5097 and 5140, the lessee shall be deemed to be
the person who paid the tax, and the refund shall be made directly to
the lessee. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a) of Section 270, the full amount of tax paid by the
lessor shall be refunded to the lessee.
Any refund granted pursuant to this part shall not be considered a
reduction in the sales price or gross receipts from the rental of
the property for purposes of Part 1 (commencing with Section 6001),
Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 7200), or Part 1.6 (commencing with
Section 7251).

202.5. Personal property used exclusively in the performance of
activities authorized by Division 8 (commencing with Section 89000)
of the Education Code, whether by the college itself or by an
auxiliary nonprofit corporation or student body organization with
which the Director of Education has entered into a lease or contract
for the performance of such activities, is deemed property used
exclusively for public schools and shall be exempt from taxation.
It is hereby declared that this section is not a change in the
present law but is a declaration of preexisting law.

202.6. Personal property used exclusively in the performance of
activities authorized by Article 2 (commencing with Section 48930) of
Chapter 6 of Part 27 of Division 4 of, or Article 4 (commencing with
Section 76060) of Chapter 1 of Part 47 of Division 7 of the
Education Code by a student body organization acting pursuant to
those provisions, is deemed property used exclusively for public
schools and shall be exempt from taxation.

202.7. Personal property owned or used by student governments of
the University of California or by nonprofit corporations operating
student book stores of colleges affiliated with the University of
California is, for purposes of this section, deemed property
belonging to this state and shall be exempt from taxation.

203. (a) The college exemption is as specified in subdivision (e)
of Section 3 and Section 5 of Article XIII of the California
Constitution.
(b) An educational institution of collegiate grade is an
institution incorporated as a college or seminary of learning that
requires for regular admission the completion of a four-year high
school course or its equivalent, and confers upon its graduates at
least one academic or professional degree, based on a course of at
least one year in flight test technology or flight test science, for
which the master's degree program has been approved by the California
Council for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education or the
Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education, on a
course of at least two years in liberal arts and sciences, or on a
course of at least three years in professional studies, such as law,
theology, education, medicine, dentistry, engineering, veterinary
medicine, pharmacy, architecture, fine arts, commerce, or journalism.
(c) An educational institution of collegiate grade is not
conducted for profit when it is conducted exclusively for scientific
or educational purposes and no part of its net income inures to the
benefit of any private person.
(d) Without prejudice to the right to assert an exemption
otherwise available under subdivision (a), (d), or (e) of Section 3
of Article XIII of the Constitution, a property tax under this
division shall be imposed upon that portion of the bookstore property
determined to be generating the unrelated business taxable income,
as defined in Section 512 of the Internal Revenue Code, to the extent
property is both of the following:
(1) Owned by an educational institution of collegiate grade or
used by a nonprofit corporation operating a student bookstore
affiliated with an educational institution of collegiate grade.
(2) Primarily devoted to bookstore use that produces income that
is taxable as unrelated business taxable income.
This tax shall be determined by establishing a ratio of the
unrelated business taxable income to the bookstore's gross income as
defined by the Internal Revenue Code. That percent shall be the
maximum percentage of the bookstore property on which a property tax
can be levied.
At the end of a fiscal year when unrelated business income has
been generated, the nonprofit organization shall file with the
assessor copies of the organization's most recent tax return filed
with the Internal Revenue Service.

203.1. Personal property owned or used by a nonprofit corporation
operating a student bookstore affiliated with an educational
institution, as defined in Section 203, is, for purposes of this
section, deemed property belonging to such educational institution
and shall be exempt from taxation.

203.5. Property owned by the California School of Mechanical Arts,
California Academy of Sciences, or Cogswell Polytechnical College, or
held in trust for the Huntington Library and Art Gallery, or their
successors, shall be exempt from taxation as provided in subdivision
(c) of Section 4 of Article XIII of the Constitution.

204. The cemetery exemption is as specified in subdivision (g) of
Section 3 of Article XIII of the Constitution.

205. The veterans' exemption is as specified in subdivisions (o),
(p), (q), and (r) of Section 3 of Article XIII of the Constitution.
The following are wars under subdivisions (o), (p), (q), and (r)
of Section 3 of Article XIII of the Constitution:
(a) Revolutionary War, April 19, 1775-January 14, 1784.
(b) Second War With England, June 18, 1812-February 17, 1815.
(c) Black Hawk War, April 6, 1832-August 2, 1832.
(d) War With Mexico, April 24, 1846-May 30, 1848.
(e) Civil War, April 18, 1861-August 20, 1866.
(f) War With Spain, April 21, 1898-April 11, 1899.
(g) War in Philippines, April 11, 1899-July 4, 1902.
(h) Chinese Relief Expedition, June 20, 1900-May 15, 1901.
(i) Campaign against the Rogue River, Yakima, Nez Perc