Taxation of Mobile & Manufactured Homes

All new manufactured homes purchased on or after July 1, 1980, and those on permanent foundations, are subject to assessment on the local roll. Mobile homes and manufactured homes purchased before July 1, 1980 are not subject to assessment on the local roll. These owners pay license fees, which are under the jurisdiction of the State Department of Housing and Community Development. Owners may voluntarily convert from vehicle license fees to local property taxes, but once converted to the local assessment roll they may not switch back to the vehicle license fees. 

The taxes you should expect to pay is based upon the age of your home and the type of park or land on which the home is situation. 

If your home is located in a traditional rental park, one in which you own your home and rent a space from a third party, your tax bill will be based upon the market value of the manufactured home, independent of location value. Homes built prior to 1980, which have not been converted to local property tax, will receive a bill directly from the Department of Housing and Community Development

For homes built after 1980, or those that have been voluntarily converted to local property tax, the Assessor's office will use recognized value guides such as the Kelley Blue Book, the NADA, or factors provided by the State Board of Equalization to determine a replacement cost less depreciation for the home. In most cases, you should expect to pay an annual tax amount similar to the current annual bill.

Subdivided parks are those parks where the land has been divided into individual lots and owners hold deeded title to the land on which the home is situated. Taxes for these homes are treated like other stick-built structures. A single bill is issued to the property for the full value of the land and any structures. These bills are subject to Proposition 13 limitations and will increase at no more than 2% per year.

Cooperative (resident-owned) parks are, in general, structured so that you own your home and a share in the park ownership. In most cases, you will rent your space from the Homeowners' Association of which you are a member. You should expect to pay taxes based upon the full purchase price of your home..

Your assessed value will be broken into two components. The market value of your manufactured home will be determined and you will be billed directly from the Assessor or HCD for the taxes due on the home (the agency responsible for billing is based upon the age of the home).

The remainder of your purchase price, after deducting the market value of the manufactured home coach, will be assessed as your share of the park land.  The bill for the land is mailed directly to the park and due by the park association.  The park management will pass on your portion of the land share assessment to you, either in monthly installments or as one time assessments as the tax bills become due.   

The Assessor's office provides the assessed value breakdown to the park for each space.  It is the responsibility of the park association to collect and pay any bills issued for the land shares in accordance with the park bylaws.  The land share is subject to Proposition 13 limitations and will increase up to 2% per year. 

Ownership to the manufactured homes are handled through the Department of Housing and Community Development.  Ownership of the land share is managed by the Homeowner's Association and respective management within the park.  There are no recorded deeds transferring ownership in cooperative parks.

A mobile home is a structure, transportable in one or more sections, designed and equipped to contain one or more dwelling units, and to be used with or without a foundation system. Specifically, any trailer coach that is more than eight feet wide or forty feet long, or one that requires a permit to move on the highway is considered a mobile home.

No. Recreational vehicles, as well as buses and prefabricated housing units, are not considered mobile homes.

For purposes of taxation, mobile homes affixed to the land on a permanent foundation are not considered "mobile" homes, but are viewed instead as modular housing, and have always been taxed in the same way as conventional homes.

If your mobile home is not attached to a permanent foundation, for example, if your mobile home is in a mobile home park please read on. Throughout the remainder of this pamphlet, the term "mobile home" refers only to those that are not on permanent foundations.

If your mobile home was originally purchased new on or after July 1, 1980, it was automatically subject to local property taxes. Also if the license fees on your mobile home, regardless of when it was originally purchased became delinquent on or before May 31, 1984, your mobile home was automatically converted to the local property tax system. (Delinquent license fees no longer cause automatic transfer to local property taxation.)

There may be advantages, but each case must be evaluated individually.

One possible advantage is that property taxes are payable in two annual installments. You may also be entitled to the $7,000 homeowner's exemption or other exemptions administered by the County Assessor. In addition to County exemptions, you may be eligible for the tax assistance and postponement programs offered by the State of California.

Finally, it is important to note that mobile homes subject to local property taxation are exempt from any sales or use tax. Therefore, you may enhance the marketability of your mobile home by voluntarily converting it to local property taxation prior to selling it.

Once you convert to local property taxation, however, you cannot revert back to vehicle license fees.

Manufactured homes are assessed for property taxes by using recognized value guides such as the Kelley Blue Book, the NADA, or factors provided by the State Board of Equalization, as well as the sales price.

Yes. However this is not beneficial in some cases.

The values allocated to a manufactured home in a rental park is based upon the market value of the home, independent of location. This value is generally significantly less than the purchase price of the home and may be lower than the tax basis being transferred. In these cases, it is likely that the new taxes assessed to the home will be lower than your previous taxes.

You may transfer a tax basis from another property to a manufactured home in a cooperative or subdivided park. In these situations, the tax basis transferred from your prior home would be allocated between the land and the manufactured home, if assessed. If the home was built prior to 1980 and not subject to local property tax, the full assessed value from your prior home would be allocated to the land and any assessable stick built structures (garages, common area structures, etc.) and you will still be responsible for paying your annual licensing fee to HCD.

You can request a voluntary conversion to local property taxes by calling (800)952-8356 or writing to: State of California, Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), P.O. Box 2111, 6007 Folsom Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95810.

No. Once mobile homes have been changed to local property taxation, it is not possible to reinstate vehicle in-lieu license fees.

Maybe.

For a manufactured home located in a rental park the value the comparison value is the market value of the home being assessed, not the sales price. As a result, the benefit of transferring your tax basis is generally insignificant.

You may transfer your tax basis from a cooperative or subdivided park if your manufactured home is subject to local property tax. Proposition 19 requires that the home be assessed and have an associated base year value. If your home is subject to local property tax, the full assessed value of the land and home would be transferred to your replacement property. If you home is located in a cooperative park, the land assessment that is being billed to the park would be included as part of the value transferred to your new home.

If your home was built prior to 1980 and subject to in-lieu license fees from HCD, you will need to convert your home to local property tax by the lien date (January 1st) prior to the sale of your home. A market value of your home would be established and this value would be added to your existing tax basis.

It depends on what type of taxes you are currently paying. Mobile homes that are subject to local property taxation are subject to supplemental taxes. Mobile homes that are subject to vehicle license fees are not subject to supplemental taxes thru HCD, however you may be subject to supplemental and annual taxes for the addition. Contact the County Assessor for additional information.

Titles to manufactured homes are maintained through the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Once the title has been updated through their office, they will provide the updated information to the Assessor's Office.

Manufactured homes are available for many of the same exemptions as traditional homes. The most common exemptions are Homeowners' Exemption and Disabled Veterans' Exemptions. More information is available for each of these exemptions by clicking on the links below.

Please refer to the Tax Collector's Website: Mobilehome Property Taxes for information on tax payment and penalties.

A Tax Clearance Certificate is an official document issued by the Tax Collector's Office that certifies all property taxes on a manufactured home are current and fully satisfied. This certificate is commonly required as part of the ownership transfer process or when applying for a title transfer through the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).

For more information or to request a Tax Clearance Certificate, please visit the Tax Collector's Office website.

Tax Collector