(A) The owner of each manufactured or mobile home that has acquired situs in this state shall pay either a real property tax pursuant to Title LVII of the Revised Code or a manufactured home tax pursuant to division (C) of this section.

(B) The owner of a manufactured or mobile home shall pay real property taxes if either of the following applies:

(1) The manufactured or mobile home acquired situs in the state or ownership in the home was transferred on or after January 1, 2000, and all of the following apply:

(a) The home is affixed to a permanent foundation as defined in division (C)(5) of section 3781.06 of the Revised Code.

(b) The home is located on land that is owned by the owner of the home.

(c) The certificate of title has been inactivated by the clerk of the court of common pleas that issued it, pursuant to division (H) of section 4505.11 of the Revised Code.

(2) The manufactured or mobile home acquired situs in the state or ownership in the home was transferred before January 1, 2000, and all of the following apply:

(a) The home is affixed to a permanent foundation as defined in division (C)(5) of section 3781.06 of the Revised Code.

(b) The home is located on land that is owned by the owner of the home.

(c) The owner of the home has elected to have the home taxed as real property and, pursuant to section 4505.11 of the Revised Code, has surrendered the certificate of title to the auditor of the county containing the taxing district in which the home has its situs, together with proof that all taxes have been paid.

(d) The county auditor has placed the home on the real property tax list and delivered the certificate of title to the clerk of the court of common pleas that issued it and the clerk has inactivated the certificate.

(C)

(1) Any mobile or manufactured home that is not taxed as real property as provided in division (B) of this section is subject to an annual manufactured home tax, payable by the owner, for locating the home in this state. The tax as levied in this section is for the purpose of supplementing the general revenue funds of the local subdivisions in which the home has its situs pursuant to this section.

(2) The year for which the manufactured home tax is levied commences on the first day of January and ends on the following thirty-first day of December. The state shall have the first lien on any manufactured or mobile home on the list for the amount of taxes, penalties, and interest charged against the owner of the home under this section. The lien of the state for the tax for a year shall attach on the first day of January to a home that has acquired situs on that date. The lien for a home that has not acquired situs on the first day of January, but that acquires situs during the year, shall attach on the next first day of January. The lien shall continue until the tax, including any penalty or interest, is paid.

(3)

(a) The situs of a manufactured or mobile home located in this state on the first day of January is the local taxing district in which the home is located on that date.

(b) The situs of a manufactured or mobile home not located in this state on the first day of January, but located in this state subsequent to that date, is the local taxing district in which the home is located thirty days after it is acquired or first enters this state.

(4) The tax is collected by and paid to the county treasurer of the county containing the taxing district in which the home has its situs.

(D) The manufactured home tax shall be computed and assessed by the county auditor of the county containing the taxing district in which the home has its situs as follows:

(1) On a home that acquired situs in this state prior to January 1, 2000:

(a) By multiplying the assessable value of the home by the tax rate of the taxing district in which the home has its situs, and deducting from the product thus obtained any reduction authorized under section 4503.065 of the Revised Code. The tax levied under this formula shall not be less than thirty-six dollars, unless the home qualifies for a reduction in assessable value under section 4503.065 of the Revised Code, in which case there shall be no minimum tax and the tax shall be the amount calculated under this division.

(b) The assessable value of the home shall be forty per cent of the amount arrived at by the following computation:

(i) If the cost to the owner, or market value at time of purchase, whichever is greater, of the home includes the furnishings and equipment, such cost or market value shall be multiplied according to the following schedule:

For the first calendar year in which the home is owned by the current owner

x

80%

2nd calendar year

x

75%

3rd "

x

70%

4th "

x

65%

5th "

x

60%

6th "

x

55%

7th "

x

50%

8th "

x

45%

9th "

x

40%

10th and each year thereafter

x

35%

The first calendar year means any period between the first day of January and the thirty-first day of December of the first year.

(ii) If the cost to the owner, or market value at the time of purchase, whichever is greater, of the home does not include the furnishings and equipment, such cost or market value shall be multiplied according to the following schedule:

For the first calendar year in which the home is owned by the current owner

x

95%

2nd calendar year

x

90%

3rd "

x

85%

4th "

x

80%

5th "

x

75%

6th "

x

70%

7th "

x

65%

8th "

x

60%

9th "

x

55%

10th and each year thereafter

x

50%

The first calendar year means any period between the first day of January and the thirty-first day of December of the first year.

(2) On a home in which ownership was transferred or that first acquired situs in this state on or after January 1, 2000:

(a) By multiplying the assessable value of the home by the effective tax rate, as defined in section 323.08 of the Revised Code, for residential real property of the taxing district in which the home has its situs, and deducting from the product thus obtained the reductions required or authorized under section 319.302, division (B) of section 323.152, or section 4503.065 of the Revised Code.

(b) The assessable value of the home shall be thirty-five per cent of its true value as determined under division (L) of this section.

(3) On or before the fifteenth day of January each year, the county auditor shall record the assessable value and the amount of tax on the manufactured or mobile home on the tax list and deliver a duplicate of the list to the county treasurer. In the case of an emergency as defined in section 323.17 of the Revised Code, the tax commissioner, by journal entry, may extend the times for delivery of the duplicate for an additional fifteen days upon receiving a written application from the county auditor regarding an extension for the delivery of the duplicate, or from the county treasurer regarding an extension of the time for the billing and collection of taxes. The application shall contain a statement describing the emergency that will cause the unavoidable delay and must be received by the tax commissioner on or before the last day of the month preceding the day delivery of the duplicate is otherwise required. When an extension is granted for delivery of the duplicate, the time period for payment of taxes shall be extended for a like period of time. When a delay in the closing of a tax collection period becomes unavoidable, the tax commissioner, upon application by the county auditor and county treasurer, may order the time for payment of taxes to be extended if the tax commissioner determines that penalties have accrued or would otherwise accrue for reasons beyond the control of the taxpayers of the county. The order shall prescribe the final extended date for payment of taxes for that collection period.

(4) After January 1, 1999, the owner of a manufactured or mobile home taxed pursuant to division (D)(1) of this section may elect to have the home taxed pursuant to division (D)(2) of this section by filing a written request with the county auditor of the taxing district in which the home is located on or before the first day of December of any year. Upon the filing of the request, the county auditor shall determine whether all taxes levied under division (D)(1) of this section have been paid, and if those taxes have been paid, the county auditor shall tax the manufactured or mobile home pursuant to division (D)(2) of this section commencing in the next tax year.

(5) A manufactured or mobile home that acquired situs in this state prior to January 1, 2000, shall be taxed pursuant to division (D)(2) of this section if no manufactured home tax had been paid for the home and the home was not exempted from taxation pursuant to division (E) of this section for the year for which the taxes were not paid.

(6)

(a) Immediately upon receipt of any manufactured home tax duplicate from the county auditor, but not less than twenty days prior to the last date on which the first one-half taxes may be paid without penalty as prescribed in division (F) of this section, the county treasurer shall cause to be prepared and mailed or delivered to each person charged on that duplicate with taxes, or to an agent designated by such person, the tax bill prescribed by the tax commissioner under division (D)(7) of this section. When taxes are paid by installments, the county treasurer shall mail or deliver to each person charged on such duplicate or the agent designated by that person a second tax bill showing the amount due at the time of the second tax collection. The second half tax bill shall be mailed or delivered at least twenty days prior to the close of the second half tax collection period. A change in the mailing address of any tax bill shall be made in writing to the county treasurer. Failure to receive a bill required by this section does not excuse failure or delay to pay any taxes shown on the bill or, except as provided in division (B)(1) of section 5715.39 of the Revised Code, avoid any penalty, interest, or charge for such delay.

(b) After delivery of the copy of the delinquent manufactured home tax list under division (H) of this section, the county treasurer may prepare and mail to each person in whose name a home is listed an additional tax bill showing the total amount of delinquent taxes charged against the home as shown on the list. The tax bill shall include a notice that the interest charge prescribed by division (G) of this section has begun to accrue.

(7) Each tax bill prepared and mailed or delivered under division (D)(6) of this section shall be in the form and contain the information required by the tax commissioner. The commissioner may prescribe different forms for each county and may authorize the county auditor to make up tax bills and tax receipts to be used by the county treasurer. The tax bill shall not contain or be mailed or delivered with any information or material that is not required by this section or that is not authorized by section 321.45 of the Revised Code or by the tax commissioner. In addition to the information required by the commissioner, each tax bill shall contain the following information:

(a) The taxes levied and the taxes charged and payable against the manufactured or mobile home;

(b) The following notice: "Notice: If the taxes are not paid within sixty days after the county auditor delivers the delinquent manufactured home tax list to the county treasurer, you and your home may be subject to collection proceedings for tax delinquency." Failure to provide such notice has no effect upon the validity of any tax judgment to which a home may be subjected.

(c) In the case of manufactured or mobile homes taxed under division (D)(2) of this section, the following additional information:

(i) The effective tax rate. The words "effective tax rate" shall appear in boldface type.

(ii) The following notice: "Notice: If the taxes charged against this home have been reduced by the 2-1/2 per cent tax reduction for residences occupied by the owner but the home is not a residence occupied by the owner, the owner must notify the county auditor's office not later than March 31 of the year for which the taxes are due. Failure to do so may result in the owner being convicted of a fourth degree misdemeanor, which is punishable by imprisonment up to 30 days, a fine up to $250, or both, and in the owner having to repay the amount by which the taxes were erroneously or illegally reduced, plus any interest that may apply.

If the taxes charged against this home have not been reduced by the 2-1/2 per cent tax reduction and the home is a residence occupied by the owner, the home may qualify for the tax reduction. To obtain an application for the tax reduction or further information, the owner may contact the county auditor's office at .......... (insert the address and telephone number of the county auditor's office)."

(E)

(1) A manufactured or mobile home is not subject to this section when any of the following applies:

(a) It is taxable as personal property pursuant to section 5709.01 of the Revised Code. Any manufactured or mobile home that is used as a residence shall be subject to this section and shall not be taxable as personal property pursuant to section 5709.01 of the Revised Code.

(b) It bears a license plate issued by any state other than this state unless the home is in this state in excess of an accumulative period of thirty days in any calendar year.

(c) The annual tax has been paid on the home in this state for the current year.

(d) The tax commissioner has determined, pursuant to section 5715.27 of the Revised Code, that the property is exempt from taxation, or would be exempt from taxation under Chapter 5709. of the Revised Code if it were classified as real property.

(2) A travel trailer or park trailer, as these terms are defined in section 4501.01 of the Revised Code, is not subject to this section if it is unused or unoccupied and stored at the owner's normal place of residence or at a recognized storage facility.

(3) A travel trailer or park trailer, as these terms are defined in section 4501.01 of the Revised Code, is subject to this section and shall be taxed as a manufactured or mobile home if it has a situs longer than thirty days in one location and is connected to existing utilities, unless either of the following applies:

(a) The situs is in a state facility or a camping or park area as defined in division (C), (Q), (S), or (V) of section 3729.01 of the Revised Code.

(b) The situs is in a camping or park area that is a tract of land that has been limited to recreational use by deed or zoning restrictions and subdivided for sale of five or more individual lots for the express or implied purpose of occupancy by either self-contained recreational vehicles as defined in division (T) of section 3729.01 of the Revised Code or by dependent recreational vehicles as defined in division (D) of section 3729.01 of the Revised Code.

(F) Except as provided in division (D)(3) of this section, the manufactured home tax is due and payable as follows:

(1) When a manufactured or mobile home has a situs in this state, as provided in this section, on the first day of January, one-half of the amount of the tax is due and payable on or before the first day of March and the balance is due and payable on or before the thirty-first day of July. At the option of the owner of the home, the tax for the entire year may be paid in full on the first day of March.

(2) When a manufactured or mobile home first acquires a situs in this state after the first day of January, no tax is due and payable for that year.

(G)

(1)

(a) Except as otherwise provided in division (G)(1)(b) of this section, if one-half of the current taxes charged under this section against a manufactured or mobile home, together with the full amount of any delinquent taxes, are not paid on or before the first day of March in that year, or on or before the last day for such payment as extended pursuant to section 4503.063 of the Revised Code, a penalty of ten per cent shall be charged against the unpaid balance of such half of the current taxes. If the total amount of all such taxes is not paid on or before the thirty-first day of July, next thereafter, or on or before the last day for payment as extended pursuant to section 4503.063 of the Revised Code, a like penalty shall be charged on the balance of the total amount of the unpaid current taxes.

(b) After a valid delinquent tax contract that includes unpaid current taxes from a first-half collection period described in division (F) of this section has been entered into under section 323.31 of the Revised Code, no ten per cent penalty shall be charged against such taxes after the second-half collection period while the delinquent tax contract remains in effect. On the day a delinquent tax contract becomes void, the ten per cent penalty shall be charged against such taxes and shall equal the amount of penalty that would have been charged against unpaid current taxes outstanding on the date on which the second-half penalty would have been charged thereon under division (G)(1)(a) of this section if the contract had not been in effect.

(2)

(a) On the first day of the month following the last day the second installment of taxes may be paid without penalty beginning in 2000, interest shall be charged against and computed on all delinquent taxes other than the current taxes that became delinquent taxes at the close of the last day such second installment could be paid without penalty. The charge shall be for interest that accrued during the period that began on the preceding first day of December and ended on the last day of the month that included the last date such second installment could be paid without penalty. The interest shall be computed at the rate per annum prescribed by section 5703.47 of the Revised Code and shall be entered as a separate item on the delinquent manufactured home tax list compiled under division (H) of this section.

(b) On the first day of December beginning in 2000, the interest shall be charged against and computed on all delinquent taxes. The charge shall be for interest that accrued during the period that began on the first day of the month following the last date prescribed for the payment of the second installment of taxes in the current year and ended on the immediately preceding last day of November. The interest shall be computed at the rate per annum prescribed by section 5703.47 of the Revised Code and shall be entered as a separate item on the delinquent manufactured home tax list.

(c) After a valid undertaking has been entered into for the payment of any delinquent taxes, no interest shall be charged against such delinquent taxes while the undertaking remains in effect in compliance with section 323.31 of the Revised Code. If a valid undertaking becomes void, interest shall be charged against the delinquent taxes for the periods that interest was not permitted to be charged while the undertaking was in effect. The interest shall be charged on the day the undertaking becomes void and shall equal the amount of interest that would have been charged against the unpaid delinquent taxes outstanding on the dates on which interest would have been charged thereon under divisions (G)(1) and (2) of this section had the undertaking not been in effect.

(3) If the full amount of the taxes due at either of the times prescribed by division (F) of this section is paid within ten days after such time, the county treasurer shall waive the collection of and the county auditor shall remit one-half of the penalty provided for in this division for failure to make that payment by the prescribed time.

(4) The treasurer shall compile and deliver to the county auditor a list of all tax payments the treasurer has received as provided in division (G)(3) of this section. The list shall include any information required by the auditor for the remission of the penalties waived by the treasurer. The taxes so collected shall be included in the settlement next succeeding the settlement then in process.

(H)

(1) The county auditor shall compile annually a "delinquent manufactured home tax list" consisting of homes the county treasurer's records indicate have taxes that were not paid within the time prescribed by divisions (D)(3) and (F) of this section, have taxes that remain unpaid from prior years, or have unpaid tax penalties or interest that have been assessed.

(2) Within thirty days after the settlement under division (H)(2) of section 321.24 of the Revised Code , the county auditor shall deliver a copy of the delinquent manufactured home tax list to the county treasurer. The auditor shall update and publish the delinquent manufactured home tax list annually in the same manner as delinquent real property tax lists are published. The county auditor may apportion the cost of publishing the list among taxing districts in proportion to the amount of delinquent manufactured home taxes so published that each taxing district is entitled to receive upon collection of those taxes, or the county auditor may charge the owner of a home on the list a flat fee established under section 319.54 of the Revised Code for the cost of publishing the list and, if the fee is not paid, may place the fee upon the delinquent manufactured home tax list as a lien on the listed home, to be collected as other manufactured home taxes.

(3) When taxes, penalties, or interest are charged against a person on the delinquent manufactured home tax list and are not paid within sixty days after the list is delivered to the county treasurer, the county treasurer shall, in addition to any other remedy provided by law for the collection of taxes, penalties, and interest, enforce collection of such taxes, penalties, and interest by civil action in the name of the treasurer against the owner for the recovery of the unpaid taxes following the procedures for the recovery of delinquent real property taxes in sections 323.25 to 323.28 of the Revised Code. The action may be brought in municipal or county court, provided the amount charged does not exceed the monetary limitations for original jurisdiction for civil actions in those courts.

It is sufficient, having made proper parties to the suit, for the county treasurer to allege in the treasurer's bill of particulars or petition that the taxes stand chargeable on the books of the county treasurer against such person, that they are due and unpaid, and that such person is indebted in the amount of taxes appearing to be due the county. The treasurer need not set forth any other matter relating thereto. If it is found on the trial of the action that the person is indebted to the state, judgment shall be rendered in favor of the county treasurer prosecuting the action. The judgment debtor is not entitled to the benefit of any law for stay of execution or exemption of property from levy or sale on execution in the enforcement of the judgment.

Upon the filing of an entry of confirmation of sale or an order of forfeiture in a proceeding brought under this division, title to the manufactured or mobile home shall be in the purchaser. The clerk of courts shall issue a certificate of title to the purchaser upon presentation of proof of filing of the entry of confirmation or order and, in the case of a forfeiture, presentation of the county auditor's certificate of sale.

(I) The total amount of taxes collected shall be distributed in the following manner: four per cent shall be allowed as compensation to the county auditor for the county auditor's service in assessing the taxes; two per cent shall be allowed as compensation to the county treasurer for the services the county treasurer renders as a result of the tax levied by this section. Such amounts shall be paid into the county treasury, to the credit of the county general revenue fund, on the warrant of the county auditor. Fees to be paid to the credit of the real estate assessment fund shall be collected pursuant to division (C) of section 319.54 of the Revised Code and paid into the county treasury, on the warrant of the county auditor. The balance of the taxes collected shall be distributed among the taxing subdivisions of the county in which the taxes are collected and paid in the same ratio as those taxes were collected for the benefit of the taxing subdivision. The taxes levied and revenues collected under this section shall be in lieu of any general property tax and any tax levied with respect to the privilege of using or occupying a manufactured or mobile home in this state except as provided in sections 4503.04 and 5741.02 of the Revised Code.

(J) An agreement to purchase or a bill of sale for a manufactured home shall show whether or not the furnishings and equipment are included in the purchase price.

(K) If the county treasurer and the county prosecuting attorney agree that an item charged on the delinquent manufactured home tax list is uncollectible, they shall certify that determination and the reasons to the county board of revision. If the board determines the amount is uncollectible, it shall certify its determination to the county auditor, who shall strike the item from the list.

(L)

(1) The county auditor shall appraise at its true value any manufactured or mobile home in which ownership is transferred or which first acquires situs in this state on or after January 1, 2000, and any manufactured or mobile home the owner of which has elected, under division (D)(4) of this section, to have the home taxed under division (D)(2) of this section. The true value shall include the value of the home, any additions, and any fixtures, but not any furnishings in the home. In determining the true value of a manufactured or mobile home, the auditor shall consider all facts and circumstances relating to the value of the home, including its age, its capacity to function as a residence, any obsolete characteristics, and other factors that may tend to prove its true value.

(2)

(a) If a manufactured or mobile home has been the subject of an arm's length sale between a willing seller and a willing buyer within a reasonable length of time prior to the determination of true value, the county auditor shall consider the sale price of the home to be the true value for taxation purposes.

(b) The sale price in an arm's length transaction between a willing seller and a willing buyer shall not be considered the true value of the home if either of the following occurred after the sale:

(i) The home has lost value due to a casualty.

(ii) An addition or fixture has been added to the home.

(3) The county auditor shall have each home viewed and appraised at least once in each six-year period in the same year in which real property in the county is appraised pursuant to Chapter 5713. of the Revised Code, and shall update the appraised values in the third calendar year following the appraisal. The person viewing or appraising a home may enter the home to determine by actual view any additions or fixtures that have been added since the last appraisal. In conducting the appraisals and establishing the true value, the auditor shall follow the procedures set forth for appraising real property in sections 5713.01 and 5713.03 of the Revised Code.

(4) The county auditor shall place the true value of each home on the manufactured home tax list upon completion of an appraisal.

(5)

(a) If the county auditor changes the true value of a home, the auditor shall notify the owner of the home in writing, delivered by mail or in person. The notice shall be given at least thirty days prior to the issuance of any tax bill that reflects the change. Failure to receive the notice does not invalidate any proceeding under this section.

(b) Any owner of a home or any other person or party listed in division (A)(1) of section 5715.19 of the Revised Code may file a complaint against the true value of the home as appraised under this section. The complaint shall be filed with the county auditor on or before the thirty-first day of March of the current tax year or the date of closing of the collection for the first half of manufactured home taxes for the current tax year, whichever is later. The auditor shall present to the county board of revision all complaints filed with the auditor under this section. The board shall hear and investigate the complaint and may take action on it as provided under sections 5715.11 to 5715.19 of the Revised Code.

(c) If the county board of revision determines, pursuant to a complaint against the valuation of a manufactured or mobile home filed under this section, that the amount of taxes, assessments, or other charges paid was in excess of the amount due based on the valuation as finally determined, then the overpayment shall be refunded in the manner prescribed in section 5715.22 of the Revised Code.

(d) Payment of all or part of a tax under this section for any year for which a complaint is pending before the county board of revision does not abate the complaint or in any way affect the hearing and determination thereof.

(M) If the county auditor determines that any tax or other charge or any part thereof has been erroneously charged as a result of a clerical error as defined in section 319.35 of the Revised Code, the county auditor shall call the attention of the county board of revision to the erroneous charges. If the board finds that the taxes or other charges have been erroneously charged or collected, it shall certify the finding to the auditor. Upon receipt of the certification, the auditor shall remove the erroneous charges on the manufactured home tax list or delinquent manufactured home tax list in the same manner as is prescribed in section 319.35 of the Revised Code for erroneous charges against real property, and refund any erroneous charges that have been collected, with interest, in the same manner as is prescribed in section 319.36 of the Revised Code for erroneous charges against real property.

(N) As used in this section and section 4503.061 of the Revised Code:

(1) "Manufactured home taxes" includes taxes, penalties, and interest charged under division (C) or (G) of this section and any penalties charged under division (G) or (H)(5) of section 4503.061 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Current taxes" means all manufactured home taxes charged against a manufactured or mobile home that have not appeared on the manufactured home tax list for any prior year. Current taxes become delinquent taxes if they remain unpaid after the last day prescribed for payment of the second installment of current taxes without penalty, whether or not they have been certified delinquent.

(3) "Delinquent taxes" means:

(a) Any manufactured home taxes that were charged against a manufactured or mobile home for a prior year, including any penalties or interest charged for a prior year and the costs of publication under division (H)(2) of this section, and that remain unpaid;

(b) Any current manufactured home taxes charged against a manufactured or mobile home that remain unpaid after the last day prescribed for payment of the second installment of current taxes without penalty, whether or not they have been certified delinquent, including any penalties or interest and the costs of publication under division (H)(2) of this section.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.28, HB 153, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2011.

Effective Date: 06-15-2004; 2007 HB119 06-30-2007