(A) Assessments.
Property subject to ad valorem taxation shall be listed on the assessment rolls at its assessed valuation, which, except as provided in Paragraphs (C), (F), and (G), shall be a percentage of its fair market value. The percentage of fair market value shall be uniform throughout the state upon the same class of property.(B) Classification.
The classifications of property subject to ad valorem taxation and the percentage of fair market value applicable to each classification for the purpose of determining assessed valuation are as follows:| Classifications | Percentages |
|---|---|
| 1. Land | 10% |
| 2. Improvements for residential purposes | 10% |
| 3. Electric cooperative properties, excluding land | 15% |
| 4. Public service properties, excluding land | 25% |
| 5. Other property | 15% |
(C) Use Value.
Bona fide agricultural, horticultural, marsh, and timber lands, as defined by general law, shall be assessed for tax purposes at ten percent of use value rather than fair market value. The legislature may provide by law similarly for buildings of historic architectural importance.(D) Valuation.
Each assessor shall determine the fair market value of all property subject to taxation within his respective parish or district except public service properties, which shall be valued at fair market value by the Louisiana Tax Commission or its successor. Each assessor shall determine the use value of property which is to be so assessed under the provisions of Paragraph (C). Fair market value and use value of property shall be determined in accordance with criteria which shall be established by law and which shall apply uniformly throughout the state.(E) Review.
The correctness of assessments by the assessor shall be subject to review first by the parish governing authority, then by the Louisiana Tax Commission or its successor, and finally by the courts, all in accordance with procedures established by law.(F) Reappraisal.
(2)
(ii) For purposes of calculating the ad valorem taxes on the property in the second levy following reappraisal, the collector shall increase the portion of the assessed value of the property used to calculate ad valorem taxes by adding an amount which is equal to one-half of the amount of the increase in the property's assessed value as a result of the reappraisal to the base amount. This resulting amount shall constitute the property's taxable value and shall be used solely for purposes of calculating ad valorem taxes for that taxable year.
(iii) For purposes of calculating the ad valorem taxes on the property in the third levy following reappraisal, the collector shall increase the portion of the assessed value of the property used to calculate ad valorem taxes by adding an amount which is equal to three-quarters of the amount of the increase in the property's assessed value as a result of the reappraisal to the base amount. This resulting amount shall constitute the property's taxable value and shall be used solely for purposes of calculating ad valorem taxes for that taxable year.
(iv) In the fourth levy following reappraisal, the collector shall calculate ad valorem taxes based on the property's full assessed value.
(c) Property subject to the provisions of this Subparagraph shall not be subject to reappraisal by an assessor until after the four-year phase-in of the amount of the increase in the property's assessed value is complete.
(d) Notwithstanding any provision of this constitution to the contrary, the increase in assessed valuation of property phased-in under this Subparagraph shall be included as taxable property for purposes of any subsequent reappraisals and valuation for millage adjustment purposes under Article VII, Section 23(B) of this constitution. The decrease in the total amount of ad valorem tax collected by a taxing authority as a result of this phase-in of assessed valuation shall be absorbed by the taxing authority and shall not create any additional tax liability for other taxpayers in the taxing district as a result of any subsequent reappraisal and valuation or millage adjustment. Implementation of this phase-in of increase in assessed valuation authorized in this Subparagraph shall neither trigger nor be cause for a reappraisal of property or an adjustment of millages pursuant to the provisions of Article VII, Section 23(B) of this constitution.
(e) The provisions of this Subparagraph shall not apply to the extent the increase was attributable to construction on or improvements to the property.
(G) Special Assessment Level.
(bb) People who have a service-connected disability rating of fifty percent or more by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
(cc) Members of the armed forces of the United States or the Louisiana National Guard who owned and last occupied such property who are killed in action, or who are missing in action or are a prisoner of war for a period exceeding ninety days.
(dd) Any person or persons permanently totally disabled as determined by a final non-appealable judgment of a court or as certified by a state or federal administrative agency charged with the responsibility for making determinations regarding disability.
(iii) An eligible owner or the owner's spouse or other legally qualified representative shall apply for the special assessment level by filing a signed application establishing that the owner qualifies for the special assessment level with the assessor of the parish or, in the parish of Orleans, the assessor of the district where the property is located.
(iv) An owner who is below the age of sixty-five and who has applied for and received the special assessment level may qualify for and receive the special assessment level in the subsequent year by certifying to the assessor of the parish that such person or persons' adjusted gross income in the prior tax year satisfied the income requirement of this Section. The provisions of this Item shall not apply to an owner who has qualified for and received the special assessment level for persons sixty-five years of age or older or to such owner's surviving spouse as described in Item (2)(a)(i) of this Paragraph or for an owner who is permanently totally disabled as provided for in Subitem (i)(dd) of this Subsubparagraph.
(ii) The owner who has a service-connected disability of fifty percent or more, or that owner's surviving spouse who is forty-five years of age or older or who has minor children, remains the owner of the property.
(iii) The spouse of the owner who is killed in action remains the owner of the property.
(iv) The first day of the tax year following the tax year in which an owner who was missing in action or was a prisoner of war for a period exceeding ninety days is no longer missing in action or a prisoner of war.
(v) Even if the ownership interest of any surviving spouse or spouse of an owner who is missing in action as provided for in this Subparagraph is an interest in usufruct.
(4)
(b) This new assessment level shall remain in effect until changed as provided by this Section or this Constitution.
(b) Any owner entitled to the special assessment level set forth in Subsubparagraph (a) of this Subparagraph who is unable to reoccupy his homestead within five years from December thirty-first of the year following the disaster shall be eligible for an extension of the special assessment level on the homestead for a period not to exceed two years. A homeowner shall be eligible for this extension only if the homeowner's damage claim is filed and pending in a formal appeal process with any federal, state, or local government agency or program offering grants or assistance for repairing or rebuilding damaged or destroyed homes as a result of the disaster, or if a homeowner has a damage claim filed and pending against the insurer of the property. The homeowner shall apply for this extension of the special assessment level with the assessor of the parish in which the homestead is located. The assessor shall require the homeowner to provide official documentation from the government agency or program evidencing the homeowner's participation in the formal appeal process or official documentation evidencing the homeowner has a damage claim filed and pending against the insurer of the damaged property, as provided by law.
(c) After expiration of the extension authorized in Subsubparagraph (b) of this Subparagraph, an assessor shall have the authority to grant on a case-by-case basis up to three additional one-year extensions of the special assessment level as prescribed by law.
(b) If a trust would have been eligible for the special assessment level pursuant to this Subparagraph prior to the most recent reappraisal, the total assessment of the property held in trust shall be the assessed value on the last appraisal before the reappraisal.
