Article 6. State Assessed Property Escaping Assessment of California Revenue And Taxation Code >> Division 1. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 4. >> Article 6.

If any property subject to assessment by the board pursuant to Section 19 of Article XIII of the Constitution escapes assessment, the board shall assess it in accordance with Section 864 at its value on the lien date of the year in which it escaped assessment.

When an assessee, after a request by the board, fails to file a property statement by the date specified in Section 830 or files with the board a property statement or report on a form prescribed by the board with respect to state-assessed property and the statement fails to report any taxable tangible property information accurately, regardless of whether or not this information is available to the assessee, to the extent that these failures cause the board not to assess the property or to assess it at a lower valuation than it would have if the property information had been reported accurately, the property shall be assessed in accordance with Section 864, and a penalty of 10 percent shall be added to the additional assessment. If the failure to report or the failure to report accurately is willful or fraudulent, a penalty of 25 percent shall be added to the additional assessment. If the assessee establishes to the satisfaction of the board that the failure to file an accurate property statement was due to reasonable cause and occurred notwithstanding the exercise of ordinary care and the absence of willful neglect, the board shall order the penalty abated, in whole or in part, provided that the assessee has filed with the board written application for abatement of the penalty within the time prescribed by law for the filing of applications for assessment reductions.

If any state assessee or his agent willfully conceals, fails to disclose, removes, transfers, or misrepresents state-assessed property in order to evade taxation and this action results in state-assessed property escaping assessment, or if any state assessee or his agent through fraudulent act or fraudulent omission or through collusion between the state assessee or his agent and the board, its officers, or employees causes any state-assessed property to escape assessment, a penalty shall be imposed as follows:
  (a) Insofar as values escaping assessment are part of the unit value, 25 percent of the additional unit assessed value shall be added to the unallocated unit assessment.
  (b) Insofar as the values escaping assessment relate to the assessment of nonunitary property, 25 percent of the additional assessment shall be added to the nonunitary assessment.

(a) Property which is found to have escaped assessment may either be added to the roll for the fiscal year in which it is discovered or included with the assessments for the succeeding fiscal year. To the escaped assessment, there shall be added, in lieu of interest, three-quarters of 1 percent of the escaped assessed value for each month or fraction thereof from December 10 of the year in which the escaped assessment should have been enrolled to the date the escaped assessment is added to the board roll; provided, however, that an assessment in lieu of interest shall not be added if the escape was due to an error, other than an erroneous opinion of value, on the part of the board. The property shall be taxed at the rates applicable to assessments on the roll to which it is added.
  (b) If the escaped assessment is made as a result of an audit which discloses that property assessed to the party audited has been excessively assessed for any year covered by the audit which falls within the period provided for corrections under Section 4876, the excessive assessments together with any assessment in lieu of interest under subdivision (c) shall be an offset against proposed escaped assessments, including accumulated penalties and additional assessments in lieu of interest. If the excessive assessments exceed the escaped assessments, including penalties and assessments in lieu of interest, the excess may either be credited to the roll for the fiscal year in which it is discovered or deducted from the assessment for the succeeding fiscal year.
  (c) Whenever the excessive assessments were due to clerical errors or other errors by the board not involving exercise of judgment, there shall be added, in lieu of interest, three-quarters of 1 percent of the excessive assessment for each month or fraction thereof, from December 10 of the year in which the excessive assessment was enrolled to the date the excessive assessment is credited to the board roll or to the date the excessive assessment is deducted from the assessment from the succeeding fiscal year, as provided in subdivision (b).

When the value of a state assessee's unitary property that lies in more than one tax-rate area has been underallocated to one or more tax-rate areas and overallocated by a like amount to one or more other tax-rate areas for any reason, the misallocation shall be corrected by the board either by orders directing local auditors to amend the rolls for the fiscal year in which the misallocation is discovered or by changes on the board rolls for the fiscal year succeeding discovery.

Any assessment to which the penalty provided in Section 863 must be added shall be made within six years of July 1 of the assessment year in which the property escaped assessment. Any other escaped assessment shall be made within four years of July 1 of the assessment year in which the property escaped assessment.

An assessment made pursuant to this article against real property for the year or years in which such real property escaped assessment shall not create or impose a lien or charge on such real property for taxes, interest, or penalty if (1) such real property has been transferred or conveyed to a bona fide purchaser for value prior to the date of such assessment and the showing thereof on the secured roll with the date of entry specified thereon; or (2) such real property is subject to a lien of a bona fide encumbrance for value created and attaching prior to the date of such assessment and the showing thereof on the secured roll with the date of entry specified thereon. In such cases, the tax collector may record with the county recorder of any county a certificate which shall set forth the name of the person who would have been the assessee in the year in which such real property escaped assessment and the amount or amounts of any such assessments and penalties. From the date of the recording of such certificate, a lien shall be created and shall attach against any real property owned by such person in the county or counties in which any such certificates may have been recorded, which lien shall have the force, effect and priority of a judgment lien. The tax collector, with the approval of the board of supervisors, may at any time release all or any portion of real property subject to any lien created or attaching by the recording of such a certificate from such lien or subordinate such lien to other liens and encumbrances if he or she determines that the assessment or taxes are sufficiently secured by a lien on other property belonging to the person named in such a certificate or that the release or subordination will not endanger or jeopardize the collection of such assessment or taxes. A written certification by the tax collector to the effect that real property subject to any lien imposed by the recording of the certificate as hereinbefore provided has been released from such lien or that such lien has been subordinated to other liens shall be conclusive evidence as to any bona fide purchaser, encumbrancer, or lessee that such lien has been released or has been subordinated as set forth in such written certification. Such written certification may be recorded with the county recorder of any county.

If, before the expiration of the time prescribed in Section 866 for making an escape assessment, the taxpayer has consented in writing to allow an assessment after that time, the assessment may be made by the board at any time prior to the expiration of the period agreed upon. The period may be extended by subsequent agreements in writing made before the expiration of the period previously agreed upon.