Could homeowners claim Louisiana's homestead exemption after transferring title to their corporation?

Plain-English summary

A Bossier Parish assessor asked whether a married couple could still claim the homestead exemption after the homeowner transferred title to his business while they continued living in the house. In 2000, the attorney general's office said no. It read the constitutional exemption to require the residence to be owned and occupied by the same person or family.

The opinion treated the corporation and its individual owners as distinct. The couple's continued residence did not satisfy the ownership condition when title was in the business's name.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2000. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Parish assessors at the time

The office concluded the described business-owned house did not qualify for the homestead exemption even though the business owners occupied it.

Homeowners at the time

The opinion said residence alone was insufficient after title was transferred to a separate corporate owner.

Common questions

Q: Did living in the home preserve the exemption after title passed to a corporation?
A: No. The office required both ownership and occupancy by the same person or family under the provision it quoted.

Q: Did sole ownership of the corporation change the answer?
A: No. The opinion said the occupants and the corporation remained separate persons for this purpose.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion applied Article VII, Section 20 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, which it quoted as exempting a bona fide homestead “owned and occupied by any person.” It relied on that paired condition and earlier attorney general opinions to reject the exemption after transfer to the occupants' business.

Citations and references

• Article VII, Section 20 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974 (homestead exemption)
• Attorney General Opinion Nos. 84-39, 80-520, 79-360, and 78-667 (earlier treatment)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/00-0482

Original opinion text

December 21, 2000
OPINION NUMBER 00-482

Honorable Bobby W. Edmiston 4 Assessors
125
Taxation-Homestead Exemption
Assessor, Bossier Parish
204 Burt Blvd.
Article VII, Section 20 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974

P. O. Box 325
Homestead exemption is not available where title to the
Benton, LA 71006-0325
home is in the name of a corporation owned by the
occupant of the home.

Dear Mr. Edmiston:

You have requested an opinion of the Attorney General relative to the applicability of the homestead exemption to property which is owned by the occupant’s business. You state that the homeowner transferred title of his home to his business. He and his wife occupy the house. You specifically ask whether the property is entitled to the homestead exemption.

In answer to your question, I refer you to Article VII, Section 20 of the 1974 Louisiana Constitution. It provides, in pertinent part, the following:

§ 20 Homestead Exemption

Section 20. (A) Homeowners

(1) The bona fine homestead, consisting of a tract of land or two or more tracts of land with a residence on one tract and a field, pasture, or garden on the other tract or tracts, not exceeding one hundred sixty acres, buildings and appurtenances, whether rural or urban, owned and occupied by any person, shall be exempt from state, parish and special ad valorem taxes to the extent of seven thousand five hundred dollars of the assessed valuation.
(Emphasis added.)

As can be gleaned from the above, the homestead exemption is applied to residences “owned and occupied by any person”.

In order for the homestead exemption to apply in the situation you described, the business or corporation must be said to be occupying the residence claimed in the exemption. Ordinarily, homeowners would not choose to form a corporation unless

Page 2

Opinion No. 00-482
Hon. Bobby W. Edmiston
Assessor, Bossier Parish
Page: - 2-

there was a business enterprise operated from their home. The exemption cannot apply to a commercial or profitable use, but only to residential use by residential homeowners.

Further, if the sole owners of the business lived on the premises and maintained it as their home, the exemption would not be applicable since two separate and distinct persons own and occupy, and the exemption only applies where the property is both owned and occupied by one person or family.

Accordingly, it is the opinion of this office that the homestead exemption does not apply to property sold by the owner/occupant to his business. In accord are Attorney General Opinion Nos. 84-39, 80-520, 79-360 and 78-667.

Trusting this adequately responds to your inquiry, I am

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
Attorney General

By:
ROBERT E. HARROUN, III
Assistant Attorney General

RPI/REH,3/sfj

Page 3

SYLLABUS
OPINION NUMBER 00-482

4 Assessors
125 Taxation-Homestead Exemption

Article VII, Section 20 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974

Homestead exemption is not available where title to the home is in the name of a corporation owned by the occupant of the home.

Honorable Bobby W. Edmiston
Assessor, Bossier Parish
204 Burt Blvd.
P. O. Box 325
Benton, LA 71006-0325

DATE RECEIVED:

DATE RELEASED: December 21, 2000

Robert E. Harroun, III
Assistant Attorney General