Who could claim Louisiana's homestead exemption after a home was sold for unpaid taxes?

Plain-English summary

DeSoto Parish's assessor asked what a buyer received at a tax sale of an occupied home and what happened to the delinquent owner's homestead exemption. In this 2006 opinion, the Attorney General said the purchaser took the whole property assessed to the delinquent taxpayer if it was the least quantity needed to satisfy the tax debt. The purchaser could seek a homestead exemption, but only if the purchaser qualified personally.

The former owner's exemption ceased when that owner's name was removed from the tax rolls. In the next tax year, the property would be assessed to the buyer. The buyer was not automatically exempt: the AG said the buyer would need to take possession, occupy the property and satisfy the other constitutional requirements. The opinion cited a court decision recognizing a tax-deed title subject to a three-year redemption right under the law as it then stood.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2006. 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.

Common questions

Did a tax-sale buyer inherit the delinquent owner's homestead exemption automatically?

No. The AG said the buyer could file for the exemption only if the buyer independently qualified, including by possessing and occupying the property.

When did the delinquent owner's exemption end?

According to the opinion, the exemption ceased when the former owner's name was removed from the tax rolls after the sale.

Did the buyer receive the whole parcel at the tax sale?

The AG answered on the stated assumption that the assessed property was the least quantity sufficient to satisfy the taxes and related charges. Under the quoted statute, the purchaser then took the whole assessed property.

Was the buyer's tax-deed title free of redemption rights?

No. The opinion cited a Louisiana appellate decision describing a valid title subject to a three-year right of redemption under the law considered in 2006.

Background and statutory framework

La. R.S. 47:2184 described the property interest conveyed at the tax sale. The AG applied that provision to the assessor's hypothetical and distinguished ownership from eligibility for the tax exemption. It referred to La. Const. (1974) Art. VII, Sec. 20 for the purchaser's personal qualification and to earlier AG opinions on the former owner's loss of the exemption.

Citations

• La. R.S. 47:2184 (tax-sale conveyance).
• La. Const. (1974) Art. VII, Sec. 20 (homestead qualification).
• Goodwill v. Smith, 29 So.2d 188 (La. App. 2 Cir. 1947) (tax deed and redemption right).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/05-0436

Original opinion text

June 27, 2006
OPINION NUMBER 05-0436

125 TAXATION - Homestead Exemption
Jimmy Stephens
129 TAXATION - Levy and Assessment (Ad Valorem
DeSoto Parish Assessor
Taxes)
212 Adams Street
A purchaser of tax sale property takes the entire property
Mansfield, LA 71052
as it was owned by the delinquent taxpayer including the
right to file for homestead exemption if he qualifies.

Dear Mr. Stephens:

Your request for an Attorney General opinion was forwarded to me for research and reply. In your letter you describe a situation where a person owns and lives on property worth $100,000, thereby qualifying for the homestead exemption. The property owner fails to pay his taxes and his property is either sold at a tax sale or adjudicated to the parish. Your questions under this scenario are as follows: (1) What does a purchaser actually get when he purchases the property at a tax sale; and (2) Does the tax debtor lose his homestead exemption when his property is either sold at a tax sale or adjudicated to the Parish.

La. R.S. 47:2184 provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

§2184 Immovable property; interests conveyed

The tax sale shall convey, and the purchaser shall take, the whole of the property assessed to the delinquent taxpayer if it is the least quantity sufficient to satisfy the aggregate of all taxes, interest, penalties, and costs.

Assuming the property described in your scenario is the least quantity sufficient to satisfy the tax debt, a purchaser of tax sale property takes the entire property as it was owned by the delinquent taxpayer including the right to file for homestead exemption if he qualifies. (See, La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 92-396). In Goodwill v. Smith, 29 So.2d 188 (La. App. 2 Cir. 1947), the Second Circuit Court of Appeal recognized that a tax deed vests in the purchaser a ‘valid title to the land’ subject to a three year right of redemption. We have stated in many opinions that a tax sale conveys a right of ownership. As such, a buyer who purchases property at a tax sale is bestowed all rights of ownership.

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JIMMY STEPHENS
OPINION NUMBER 05-0436
Page - 3 –

In answer to your second question, it has been our opinion that if property sold was the tax debtor’s homestead, his exemption from taxes would cease to exist when his name was removed from the tax rolls. (See, La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 04- 211). And the following tax year, the property would be assessed in the name of the tax purchaser, who would not be entitled to the homestead exemption unless he took possession of the property, occupied it and met the other requirements of La. Const. (1974) Art. VII, Sec. 20.

We hope this opinion has sufficiently addressed your concerns. If our office may be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: ___
CHARLENE PATTERSON
Assistant Attorney General

/cp
Enclosure

Page 3

JIMMY STEPHENS
OPINION NUMBER 05-0436
Page - 3 –

#05-0436

125 TAXATION - Homestead Exemption
129 TAXATION - Levy and Assessment (Ad Valorem Taxes)

A purchaser of tax sale property takes the entire property as it was owned by the delinquent taxpayer including the right to file for homestead exemption if he qualifies.

Jimmy Stephens
DeSoto Parish Assessor
212 Adams Street
Mansfield, LA 71052

Date Received:
Date Released: June 27, 2006

CHARLENE PATTERSON
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL