Was a proposed used-mobilehome sale exempt when license fees had been delinquent more than 120 days, placing the unit under local property taxation?

Plain-English summary

A seller proposed transferring a mobilehome that had been placed on the county property-tax rolls because its license fees were more than 120 days delinquent. The unit would move from Del Norte County to Trinity County.

California explained that Revenue and Taxation Code section 10759.5 subjected such a mobilehome to local property-tax law. Section 6379 exempted the sale, storage, use, or other consumption of a used mobilehome subject to California local property taxation.

The proposed sale therefore was exempt from sales and use tax. Moving the mobilehome between the two counties did not change the result.

Source and live-annotation limits

The letter does not identify the requester or supply the mobilehome, title or registration, licensing-fee delinquency, county property-tax roll, proposed sale terms, Del Norte-to-Trinity movement, tax records, completed transfer, or later outcome. It does not establish the amount or exact period of delinquency beyond more than 120 days. The source prints “licensed fees”; that defect remains in the original text.

The live annotation preserves the 120-day rule and sales-or-use-tax exemption for a used mobilehome subject to property taxation. It omits the proposed and redacted-requester posture, July 1, 1980 effective dates, specific county-roll fact, Del Norte and Trinity Counties, intercounty-movement conclusion, missing records, source defect, and later-outcome gap.

What this means for you

Used-mobilehome sellers, buyers, and tax professionals

Confirm the unit's licensing history and property-tax status at transfer. The opinion tied the exemption to actual local property-tax treatment, not to whether the unit remained in the same county.

Common questions

Q: Why was the sale exempt?

A: The used mobilehome was subject to local property taxation.

Q: Why was it on the property-tax rolls?

A: Its licensing fees had been delinquent for more than 120 days under the historical statute.

Q: Did moving it to another California county matter?

A: No.

Citations and references

• California Revenue and Taxation Code §§ 6379 and 10759.5
• Proposed transfer, mobilehome, licensing-fee delinquency, county property-tax roll, and movement records — described but not included

Verbatim support

From the official October 15, 1980 letter:

Applying the above quoted provisions to your proposed transaction, it is our opinion that the proposed sale would be exempt from the sales and use tax.

We do not attach any significance to the proposed movement of the property from Del Norte to Trinity County.

Source

• Annotated Legal Opinions collection: CDTFA Annotated Legal Opinions
• Annotation page: Annotation 362.0900
• Original supporting opinion: 362.0900 PDF

Original ruling text

362.0900

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION

October 15, 1980

Dear
This will provide you with our written opinion as to the application of the tax to a proposed mobilehome transfer. You propose to sell a mobilehome which has been placed on the county property tax rolls by reason of the licensed fees being delinquent for a period of more than 120 days. The property is to be moved from Del Norte to Trinity County. Effective July 1, 1980, Revenue and Taxation Code Section 6379 provides an exemption from the sales and use tax for the sale of, or the storage, use, or other consumption of any used mobilehome which is subject to local property taxation under the laws of this state. Section 10759.5 of this same code provides that on or after July 1, 1980, any mobilehome with respect to which the license fees have been delinquent for a period of 120 days or more "shall be subject to the provisions of law governing local property taxation." Applying the above quoted provisions to your proposed transaction, it is our opinion that the proposed sale would be exempt from the sales and use tax. We do not attach any significance to the proposed movement of the property from Del Norte to Trinity County.

Sincerely,

W. E. Burkett
Tax Counsel

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