Is my Kansas mobile or manufactured home taxed as personal property or as real estate, and does eliminating the title change that?

Plain-English summary

A mobile or manufactured home in Kansas is taxed one of two ways: as personal property, or as part of the real estate it sits on. Which one applies is not a matter of preference, and it is not settled by whether you have surrendered the title.

The directive restates the statutory test. K.S.A. 79-340 makes the home personal property unless both of these are true:

1. "The title to the mobile or manufactured home is vested in the same person or the spouse of such person who holds title to the real property upon which such mobile or manufactured home is located."
2. "Such mobile or manufactured home has a permanent foundation, such foundation being of a type not removable intact from such real property."

The second condition does most of the work, so the directive pins down what a permanent foundation is. Quoting HUD's Permanent Foundations Guide for Manufactured Housing, it "must be constructed of durable materials; i.e. concrete, mortared masonry, or treated wood – and be site built," and is "designed as a continuous wall (whether bearing or non-bearing) around the perimeter of the mobile or manufactured home."

What does not qualify is equally clear. The directive points to the uniform standards code illustration showing the different ways a home can be attached to the ground, which "clearly makes a differentiation between a permanent foundation and other types of attachments." Its conclusion: "Tie downs, ground anchors, and piers are necessary to attach a mobile or manufactured home to the ground, but the statutory definition of a real property mobile or manufactured home for tax purposes relies on a permanent foundation."

The most useful clarification in the directive concerns title elimination, a common source of confusion because a second statute -- K.S.A. 58-4214 of the Kansas Manufactured Housing Act -- says a permanently affixed home "shall be considered for all purposes an improvement to real property, if the certificate of title which has been issued or is required to be issued for such manufactured home or mobile home pursuant to K.S.A. 58-4204, and amendments thereto, is eliminated pursuant to this section." The directive adds its own emphasis note to that conditional clause.

Reading that alongside the tax statute, the Division draws a line: "As in K.S.A. 79-340, K.S.A. 58-4214 references permanent foundation; however, elimination of title is not a requirement of K.S.A. 79-340. To be clear, K.S.A. 79-340 does not require the elimination of title for a mobile home or manufactured home to be considered real property for purposes of property taxation."

In other words, the two statutes share the permanent-foundation concept but not the title-elimination step. For property tax purposes, common ownership plus a permanent foundation is enough.

What this means for you

Mobile and manufactured home owners

Look at your foundation, not your paperwork. If the home sits on piers, tie downs or ground anchors, it is personal property for tax purposes even if it has not moved in decades. If it sits on a site-built continuous perimeter wall of concrete, mortared masonry or treated wood, and you own both the home and the land (or your spouse does), it should be taxed as part of the real estate -- whether or not you ever eliminated the title.

That matters because the two treatments run on different tracks: personal property is listed and assessed as personal property, while a home that qualifies as real property is carried with the land.

Owners who rent the lot

Note the ownership leg. If you own the home but rent the pad in a mobile home community, the titles are not "vested in the same person," so the first condition fails regardless of how the home is anchored. The home stays personal property.

Owners considering title elimination

The directive's practical point is that title elimination and property tax classification are related but separate decisions. You do not have to eliminate the title to be taxed as real property. If you do pursue elimination, Form TR-63 is the instrument the directive discusses, and the Division asks counties to apply "the same definition of 'a permanent foundation, such foundation being of a type not removeable intact from such real property' for both property tax and title elimination provisions."

County officials and anyone dealing with them

The directive describes who signs off. The revised TR-63 "allows the county planning and zoning or county code enforcement official or the county appraiser to sign and date that they certify that the mobile or manufactured home does or does not have a permanent foundation. The county has discretion on which county official will sign-off on Form TR-63. No special training or certification is necessary for the official signing the title elimination form."

Practice varies: "In most counties, it is the county appraiser that determines whether a mobile or manufactured home is real property. In other counties, it is often a zoning/code compliance administrator along with the county appraiser." Where a compliance administrator exists, the directive says "it is logical that whoever makes the final determination for county code compliance for a permanent foundation should sign the TR-63."

If you get inconsistent answers from two county offices, this directive is the document to point to: "consistency for the determination of a permanent foundation should be the goal of all county offices involved in this decision."

Common questions

Q: My manufactured home has been on the same lot for 20 years. Is it real property?
A: Time in place is not the test. It is real property for tax purposes only if the title to the home and the title to the land are in the same person (or that person's spouse) and the home is on a permanent foundation of a type not removable intact from the land.

Q: I have tie downs and ground anchors. Does that count?
A: No. The directive states that tie downs, ground anchors and piers "are necessary to attach a mobile or manufactured home to the ground," but the statutory definition "relies on a permanent foundation," and the standards code "clearly makes a differentiation between a permanent foundation and other types of attachments."

Q: What exactly is a permanent foundation?
A: Per the HUD guide the directive quotes, it "must be constructed of durable materials; i.e. concrete, mortared masonry, or treated wood – and be site built," designed as a continuous wall around the home's perimeter, whether load bearing or not.

Q: Do I have to eliminate the title to be taxed as real property?
A: No. The directive is explicit: "K.S.A. 79-340 does not require the elimination of title for a mobile home or manufactured home to be considered real property for purposes of property taxation."

Q: Then what does eliminating the title do?
A: Under K.S.A. 58-4214, when a home permanently affixed by a qualifying foundation has its certificate of title eliminated, it "shall be considered for all purposes an improvement to real property." That is a broader, non-tax-specific consequence; the property tax classification does not wait on it.

Q: I rent my lot. Can my home be real property?
A: Not under the first condition, which requires the home's title and the real property's title to be held by the same person or that person's spouse.

Q: Did the 2020 changes to Form TR-63 change my classification?
A: The directive says no. The revisions "were not intended to change the county appraiser's responsibility to apply the provisions of K.S.A. 79-340" -- their goal was "improving consistency between counties in determining when a mobile or manufactured home is to be considered real property."

Q: Who in the county decides?
A: It varies by county. The appraiser usually decides the property tax classification; for the TR-63 certification, the county chooses whether the appraiser, zoning, or code enforcement signs, and "no special training or certification is necessary."

Citations and references

Authority for the directive: K.S.A. 79-505(a).

Property tax classification:

• K.S.A. 79-340 -- a mobile or manufactured home is personal property unless common title AND a permanent foundation not removable intact

Manufactured Housing Act:

• K.S.A. 58-4214 -- permanently affixed home treated as an improvement to real property if the certificate of title is eliminated
• K.S.A. 58-4204 -- certificate of title

Anchoring standards:

• K.S.A. 75-1227(a) -- mobile home occupied as a dwelling, office or commercial space "shall be secured to the ground by tie downs and ground anchors, of a type which has been approved by the secretary pursuant to K.S.A. 75-1229, unless such mobile home is secured to the ground on a permanent foundation"
• K.S.A. 75-1229 -- approved types

Non-statutory source quoted in the directive: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Permanent Foundations Guide for Manufactured Housing, cited in the directive's footnote at https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/destech/permfound.html (the directive records it as "last visited December 30, 2020").

Form discussed: Form TR-63, used for elimination of titles for mobile or manufactured homes, as revised by the director of motor vehicles in 2020.

Source

• Landing page: Kansas Property Tax Directives
• Original PDF: PVD Directive 20-052

Original ruling text

Division of Property Valuation
300 SW 29th Street Phone: 785-296-2365
PO Box 3506 Fax: 785-296-2320
Topeka KS 66601-3506 www.ksrevenue.gov
Mark Burghart, Secretary Laura Kelly, Governor

                                  DIRECTIVE #20-052

TO: County Appraisers

SUBJECT: Mobile and Manufactured Home Classification

This directive is adopted pursuant to the provisions of K.S.A. 79-505(a), and shall take effect and
be in force from and after the Director’s approval date.

Subject
This directive analyzes the classification of mobile and manufactured homes as personal or real
property for purposes of K.S.A. 79-340 and the elimination of title provisions of K.S.A. 58-4214.

Summary
K.S.A. 79-340 provides that for property tax purposes, a mobile or manufactured home is personal
property unless:

 1. The title to the mobile or manufactured home is vested in the same person or the
    spouse of such person who holds title to the real property upon which such mobile
    or manufactured home is located.
     AND
 2. Such mobile or manufactured home has a permanent foundation, such foundation
    being of a type not removable intact from such real property.

For purposes of K.S.A. 79-340, a permanent foundation “…must be constructed of durable
materials; i.e. concrete, mortared masonry, or treated wood – and be site built.” 1, designed as a
continuous wall (whether bearing or non-bearing) around the perimeter of the mobile or
manufactured home.

1
Source: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) publication,
Permanent Foundations Guide for Manufactured Housing. See
https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/destech/permfound.html (last visited December 30,
2020).

Page 2

Analysis
The foregoing criteria governs the classification of mobile and manufactured homes for purposes
of property taxation as either personal or real property.

K.S.A. 58-4214 of the Kansas Manufactured Housing Act provides in pertinent part as follows:
Whenever a manufactured home or mobile home is permanently affixed to real
property, by placement upon a permanent foundation of a type not removable intact
from such real property, the manufactured home or mobile home shall be
considered for all purposes an improvement to real property, if the certificate of
title which has been issued or is required to be issued for such manufactured home
or mobile home pursuant to K.S.A. 58-4204, and amendments thereto, is eliminated
pursuant to this section. (Emphasis added.)

As in K.S.A. 79-340, K.S.A. 58-4214 references permanent foundation; however, elimination of
title is not a requirement of K.S.A. 79-340. To be clear, K.S.A. 79-340 does not require the
elimination of title for a mobile home or manufactured home to be considered real property for
purposes of property taxation. It does, however, reinforce the importance of county appraisers’
consistent use of the definition of a permanent foundation.

Within the uniform standards code for mobile homes and recreational vehicles is an illustration of
the different ways in which a mobile home or manufactured home can be attached to the ground.
It clearly makes a differentiation between a permanent foundation and other types of attachments.
Tie downs, ground anchors, and piers are necessary to attach a mobile or manufactured home to
the ground, but the statutory definition of a real property mobile or manufactured home for tax
purposes relies on a permanent foundation.

K.S.A. 75-1227(a) provides in pertinent part:
Except [for provisions not relevant to this illustration] any mobile home which is
occupied or inhabited by any person as a dwelling, office or commercial space shall
be secured to the ground by tie downs and ground anchors, of a type which has been
approved by the secretary pursuant to K.S.A. 75-1229, unless such mobile home is
secured to the ground on a permanent foundation. Any such mobile home which is
not secured to a permanent foundation shall be placed upon piers in the manner
prescribed by this act. (Emphasis added.)

Earlier this year, the director of motor vehicles revised Form TR-63, which is used for the
elimination of titles for mobile or manufactured homes. These revisions sought to address
overlapping determinations within counties, e.g. code enforcement, zoning and appraisal, with the
overall goal of improving consistency between counties in determining when a mobile or
manufactured home is to be considered real property. These revisions were not intended to change
the county appraiser’s responsibility to apply the provisions of K.S.A. 79-340 to a mobile or

Page 3

manufactured home when determining whether it is personal or real property for purposes of
property taxation. However, the county should use the same definition of “a permanent
foundation, such foundation being of a type not removeable intact from such real property” for
both property tax and title elimination provisions.

This updated version of TR-63 (see below for content) allows the county planning and zoning or
county code enforcement official or the county appraiser to sign and date that they certify that the
mobile or manufactured home does or does not have a permanent foundation. The county has
discretion on which county official will sign-off on Form TR-63. No special training or
certification is necessary for the official signing the title elimination form.

In most counties, it is the county appraiser that determines whether a mobile or manufactured home
is real property. In other counties, it is often a zoning/code compliance administrator along with
the county appraiser that determines whether a permanent foundation complies with the county’s
building/zoning codes. For counties with a compliance administrator, it is logical that whoever
makes the final determination for county code compliance for a permanent foundation should sign
the TR-63. Again, consistency for the determination of a permanent foundation should be the goal
of all county offices involved in this decision.

                                                         __________________________

Approved: December 30, 2020 David N. Harper
Director of Property Valuation