Assessors' Handbook Section 576, Assessment of Vessels
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ASSESSORS' HANDBOOK SECTION 576 ASSESSMENT OF VESSELS FEBRUARY 2002 REPRINTED JANUARY 2015 CALIFORNIA STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION SEN. GEORGE RUNNER (RET.), LANCASTER FIRST DISTRICT FIONA MA, CPA, SAN FRANCISCO SECOND DISTRICT JEROME E. HORTON, LOS ANGELES COUNTY THIRD DISTRICT DIANE L. HARKEY, ORANGE COUNTY FOURTH DISTRICT BETTY T. YEE, SACRAMENTO STATE CONTROLLER __________________ CYNTHIA BRIDGES, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOREWORD Assessors' Handbook Section 576 (AH 576), Assessment of Vessels, is a complete rewrite of the June 1973 version of AH 576. This new version of the handbook section is reorganized and contains new or expanded topics. It includes some text from the original manual but it also includes material concerning subjects not covered in the previous handbook section. The rewrite of this handbook section was undertaken by staff members of the Policy, Planning, and Standards Division (PPSD) of the Property Taxes Department in conjunction with the staff of the Property Taxes Section of the Legal Division and is the product of the authors' writing at the direction of the Board. The Department of Motor Vehicles or the Coast Guard is responsible for collecting registration fees on vessels; however, vessels are also subject to personal property taxation and assessors are responsible for the annual assessment of vessels. The objective of this handbook section is to give property tax appraisers, auditor-appraisers, and other interested parties an understanding of the issues concerning vessels for assessment purposes. It should serve as a guide and as an informational resource for the appraisal and assessment of this special, transitory type of personal property. As part of the process of producing this manual, Board staff worked with members of the California Assessors' Association, industry representatives, and other interested parties to solicit input for this handbook section. The Board approved this section of the handbook on February 6, 2002. Section 15606, subdivision (c), of the Government Code directs the State Board of Equalization to prescribe rules and regulations governing county assessors in the performance of their duties, and subdivision (f) provides that the Board shall issue instructions, such as those set forth in this handbook section. While regulations adopted by the State Board of Equalization are binding as law, Board-adopted handbook sections are advisory only. Nevertheless, courts have held that they may be properly considered as evidence in the adjudicatory process.1 The citations and law references in this publication were current as of the writing of the handbook section. David J. Gau Deputy Director Property Taxes Department February 2002 1 Coca-Cola Co. v. State Board of Equalization (1945) 25 Cal.2d 918; Prudential Ins. Co. v. City and County of San Francisco (1987) 191 Cal.App.3d 1142; Hunt-Wesson Foods, Inc. v. County of Alameda (1974) 41 Cal.App.3d 163. AH 576 i February 2002 Table of Contents FOREWORD.................................................................................................................................. I CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................1 DEFINITION OF A VESSEL ..................................................................................................................1 CLASSIFICATION ...............................................................................................................................1 ENTRY ON ASSESSMENT ROLL ..........................................................................................................2 OVERVIEW OF THE FACTORS IN MAKING AN ASSESSMENT ...............................................................3 Assessability of Property..............................................................................................................3 Assessee........................................................................................................................................4 Situs ..............................................................................................................................................5 Description of Property ...............................................................................................................5 Value of Property .........................................................................................................................5 CHAPTER 2: DISCOVERY AND DESCRIPTION .................................................................7 DISCOVERY .......................................................................................................................................7 DESCRIPTION ....................................................................................................................................8 Property Statements .....................................................................................................................9 CHAPTER 3: VALUATION OF VESSELS ............................................................................11 VALUE CONCEPT ............................................................................................................................11 APPROACHES TO VALUE .................................................................................................................11 Cost Approach ...........................................................................................................................12 Comparative Sales Approach ....................................................................................................12 Income Approach .......................................................................................................................18 REASSESSMENT DUE TO MISFORTUNE OR CALAMITY .....................................................................18 CHAPTER 4: DOCUMENTED VESSELS ..............................................................................19 DEFINITION .....................................................................................................................................19 DMV REGISTRATION AND NUMBERING ..........................................................................................19 COAST GUARD REGISTRATION AND NUMBERING ...........................................................................20 Eligible Vessels ..........................................................................................................................21 Vessels Requiring Documentation .............................................................................................21 Vessels Excluded from or Exempt from Documentation............................................................22 Endorsements .............................................................................................................................22 QUALIFYING VESSELS FOR THE PREFERENTIAL 4 PERCENT ASSESSMENT .......................................23 Number of Days Used ................................................................................................................23 Qualifying under Section 227, Subdivision (a) ..........................................................................24 Qualifying under Section 227, Subdivision (b) ..........................................................................24 Vessels Under Construction .......................................................................................................25 Equipment and Furnishings .......................................................................................................25 Disaster Relief ............................................................................................................................25 Affidavit for 4 Percent Assessment of Certain Vessels (BOE-576-E) ........................................26 NONDOCUMENTED VESSELS ...........................................................................................................28 AH 576 ii February 2002 CHAPTER 5: SITUS ..................................................................................................................29 SITUS OF SEAGOING VESSELS / HOME PORT DOCTRINE ..................................................................29 PERMANENT VS. TEMPORARY SITUS ...............................................................................................30 ROLE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES ..........................................................................32 SITUS OF COAST GUARD DOCUMENTED VESSELS ...........................................................................32 SITUS OF NONDOCUMENTED VESSELS ............................................................................................33 SITUS OF INTERCOUNTY FERRYBOATS ............................................................................................33 RESIDENCE AND DOMICILE .............................................................................................................33 DOCUMENTS THAT AID IN DETERMINING SITUS .............................................................................34 SUMMARY OF SITUS DETERMINATION ............................................................................................34 Vessels Registered by the DMV .................................................................................................35 Vessels Documented by the Coast Guard ..................................................................................35