Tulare County Seal

Tulare County

Office of the Assessor/Clerk-Recorder

Mobile Homes

All mobile homes purchased new after June 30, 1980 and those on permanent foundations are subject to property taxes.

  • As with real property, the assessed value of mobile homes is subject to the limitations of proposition 13 and cannot be increased by more than 2% annually unless there is a change in ownership or new construction.

  • Unless voluntarily converted to local tax assessment, mobile homes bought before June 30, 1980 are generally not subject to property taxes. Instead, license fees are paid through the State Department of Housing and Community Development. Homeowners exemption is applicable if owner occupied on January l (tax lien date) of each year. 


Mobile homes in California are taxed either through the local property tax system administered by the county in which the mobile home is situated or by payment of vehicle "in-lieu" license fees to the State.

  • Before July 1, 1980, mobile homes that were not on permanent foundations were treated as motor vehicles and were taxed just like automobiles or trucks through the Department of Motor Vehicles.

  • Mobile homes affixed to the land on a permanent foundation have always been taxed in the same manner as conventional homes.

  • In 1980 the State Legislature adopted the "Mobile home Property Tax Law", which provides for a system of taxing all new and most used mobile homes purchased on or after July l, 1980 in a manner similar to conventional homes.