Arizona Laws 42-11132.01. Property leased to a church, religious assembly or religious institution
A. Property, buildings and fixtures that are leased to a nonprofit church, religious assembly or religious institution and that are primarily used or held for religious worship shall be classified as class nine property pursuant to section 42-12009. If only part of the parcel or improvements is leased to a nonprofit church, religious assembly or religious institution and primarily used or held for religious worship, only the portion so leased qualifies as class nine property. To qualify under this subsection, the church, religious assembly or institution must annually file with the assessor an affidavit that it:
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 42-11132.01
- Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
- Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Internal revenue code: means the United States internal revenue code of 1986, as amended and in effect as of January 1, 2023, including those provisions that became effective during 2022 with the specific adoption of their retroactive effective dates but excluding all changes to the code enacted after January 1, 2023. See Arizona Laws 42-1001
- Property: includes both real and personal property. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Writing: includes printing. See Arizona Laws 1-215
1. Continues to use or hold the property primarily for religious worship.
2. Is the sole economic beneficiary of the classification of the property as class nine pursuant to section 42-12009, subsection A, paragraph 5.
B. Property, buildings and fixtures that are owned by an educational, religious or charitable organization, institution or association, that are leased to a nonprofit church, religious assembly or religious institution and that are primarily used or held for religious worship are exempt from taxation.
C. If the educational, religious or charitable organization, institution or association that owns the property files with the assessor the affidavit required by section 42-11152, evidence of the organization’s tax exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code and an affidavit by the nonprofit church, religious assembly or religious institution that it uses or holds the property primarily for religious worship as described in subsection B of this section, the property qualifies for the tax exemption under this section. The educational, religious or charitable organization, institution or association shall notify the county assessor in writing pursuant to section 42-11152 if all or part of the property is conveyed to a new owner or is no longer primarily used or held by the church, assembly or institution.