Sec. 4. (a) The owner of any real property on the assessment date of a year is liable for the taxes imposed for that year on the property, unless a person holding, possessing, controlling, or occupying any real property on the assessment date of a year is liable for the taxes imposed for that year on the property under a memorandum of lease or other contract with the owner that is recorded with the county recorder before January 1, 1998.

     (b) Except for a mobile home assessed as personal property, a person holding, possessing, controlling, or occupying any personal property on the assessment date of a year is liable for the taxes imposed for that year on the property unless:

Terms Used In Indiana Code 6-1.1-2-4

  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • Personal property: includes goods, chattels, evidences of debt, and things in action. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • Property: includes personal and real property. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
  • real property: include lands, tenements, and hereditaments. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
(1) the person establishes that the property is being assessed and taxed in the name of the owner; or

(2) the owner is liable for the taxes under a contract with that person.

A person owning a mobile home assessed as personal property on the assessment date of a year is liable for the taxes imposed for that year on the property. When a person other than the owner pays any property taxes, as required by this section, that person may recover the amount paid from the owner, unless the parties have agreed to other terms in a contract.

     (c) An owner on the assessment date of a year of real property that has an improvement or appurtenance that is:

(1) assessed as real property; and

(2) owned, held, possessed, controlled, or occupied on the assessment date of a year by a person other than the owner of the land;

is jointly liable for the taxes imposed for the year on the improvement or appurtenance with the person holding, possessing, controlling, or occupying the improvement or appurtenance on the assessment date.

     (d) An improvement or appurtenance to land that, on the assessment date of a year, is held, possessed, controlled, or occupied by a different person than the owner of the land may be listed and assessed separately from the land only if the improvement or appurtenance is held, possessed, controlled, or occupied under a memorandum of lease or other contract that is recorded with the county recorder before January 1, 1998.

[Pre-1975 Property Tax Recodification Citation: 6-1-21-3.]

Formerly: Acts 1975, P.L.47, SEC.1. As amended by Acts 1981, P.L.63, SEC.1; P.L.51-1997, SEC.1; P.L.235-2017, SEC.3; P.L.86-2018, SEC.24.