Laws, Regulations & Annotations

C

230.0000 CHURCH EXEMPTION

Annotation 230.0026

230.0026 Leased Land. Property that is leased by a church or religious organization from a for-profit entity may qualify for the church exemption under Revenue and Taxation Code section 206. However, the church exemption requires that the property be used primarily for religious worship and that all other uses of the property are incidental and necessary uses supportive of the primary religious worship use.

A non-profit corporation leased land from a for-profit entity to build a Roman Catholic school of less than collegiate grade. Although the school intends to hold Roman Catholic mass for the students in the gymnasium, performing arts center and outside plaza, these buildings will not be used primarily for religious worship. Instead, the primary use of these buildings is for various sports and student activities unrelated to religious worship. Therefore, the leased land on which the buildings are located do not qualify for the church exemption. C 7/30/2004.