Section 47:1717 - [See Note] Special assessment levelA.(1)(a) The assessment of residential property receiving the homestead exemption which is owned and occupied by any of the following and who meet all of the other requirements of this exemption shall not be increased above the total assessment of that property for the first year that the owner qualifies for and receives the special assessment level, provided the person or persons remain qualified for and receive the special assessment level: (i) People who are sixty-five years of age or older.(ii) People who have a service-connected disability rating of fifty percent or more by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.(iii) Members of the armed forces of the United States or the Louisiana National Guard who owned and last occupied the property who are killed in action, or who are missing in action or are a prisoner of war for a period exceeding ninety days.(iv) Any person or persons permanently totally disabled as determined by a final nonappealable judgment of a court or as certified by a state or federal administrative agency charged with the responsibility for making determinations regarding disability.(b) Any person or persons shall be prohibited from receiving the special assessment as provided in this Section if the person's or persons' adjusted gross income, as reported in the federal tax return for the year prior to the application for the special assessment, exceeds one hundred thousand dollars. For persons applying for the special assessment whose filing status is married filing separately, the adjusted gross income for purposes of this Section shall be determined by combining the adjusted gross income on both federal tax returns. The one hundred thousand dollar limit shall be adjusted annually by the Consumer Price Index produced by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.(c) An eligible owner or the owner's spouse or other legally qualified representative shall apply for the special assessment level by filing a signed application establishing that the owner qualifies for the special assessment level with the assessor of the parish or, in the parish of Orleans, the assessor of the district where the property is located.(d) An owner who is below the age of sixty-five and who has applied for and received the special assessment level may qualify for and receive the special assessment level in the subsequent year by certifying to the assessor of the parish that the person's adjusted gross income in the prior tax year satisfied the income requirement of this Section. The provisions of this Subparagraph shall not apply to an owner who has qualified for and received the special assessment level for a person sixty-five years of age or older or to the owner's surviving spouse as described in Subparagraph (B)(1)(a) of this Section or for an owner who is permanently totally disabled as provided for in Item (a)(iv) of this Paragraph.(2) Any millage rate applied to the special assessment level shall not be subject to a limitation.B. Provided the owner is qualified for and receives the special assessment level, the special assessment level shall remain on the property as long as:(1)(a) The owner who is sixty-five years of age or older, or that owner's surviving spouse who is fifty-five years of age or older or who has minor children, remains the owner of the property.(b) The owner who has a service-connected disability of fifty percent or more, or that owner's surviving spouse who is forty-five years of age or older or who has minor children, remains the owner of the property.(c) The spouse of the owner who is killed in action remains the owner of the property.(d) The first day of the tax year following the tax year in which an owner who was missing in action or was a prisoner of war for a period exceeding ninety days is no longer missing in action or a prisoner of war.(e) Even if the ownership interest of any surviving spouse or spouse of an owner who is missing in action as provided for in this Subsection is an interest in usufruct.(2) The value of the property does not increase more than twenty-five percent because of construction or reconstruction.C. A new or subsequent owner of the property may claim a special assessment level when eligible pursuant to this Section. The new owner is not necessarily entitled to the same special assessment level on the property as when that property was owned by the previous owner.D.(1) The special assessment level on property that is sold shall automatically expire on the last day of December in the year prior to the year that the property is sold. The property shall be immediately revalued at fair market value by the assessor and shall be assessed by the assessor on the assessment rolls in the year it was sold at the assessment level provided for in Article VII, Section 32 of the Constitution of Louisiana. (2) This new assessment level shall remain in effect until changed.E.(1) Any owner entitled to the special assessment level set forth in this Section who is unable to occupy the homestead on or before December thirty-first of a future calendar year due to damage or destruction of the homestead caused by a disaster or emergency declared by the governor shall be entitled to keep the special assessment level of the homestead prior to its damage or destruction on the repaired or rebuilt homestead provided the repaired or rebuilt homestead is reoccupied by the owner within five years from December thirty-first of the year following the disaster. The assessed value of the land and buildings on which the homestead was located prior to its damage shall not be increased above its assessed value immediately prior to the damage or destruction described in this Paragraph. If the property owner receives a homestead exemption on another homestead during the same five-year period, the damaged or destroyed property shall not be entitled to keep the special assessment level, and the land and buildings shall be assessed in that year at the percentage of fair market value. In addition, the owner shall also maintain the homestead exemption set forth in the constitution to qualify for the special assessment level in this Paragraph. (2) Any owner entitled to the special assessment level set forth in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection who is unable to reoccupy his homestead within five years from December thirty-first of the year following the disaster shall be eligible for an extension of the special assessment level on the homestead for a period not to exceed two years. A homeowner shall be eligible for this extension only if the homeowner's damage claim is filed and pending in a formal appeal process with any federal, state, or local government agency or program offering grants or assistance for repairing or rebuilding damaged or destroyed homes as a result of the disaster, or if a homeowner has a damage claim filed and pending against the insurer of the property. The homeowner shall apply for this extension of the special assessment level with the assessor of the parish in which the homestead is located. The assessor shall require the homeowner to provide official documentation from the government agency or program evidencing the homeowner's participation in the formal appeal process or official documentation evidencing the homeowner has a damage claim filed and pending against the insurer of the damaged property.(3) After expiration of the extension authorized in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, an assessor shall have the authority to grant on a case-by-case basis up to three additional one-year extensions of the special assessment level.F.(1) A trust shall be eligible for the special assessment.(2) If a trust would have been eligible for the special assessment level pursuant to this Subsection prior to the most recent reappraisal, the total assessment of the property held in trust shall be the assessed value on the last appraisal before the reappraisal. Added by Acts 2024EX3, No. 12,s. 1, eff. .