35 Miss. Admin. Code Pt. VI, Subpt. 3, Ch. 05 — Ownership

100 An applicant must have some legal title to the property on which exemption is sought.
The tax responsibility is his. Legal title must be present to seek exemption. The
definition of eligible title for homestead purposes is limited to the following.
101 FEE TITLE
This type of title is most common. It is considered inheritable title. It can be obtained by
purchase, gift or inheritance. Fee title can be held individually or jointly. Three (3) types
of fee title are mentioned in Section 27-33-17 (a).

# 1.

Absolute
This type of title is not restricted. It is held by a single individual. When a person
holds absolute title, it is indicated on Question 6 of the application as Fee.

# 2.

Life Estate
This type of ownership has a special condition. A person can deed property to
another and retain a life estate interest in that property. As long as the person with
the life estate interest is living, that person has rights and privileges to that property.
Only the person with the life estate interest is eligible for homestead exemption. It
is possible for more than one person to have a life estate interest in property. In this
instance, they will be treated as joint owners with each having his proportional
share in the exemption.

# 3.

EXAMPLES:
a. A mother deeds her property to her son and retains a life estate interest in it.
She goes to live with her daughter and her son lives on the property. Until the
life estate interest is removed, only the mother has an eligible ownership
interest. Since she does not live on the property herself, no one is entitled to
the exemption.
b. Property is deeded to a grandson with a life estate interest given to the
grandfather and the great uncle. Only the grandfather lives on the property.
The grandfather would be treated like a joint owner and eligible for an
exemption on one-half (1/2) of the total assessed value of the property.

# 4.

Joint Owners
Under this type of title, more than one person shares in the ownership of property.
These owners may or may not be related. There is no limit to the number of owners
one piece of property can have. If property is jointly owned, any one of the owners
who meets all the requirements may file homestead exemption equal to his
proportional share; however, only one may file for the homestead property. If these
joint owners are related within the third degree, only one application should be
filed. These owners would be eligible for full exemption. Homestead exemption
law discusses two types of joint owners, through inheritance and through purchase.
These differences are detailed in Title 35 of the Mississippi Administrative Code,
Part VI, Subpart 2, Chapter 6.
102 TRUSTS
This type of title has some conditions that must exist to be considered eligible. The
property being placed in trust must be clearly described. The beneficiary of the trust
must occupy the property as a home and must be assessed with the taxes of that property.
If all these conditions are present, the trust is considered eligible title.
103 LEASES
There are four (4) types of leases of land that are defined by law as constituting sufficient
eligible ownership rights to meet homestead exemption requirements.
1. School lands
Persons who have legal leases of school lands that are perpetually renewable or
leased for ten (10) years or more are considered to have eligible title.
2. Pearl River Valley Water Supply District lands
Persons who have a legal lease of these lands for twenty (20) years or more with an
option for renewal every ten (10) years have eligible title.
3. Fraternal or benevolent lands
Persons who have a lease of fraternal or benevolent lands for a period of ten (10)
years or more or for life have eligible title.
4. Mississippi-Yazoo Delta Levee Board lands
Persons who have a lease of these lands for five (5) years or more with an option for
renewal every five (5) years.
104 DATES
There are two dates that must be considered in determining the eligible ownership for
homestead exemption purposes.
1. Acknowledgment date
The date that one becomes the owner of property is the date of acknowledgment of
the instrument by which one acquires the title. The acknowledgment date must be
no later than January 1 of the year in which he files the application. Unless
property is owned by that date there is no legal liability for taxes.
2. Recording date
The instrument by which title is held must be filed for record with the Chancery
Clerk with the county in which the property is located on or before January 7 of
the year for which homestead exemption is sought. The book and page number
must be shown on the application.
105 (Reserved)