Rhode Island General Laws
Chapter 44-5 - Levy and Assessment of Local Taxes
Section 44-5-12. - Assessment at full and fair cash value.

§ 44-5-12. Assessment at full and fair cash value.
(a) All real property subject to taxation shall be assessed at its full and fair cash value, as of December 31 in the year of the last update or revaluation, or at a uniform percentage thereof, not to exceed one hundred percent (100%), to be determined by the assessors in each town or city; provided, that:
(1) Any residential property encumbered by a covenant recorded in the land records in favor of a governmental unit or the Rhode Island housing and mortgage finance corporation restricting either or both the rents that may be charged or the incomes of the occupants shall be assessed and taxed in accordance with § 44-5-13.11;
(2) In assessing real estate that is classified as farmland, forest, or open space land in accordance with chapter 27 of this title, the assessors shall consider no factors in determining the full and fair cash value of the real estate other than those that relate to that use without regard to neighborhood land use of a more intensive nature;
(3) Warwick. The city council of the city of Warwick is authorized to provide, by ordinance, that the owner of any dwelling of one to three (3) family units in the city of Warwick who makes any improvements or additions on his or her principal place of residence in the amount up to fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000), as may be determined by the tax assessor of the city of Warwick, is exempt from reassessment of property taxes on the improvement or addition until the next general citywide reevaluation of property values by the tax assessor. For the purposes of this section, “residence” is defined as voting address. This exemption does not apply to any commercial structure. The property owner shall supply all necessary plans to the building official for the improvements or addition and shall pay all requisite building and other permitting fees as now are required by law; and
(4) Central Falls. The city council of the city of Central Falls is authorized to provide, by ordinance, that the owner of any dwelling of one to eight (8) units who makes any improvements or additions to his or her residential or rental property in an amount not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), as determined by the tax assessor of the city of Central Falls, is exempt from reassessment of property taxes on the improvement or addition until the next general citywide reevaluation of property values by the tax assessor. The property owner shall supply all necessary plans to the building official for the improvements or additions and shall pay all requisite building and other permitting fees as are now required by law.
(5) Tangible property shall be assessed according to the asset classification table as defined in § 44-5-12.1. Renewable energy resources shall only be taxed as tangible property under § 44-5-3(c) and the real property on which they are located shall not be reclassified, revalued, or reassessed due to the presence of renewable energy resources, excepting only reclassification of farmland as addressed in § 44-27-10.1. Subject to the aforementioned exception for farmland, all assessments of real property with renewable energy resources thereon shall revert to the last assessed value immediately prior to the renewable developer’s purchasing, leasing, securing an option to purchase or lease, or otherwise acquiring any interest in the real property. However, notwithstanding the above, but without any limitation on taxpayer rights under § 44-5-26, no municipality shall be liable or otherwise responsible for any rebates, refunds, or any other reimbursements for taxes previously collected for real property with renewable energy resources thereupon.
(6) Provided, however, that, for taxes levied after December 31, 2015, new construction on development property is exempt from the assessment of taxes under this chapter at the full and fair cash value of the improvements, as long as:
(i) An owner of development property files an affidavit claiming the exemption with the local tax assessor by December 31 each year; and
(ii) The assessor shall then determine if the real property on which new construction is located is development property. If the real property is development property, the assessor shall exempt the new construction located on that development property from the collection of taxes on improvements, until such time as the real property no longer qualifies as development property, as defined herein.
For the purposes of this section, “development property” means: (A) Real property on which a single-family residential dwelling or residential condominium is situated and said single-family residential dwelling or residential condominium unit is not occupied, has never been occupied, is not under contract, and is on the market for sale; or (B) Improvements and/or rehabilitation of single-family residential dwellings or residential condominiums that the owner of such development property purchased out of a foreclosure sale, auction, or from a bank, and which property is not occupied. Such property described in subsection (a)(6)(ii) of this section shall continue to be taxed at the assessed value at the time of purchase until such time as such property is sold or occupied and no longer qualifies as development property. As to residential condominiums, this exemption shall not affect taxes on the common areas and facilities as set forth in § 34-36-27. In no circumstance shall such designation as development property extend beyond two (2) tax years and a qualification as a development property shall only apply to property that applies for, or receives, construction permits after July 1, 2015. Further, the exemptions set forth in this section shall not apply to land.
(b) Municipalities shall make available to every land owner whose property is taxed under the provisions of this section a document that may be signed before a notary public containing language to the effect that they are aware of the additional taxes imposed by the provisions of § 44-5-39 in the event that they use land classified as farm, forest, or open space land for another purpose.
(c) Pursuant to the provisions of § 44-3-29.1, all wholesale and retail inventory subject to taxation is assessed at its full and fair cash value, or at a uniform percentage of its value, not to exceed one hundred percent (100%), for fiscal year 1999, by the assessors in each town and city. Once the fiscal year 1999 value of the inventory has been assessed, this value shall not increase. The phase-out rate schedule established in § 44-3-29.1(d) applies to this fixed value in each year of the phase out.
History of Section.G.L. 1896, ch. 46, § 3; G.L. 1909, ch. 58, § 3; G.L. 1923, ch. 60, § 3; G.L. 1938, ch. 31, § 3; G.L. 1956, § 44-5-12; P.L. 1965, ch. 115, § 1; P.L. 1968, ch. 288, § 2; P.L. 1988, ch. 84, § 95; P.L. 1990, ch. 225, § 1; P.L. 1994, ch. 259, § 1; P.L. 1995, ch. 239, § 1; P.L. 1995, ch. 372, § 1; P.L. 1995, ch. 375, § 1; P.L. 1998, ch. 31, art. 27, § 2; P.L. 2006, ch. 383, § 1; P.L. 2006, ch. 434, § 1; P.L. 2013, ch. 81, § 1; P.L. 2013, ch. 87, § 2; P.L. 2015, ch. 156, § 1; P.L. 2015, ch. 189, § 1; P.L. 2021, ch. 121, § 1, effective July 2, 2021; P.L. 2021, ch. 122, § 1, effective July 2, 2021; P.L. 2021, ch. 290, § 1, effective July 9, 2021; P.L. 2021, ch. 291, § 1, effective July 9, 2021; P.L. 2022, ch. 268, § 1, effective July 2, 2022.

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