Instructions - Form L-4260
This form must be filed when there is a transfer of real property or one of the following types of
personal property:
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Transfer of ownership means the conveyance of title to or a present interest in property, including the
beneficial use of the property. It includes, but is not limited to, the following conveyances:
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buildings on leased land.
leasehold improvements (as defined in MCL Section 211.8(h)).
leasehold estates (as defined in MCL Section 211.8(i) and (j)).
deed.
land contract.
transfer into a trust, unless the sole beneficiary is the settlor (creator of the trust), the settlor's spouse,
or both.
transfer from a trust, unless the distributee is the sole present beneficiary, the spouse of the sole
present beneficiary, or both.
changes in the sole present beneficiary of a trust, unless the change only adds or substitutes the spouse
of the sole present beneficiary.
distributions by a will or intestate succession, unless to the decedent's spouse.
leases, if the total duration of the lease is more than 35 years, including the initial term and all options
for renewal, or if the lease grants the lessee the right to purchase the property at the end of the lease
for not more than 80 percent of the property's projected true cash value at the end of the lease. This
only applies to the portion of the property subject to the lease described above.
transfers of more than a 50 percent interest in the ownership of a business, unless the ownership is
gained through the normal public trading of shares of stock.
transfers of property held as a tenancy in common, except the portion of the property not subject to the
ownership interest conveyed.
a conveyance of an ownership interest in a cooperative housing corporation, except that portion of the
property not subject to the ownership interest conveyed.
Excerpts from Michigan Compiled Laws (MCL), Chapter 211
Section 211.27a(10)
". . . the buyer, grantee, or other transferee of the property shall notify the appropriate assessing
office in the local unit of government in which the property is located of the transfer of ownership
of the property within 45 days of the transfer of ownership, on a form prescribed by the state tax
commission that states the parties to the transfer, the date of the transfer, the actual consideration for
the transfer, and the property's parcel identification number or legal description."
Section 211.27(5)
"Beginning December 31, 1994, the purchase price paid in a transfer of property is not the
presumptive true cash value of the property transferred. In determining the true cash value of
transferred property, an assessing officer shall assess that property using the same valuation method
used to value all other property of that same classification in the assessing jurisdiction."
For complete descriptions of qualifying transfers, please refer to MCL Section 211.27a(6)(a - j).
