The tax imposed by Section 19-1403 shall not be imposed upon:
(1) A transfer to the Commonwealth, or to any of its instrumentalities, agencies or political subdivisions, or to the Philadelphia Land Bank, by gift, dedication or deed in lieu of condemnation or deed of confirmation in connection with condemnation proceedings, or a reconveyance by the condemning body of the property condemned to the owner of record at the time of condemnation which reconveyance may include property line adjustments provided said reconveyance is made within one year from the date of condemnation. 281
(2) A document which the City is prohibited from taxing under the Constitution or statutes of the United States.
(3) A conveyance to a municipality, township, school district, land bank or county pursuant to acquisition by such entity of a tax delinquent property at sheriff sale or tax claim bureau sale. 282
(4) A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration which corrects or confirms a transfer previously recorded, but which does not extend or limit existing record legal title or interest.
(5) A transfer of division in kind for no or nominal actual consideration of property passed by testate or intestate succession and held by cotenants; however, if any of the parties take shares greater in value than their undivided interest, tax is due on the excess.
(6) A transfer between spouses, between persons who were previously spouses who have since been divorced, provided the property or interest therein subject to such transfer was acquired by the spouses or one spouse prior to the granting of the final decree in divorce, between parent and child or the spouse of such child, between stepparent and stepchild or the spouse of a stepchild, between brother or sister or spouse of a brother or sister, between a grandparent and grandchild or the spouse of such grandchild and between any life partners, except that a subsequent transfer by the grantee within one year shall be subject to tax as if the grantor were making such transfer. The parties to any such a transfer shall jointly sign the Philadelphia Real Estate Transfer Tax Certification Affidavit as issued by the Revenue Department. For purposes of this subsection (6), the term "life partner" shall mean a member of a Life Partnership that is verified pursuant to Section 9-1123. 283
(7) A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration of property passing by testate or intestate succession from a personal representative of a decedent to the decedent's devisee or heir.
(8) A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration to a trustee of an ordinary trust where the transfer of the same property would be exempt if the transfer was made directly from the grantor to all of the possible beneficiaries, whether or not such beneficiaries are contingent or specifically named. No such exemption shall be granted unless the recorder of deeds is presented with a copy of the trust instrument that clearly identifies the grantor and all possible beneficiaries.
(9) A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration from a trustee to a beneficiary of an ordinary trust.
(10) A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration from trustee to successor trustee.
(11) A transfer:
(a) for no or nominal actual consideration between principal and agent or straw party; or
(b) from or to an agent or straw party where, if the agent or straw party were his principal, no tax would be imposed under this article.
Where the document by which title is acquired by a grantee or statement of value fails to set forth that the property was acquired by the grantee from, or for the benefit of, his principal, there is a rebuttable presumption that the property is the property of the grantee in his individual capacity if the grantee claims an exemption from taxation under this clause.
(12) A transfer:
(a) from a nonprofit industrial development agency or authority to a grantee of property conveyed by the grantee to that agency or authority as security for a debt of the grantee; or
(b) to a nonprofit industrial development agency or authority; or
(c) any transfer from a nonprofit industrial development agency or authority of a property conveyed to the agency or authority prior to July 1, 1987.
(13) A transfer from a nonprofit industrial development agency or authority to a grantee purchasing directly from it, but only if:
(a) the grantee shall directly use such real estate for the primary purpose of manufacturing, fabricating, compounding, processing, publishing, research and development, transportation, energy conversion, energy production, pollution control, warehousing or agriculture; and
(b) the agency or authority has the full ownership interest in the real estate transferred.
(14) A transfer between two natural persons by a mortgagor to the original grantor holding the purchase money mortgage whether such a transfer is pursuant to a deed in lieu of a foreclosure or a transfer pursuant to a judicial sale. 284
(15) Any transfer between religious organizations or other bodies or persons holding title for a religious organization if such real estate is not being or has not been used by such transferor for commercial purposes.
(16) A transfer to a conservancy which possesses a tax exempt status pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and which has as its primary purpose preservation of land for historic, recreational, scenic, agricultural or open space opportunities.
(17) A transfer of real estate devoted to the business of agriculture to a family farm corporation by a member of the same family which directly owns at least seventy-five percent (75%) of each class of the stock thereof.
(18) A transfer between members of the same family of an ownership interest in a real estate company or family farm corporation.
(19) A transaction wherein the tax due is one dollar ($1.00) or less.
(20) Leases for the production or extraction of coal, oil, natural gas or minerals and assignments thereof.
(21) A transfer of a tenant-stockholder, cooperative unit owner or membership interest in stock, a proprietary lease or an occupancy agreement in:
(a) a cooperative housing corporation, trust or association organized for the transfer of interest in property on a not for profit basis; or
(b) a corporation organized for the transfer of interest in property on a not for profit basis in accordance with the guidelines set forth in Section 213 of Title II of the National Housing Act as amended from time to time.
In order to exercise any exclusion provided in this Section, the true, full and complete value of the transfer shall be shown on the affidavit attached to the document to be filed of record or on the Certificate of Transfer where applicable. For leases of coal, oil, natural gas or minerals, the statement of value may be limited to an explanation of the reason such document is not subject to tax under this Chapter.
(22) A transfer for no or nominal actual consideration of property conveyed pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 16-400 or Chapter 16-700 of The Philadelphia Code. 285
(23) A transfer pursuant to the Urban Redevelopment Law of 1945 for no or nominal actual consideration or for a consideration which is substantially less than value, as defined herein. 286
(24) A transfer to or from non-profit housing corporations incorporated by officials of the City for the purpose of promoting the development of low cost housing in the City of Philadelphia, however, if the transfer is from such a corporation to a for profit grantee or to a person who does not qualify as a low to moderate income person as defined by the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987, as amended, then the transfer is subject to tax. 287
(25) A transfer to or from an organization which possesses a tax exempt status pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and which has as its primary purpose to act as a clearing house for surplus foods and food commodities and for the distribution of such surplus foods and food commodities to non-profit agencies or groups which use food either in feeding programs or in emergency food distribution for the poor and needy. 288
(26) A transfer to a non-profit housing organization, if the non-profit housing organization intends to renovate the real estate and to further transfer the renovated real estate within three (3) years of the transfer, to an eligible transferee; or a transfer from a non-profit housing organization to an eligible transferee if the non-profit housing organization has renovated the real estate. 289
(a) For purposes of this subsection, the following definitions shall apply:
(.1) Non-profit Housing Organization. A not-for-profit organization which has as its primary purpose the promotion of development of low cost housing, and which possesses a tax exempt status pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) or (c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code.
(.2) Eligible Transferee. A person or persons of low income or moderate income, as defined by 42 U.S.C. § 5302(a)(20); or a tenant participating in the Philadelphia Housing Authority's Homeownership Program.
(.3) Renovate. To make an uninhabitable or substantially uninhabitable property habitable.
(b) In order to exercise any exclusion provided in this subsection, a sworn affidavit certifying the following information must be filed with the Department of Records:
(.1) The organization's status as a non-profit housing organization.
(.2) If the transfer is to a non-profit housing organization, the organization's intent to renovate the real estate and to further transfer the renovated real estate to an eligible transferee within three (3) years of transfer.
(.3) If the transfer is from a non-profit housing organization, the fact that the transferee is an eligible transferee, and that the organization has renovated the real estate.
(c) In the event an exclusion is claimed for a transfer to a non-profit housing organization and, three (3) years after the transfer, the property has not been renovated and further transferred to an eligible transferee, the exclusion shall be void, and transfer tax shall be due on the transfer, with interest at the rate set forth in subsection 19-509(2)(a) of this Title, dating from the date of transfer or the date of recordation, as applicable, to the date of payment. No penalty shall be owing unless the affidavit filed with the Department of Records was untrue at the time of filing.
(d) Any eligible transferee shall fund an escrow account for purposes of payment of real estate taxes owing on the transferred property. The eligible transferee shall deposit to the account each month an amount equal to one-twelfth the annual real estate taxes owing on the property. An escrow account established by the eligible transferee's mortgage for purposes of payment of real estate taxes shall satisfy the requirement of this subsection.
(27) A sub-sublease by the Fairmount Park Historic Preservation Trust, Inc. ("Trust") of a property that has been leased by the City to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development ("PAID") under a Master Lease Agreement and subleased by PAID to the Trust under a Master Sublease Agreement, all as authorized by and subject to the provisions of Bill No. 505 (approved June 8, 1993). 290
(28) A transfer between financially interdependent persons, except that a subsequent transfer by the grantee within one year shall be subject to tax as if the grantor were making such transfer, and provided such persons first file a sworn affidavit with the Revenue Department certifying their status as financially interdependent persons. The Revenue Department shall by regulation specify any additional evidence such persons must submit to establish their eligibility for this exemption except where individuals are registered as Life Partners pursuant to Section 9-1123, in which case such registration shall be deemed adequate evidence of eligibility. 291
(29) A transfer between the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) and a Pennsylvania Limited Partnership (PLP) whose General Partner PHA owns and controls (PLP), including both (a) a transfer from PHA to the PLP and (b) any subsequent transfer from the PLP to PHA; and a transfer from PHA or a PLP controlled by PHA to a wholly owned subsidiary of PHA. 292
Notes
| 281 | Amended, Bill No. 170205 (approved May 17, 2017). |
| 282 | Amended, Bill No. 170205 (approved May 17, 2017). |
| 283 | |
| 284 | Amended, 1988 Ordinances, p. 333 ; amended, Bill No. 980303 (approved December 9, 1999). Section 2 of Bill No. 980303 states: "This Ordinance shall be effective for all transactions taking place on or after July 1, 2000." |
| 285 | Added, 1988 Ordinances, p. 333; amended, Bill No. 170205 (approved May 17, 2017). |
| 286 | Added, 1988 Ordinances, p. 333. |
| 287 | Added, 1988 Ordinances, p. 333. |
| 288 | Added, 1991 Ordinances, p. 1447. Section 2 of the Ordinance states: "This Ordinance shall be effective November 1, 1991 and shall apply to any document made, executed, delivered, or accepted or presented for recording on or after November 1, 1991." |
| 289 | Added, Bill No. 834 (approved January 6, 1995), 1995 Ordinances, p. 8; amended, Bill No. 1097 (approved July 24, 1995), 1995 Ordinances, p. 1187; amended, Bill No. 960595 (approved January 22, 1997). Section 2 of Bill No. 960595 provided: "This Ordinance shall be effective for all transactions taking place on or after July 1, 1996." |
| 290 | Added, Bill No. 050016 (approved July 8, 2005). |
| 291 | Added, Bill No. 070541 (approved November 15, 2007). Cross-reference updated by Code editor. |
| 292 | Added, Bill No. 180096 (approved April 18, 2018). |