(A) The following is exempt from general property taxation:
(1) Municipal, state or federally owned property, except that a private leasehold, contract or other interest in property is taxable to the extent of the interest.
(2) Household furniture and personal effects of members of a household.
(3) Property used exclusively for nonprofit religious, charitable, cemetery, hospital or educational purposes.
(4) Property of a nonbusiness organization or its auxiliary composed entirely of persons with 90 days or more of active service in the armed forces of the United States whose conditions of service and separation were other than dishonorable.
(5) Money on deposit.
(6) The first $150,000 of the assessed value of the real property owned and occupied as a permanent place of abode by:
(a) A resident 65 years of age or over;
(b) A disabled veteran;
(c) A resident at least 60 years old who is the widow or widower of a person who qualified for an exemption under (a) or (b) of this subsection.
In a case of hardship, the City of Unalaska hereby provides for exemption beyond the first $150,000 of assessed value in accordance with regulations of the State of Alaska.
(7) Real property or an interest in real property that is exempt from taxation under 43 U.S.C. 1620(d), as amended.
(8) The increase in assessed value directly attributable to the subdivision of a single parcel of property into three or more parcels and completion of the construction of any improvements made to the property by the property owner necessitated by its subdivision. This exemption shall commence no earlier than the first assessment year after subdivision and shall expire for each individual lot upon the earlier of:
(a) Sale, leasing or rental of the lot; or
(b) Construction or placement of any structure upon the lot; or
(c) Use of the lot for any occupation, employment, or enterprise that is carried on for profit; or
(d) The end of the fifth assessment year following subdivision.
(9) One motor vehicle per household owned by a resident who is 65 years of age or older on January 1 of the assessment year is exempt either from taxation on its assessed value or from the registration tax under AS 28.10.431. An exemption may be granted under this subsection only on written application on a form prescribed by the Alaska Department of Administration.
(10) Commercial and non-commercial vessels.
(11) All other property exempt from general taxation under AS 29.45.030.
(12) The first $10,000 of the assessed value of the real property owned and occupied as a permanent place of abode by a resident who provides in the City volunteer (a) firefighting services and is certified as a fire fighter by the Alaska Department of Public Safety, or (b) emergency medical services and is certified under AS 18.08.082.
(13) The first $30,000 of the full and true value of all personal property is tax exempt.
(14) Two percent of the assessed value of a structure if the structure contains a fire protection system that is approved under AS 18.70.081, in operating condition, and incorporated as a fixture or part of the structure, based on the assessment:
(a) For 1981, if the fire protection system was a fixture of the structure on January 1, 1981; or
(b) As of January 1 of the year immediately following the installation of the fire protection system, if the fire protection system became a fixture of the structure after January 1, 1981.
(B) In subsection (A)(3) of this section, property used exclusively for religious purposes includes the following property owned by a religious organization:
(1) The residence of a bishop, pastor, priest, rabbi, minister, or religious order of a recognized religious organization;
(2) A structure, its furniture, and fixtures used by the religious organization solely for public worship, charitable purposes, religious administrative offices, religious education, or a nonprofit hospital;
(3) Real property occupied by parking spaces required by local ordinance to be adjacent to or near a structure described in subsection (2), above, and owned by the religious organization owning said structure.
(C) Property described in subsections (A)(3) or (4) of this section from which income is derived is exempt only if that income is solely from use of the property by qualified nonprofit religious, charitable, hospital, educational groups, or veteran groups. If used by nonprofit educational groups, the property is exempt only if used exclusively for classroom space.
(D) For the purposes of (A)(6) and (A)(12) of this section:
(1) Real property includes but is not limited to mobile homes, whether classified as real or personal property for municipal tax purposes.
(2) "DISABLED VETERAN" means a disabled person separated from the military service of the United States under a condition that is not dishonorable who is a resident of the State, whose disability was incurred or aggravated in the line of duty in the military service of the United States, and whose disability has been rated as 50% or more by the branch of service in which that person served or by the Veteran's Administration.
(3) No exemption may be granted except upon written application for the exemption on a form prescribed by the State assessor for use by local assessors or upon a form established by the City Assessor. The claimant must file the application no later than March 1 of the assessment year for which the exemption is sought. The City Council for good cause shown may waive the claimant's failure to make timely application for the exemption for that year and authorize the assessor to accept the application as if timely filed. The claimant must file a separate application for each assessment year in which the exemption is sought. If an application is filed within the required time and approved by the assessor, the assessor shall allow an exemption in accordance with the provisions of this section. If a claimant whose failure to file by March 1 of the assessment year has been waived as provided in this subsection and application for exemption is approved, the amount of tax which the claimant may have already paid for the assessment year for the property exempted shall be refunded to the claimant.
(4) The assessor shall require proof in the form the assessor considers necessary of the right to and amount of an exemption claimed, and shall require a disabled veteran claiming an exemption thereunder on that basis to provide evidence of the disability rating. The assessor may require proof of eligibility at any time.
(5) Only one exemption under (A)(6) may be granted for the same property and, if two or more persons are eligible for an exemption for the same property, the parties shall decide between or among themselves which shall receive the benefit of the exemption. Exemption under (A)(6) may be denied if the assessor determines, after notice and hearing to the parties concerned, that the property was conveyed to the applicant primarily for the purpose of obtaining the exemption.
(6) If two or more individuals are eligible for an exemption for the same property under (A)(12), not more than two exemptions may be granted.
(7) The assessor's eligibility determination may be appealed under AS 44.62.560-44.62.570.
(E) For the purpose of determining property exempt under (A)(7) of this section, the following definitions apply to terms used in 43 U.S.C. 1620(d) unless superseded by applicable federal law:
(1) "DEVELOPED" means a purposeful modification of the property from its original state that effectuates a condition of gainful and productive present use without further substantial modification, surveying, construction of roads, providing utilities or other similar actions normally considered to be component parts of the development process, but that do not create the condition described in this subsection, do not constitute a developed state within the meaning of this subsection developed property, in order to remove the exemption, must be developed for purposes other than exploration, and be limited to the smallest practicable tract of the property actually used in the developed state.
(2) "EXPLORATION" means the examination and investigation of undeveloped land to determine the existence of subsurface nonrenewable resources.
(3) "LEASE" means a grant of primary possession entered into for gainful purposes with a determinable fee remaining in the hands of the grantor with respect to a lease that conveys rights of exploration and development, this exemption shall continue with respect to that portion of the leased tract that is used solely for the purpose of exploration.
(4) If property or an interest in property that is determined not to be exempt under (A)(7) reverts to an undeveloped state, or if the lease is terminated, the exemption shall be granted, subject to the provisions of (A)(7) of this section.
(F) For the purpose of determining property exempt under (A)(8) of this section:
(1) The date of subdivision shall be either the date of preliminary approval of a plat by the platting authority or the date of recordation of a final plat by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources;
(2) Lots for which the city completes the construction of required improvements shall not be exempt; and
(3) Lots whose exemptions terminate prior to the due date for final payment of tax shall not be subject to a pro rata payment of tax.
(G) For the purpose of determining eligibility for exemption under (A)(10) of this section, a vessel must have been capable of safe navigation and operation upon the waters of the city as of January 1 of the assessment year or within 60 days of that date, and be registered and numbered under AS 05.25.055 unless exempt from the numbering and registration requirements of AS 05.25.055, and not be permanently moored, docked or affixed to the tidelands.
(H) Laws exempting certain property from execution under AS 09 (Code of Civil Procedure) do not exempt the property from taxes levied and collected by the City.
(Am. Ord. No. 2003-05, passed 5-6-03; Am. Ord. 2015-22, passed 11-24-15; Am. Ord. 2015-26, passed 1-26-16; Am. Ord. 2020-02, passed 3-10-20)