Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 38, September 20, 2024
24.1. In
general.
24.1.1. These regulations as they
relate to hospitals shall become effective on July 1, 1990:
Provided, That subsection 24.9.4.5 shall become effective six (6)
months after passage of the bill authorizing this rule, 110 C.S.R. 3 (1988).
Prior to the July 1, 1990 effective date, any exemption currently in existence
shall continue for so long as the existing charitable activities of such
hospitals continue.
24.1.2. Section
11-3-9
of the West Virginia Code provides:
All property, real and personal, described in this section,
and to the extent herein limited, shall be exempt from taxation, that is to
say: . . . property belong to any . . .hospital not held or leased out for
profit . . .
24.1.3. Except
as otherwise provided in these regulations, health care organizations and
hospitals will not qualify for exemption from property tax if they are
operated, in any way, for the private gain of physicians, officers, or members
of the board of a hospital or other private individuals. For purposes of this
regulation, private gain is any significant economic benefit accruing to any
individual or entity other than the charitable hospital: Provided,
That economic benefit does not include payments for the receipt of reasonable
goods and services which are furnished to the hospital under valid arms-length
contracts, as that phrase is generally defined.
24.1.4. Payment by a hospital of salaries to
administrative and medical staff, or the realization of a surplus or positive
net earnings does not necessarily constitute such disqualifying private gain.
Payment of salaries commensurate with services rendered is simply a cost of
operating a charitable organization. As long as any surplus of the organization
is used to continue its charitable activities, no disqualifying gain can be
said to inure to the benefit of any private individual. For purposes of these
regulations, surplus is the excess of the net earnings over the expenditures
incurred producing such net earnings.
24.2. Key determinants of charitable use. A
hospital to be eligible for ad valorem property tax exemption may attain such
exemption by using property owned or leased in a charitable manner. For
purposes of this Section 24, charitable use is defined as any one of the
following or combination of elements listed below:
24.2.1. The provision of health services on
an inpatient or outpatient basis to individuals who cannot afford to pay for
such services in a volume and frequency determined by the hospital board of
trustees, as articulated in the charity care plan of the hospital.
24.2.2. The provision of activities which
promote the health of the community served by the hospital and/or decrease the
burdens of state, county and municipal governments, as provided in Section
24.10 of these regulations.
24.3. Restriction of beneficiaries.
24.3.1. Hospital administration policies that
discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, or national origin will
disqualify a hospital from tax exempt status.
24.3.2. The effect of other kinds of
beneficiary restrictions on a hospital's tax exempt status depends on the
particular restriction. Certain types of restrictions on patient admissions are
permissible because of the specialized nature of the medical care provided by
some hospitals. For example, children's hospital provide care exclusively for
children, and the Shriners' Hospital specializes in the care of burn victims.
Such restrictions rarely threaten a hospital's tax exempt status, if they are
applied in a nondiscriminatory manner, because their purpose is to provide
better patient care.
24.3.3.
Restrictions that limit admissions to members of a society, religious order, or
association that founded the hospital or to paying patients are not acceptable.
The West Virginia statute exempts only institutions that are "pure public
charity" or those that fulfill "charitable purposes."
24.4. Ownership of property.
24.4.1. Section
11-3-9
of the West Virginia Code requires that property belonging to the hospital not
be held or leased out for profit.
24.4.2. In West Virginia, a lease of real
estate is a chattel real that is taxed as personal property. If a lease has a
separately determinable market value, it is proper to assess the value of the
lease to the lessee and the value of the remainder to the lessor.
24.4.3. A leasehold interest held by a
charity as the lessee would constitute personal property exempt from ad valorem
taxation as to that charity if the leasehold interest were separately
assessable.
24.5. Office
space for staff physicians.
24.5.1. For
purposes of Section 24, "staff physicians" are physicians who may be employed
by the hospital on more than a half-time basis, radiologists, pathologist,
anesthesiologists and similar positions, or, if the hospital is a teaching
hospital, are members of the teaching faculty or administration; i.e., dean of
the faculty, department head, etc. Physicians who do not qualify to be
classified as a staff physician are classified as "affiliated
physicians."
24.5.2. Hospitals may
provide space for use by physicians in connection with hospital related
responsibilities such as medical staff and committee meetings, medical record
keeping and charting, locker room for changing clothes, or similar
activities.
24.5.3. A hospital may
provide free office space to members of its staff an an enticement to qualified
medical personnel. The hospital may not provide free office space to some of
its staff members and charge others. Furthermore, if office space is available,
a hospital may not deprive some staff physicians of office space when others
receive free office space. Such offices may not be so used as to cause the
primary and immediate use of the hospital property to be other than charitable.
For instance, staff physicians holding office space on an exempt hospital tract
may examine and treat paying, for profit patients in such offices, but such use
of the property may not be so extensive as to make the primary and immediate
use of the tract as a whole a profit making operation rather than a charitable
one in accordance with Section 19 of these regulations.
24.5.4. Hospitals frequently make part of
their property available for staff physicians's offices. Such office space may
be rented to a physician at nominal commercial rates, or provided free, or it
may be considered compensation for administrative duties such a physician
performs in the hospital.
24.5.5.
The private use of hospital office space by affiliated physicians is not viewed
favorably. Such offices are primarily for the convenience or profit of the
physician. The exclusive use of a hospital office for a physician's own private
gain is inconsistent with the charitable use requirement of the Constitution
and the exemption statute. Rental of office space to a physician at a market
rate is a strong indication that the property is being used for the sole
benefit of the physician.
24.6. Recreational facilities.
24.6.1. Use of charitable property for tennis
courts, playgrounds, parks and similar facilities may be considered reasonably
necessary or incidental to the primary functions of a hospital provided certain
conditions are met. Recreation may be recognized for its therapeutic value to
patients, the main beneficiary of the hospital's services. Additionally, use of
recreational facilities by any person or group of people who has or have been
identified as high risk for any disease, condition or malady or recovering from
such disease, condition or malady, (e.g., pre or post heart attack, stroke
recovery, or weight reduction) will not jeopardize the exempt status of
hospitals provided such programs constitute preventative or rehabilitative
health care. In such instances, the hospital may charge for the use of such
facilities by inpatients and outpatients without danger to its exempt
status.
24.6.2. Mere incidental use
of such recreational facilities by hospital personnel will not destroy the
charitable nature of such instrumentalities.
24.6.3. The primary and repeated use of
facilities for mere recreational reasons by the general public, charged for
such utilization, is not consistent with charitable use.
24.7. Categories of hospitals.
24.7.1. General. There are three generally
recognized categories of hospitals: for profit, governmental, and nonprofit or
not-for-profit.
24.7.2. Taxability.
24.7.2.1. For-profit hospital. A hospital
held or operated for profit is not exempt from ad valorem property
taxes.
24.7.2.2. Government owned
hospital.
(a) A hospital owned and operated by
the United States (or an agency or instrumentality thereof) is exempt from ad
valorem property taxes on its real and personal property unless federal law
permits it to be taxed in accordance with Section 8 of those
regulations.
(b) A hospital owned
and operated by the State of West Virginia (or one of its agencies or
institutions) is exempt from ad valorem property taxes on its real and personal
property in accordance with Section 9 of these regulations.
(c) A hospital owned and operated by any
county, municipality or other political subdivision of this State is exempt
from ad valorem property taxes if the hospital is used for public purposes in
accordance with Section 10 of these regulations.
(d) A hospital owned by any county,
municipality or other political subdivision of the State but operated as a
separate corporation pursuant to a lease may be taxable depending upon the
nature of the lessor and whether the property is being used for charitable
purposes.
24.7.2.3.
Nonprofit or not-for-profit hospital. A hospital owned and operated, or leased
and operated, by a nonprofit or not-for-profit corporation may be exempt from
ad valorem property taxation if the primary and immediate use of the property
is for charitable purposes. If in the situation where the hospital is leased to
such a corporation and the lease is not a below-market lease, the leaseholder
would not be taxable but the fee interest would be taxable to the
lessor.
24.8.
Hospitals.
24.8.1. The term "hospital," does
not include institutions regularly licensed by the West Virginia Department of
Human Services (formerly Department of Welfare), such as child caring
institutions, day nurseries, child-care centers and foster boarding homes.
However, institutions having dual functions, one of which is clearly subject to
hospital licensure by the West Virginia Department of Health, are "hospitals"
within the meaning of these regulations, if such institutions are so
licensed.
24.8.2. The term
"hospital" as used in these regulations does not include homes or institutions
regularly licensed by the West Virginia Nursing Home Licensing Board.
24.8.3. The term "hospital" as used in these
regulations, does not include first aid stations and emergency care facilities
or other facilities which do not provide reception and care of persons for a
continuous period longer than twenty-four (24) hours, for the purpose of
providing room, board, nursing service and hospital facilities for use in
diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions or informities:
Provided, That such a facility may be included under the term
"hospital" if it is actually owned or leased by a hospital, is operated on a
charitable basis, and is primarily used for patient care activities such as:
Outpatient surgery, physical therapy and rehabilitation, drug and alcohol abuse
counseling, and mental health counseling.
24.8.4. Under the Constitution of this State,
property used for charitable purposes may be exempted from taxation. Property
used for a hospital cannot be exempted from taxation under the Constitution of
this State unless it is used or charitable purposes. West Virginia Constitution
Article X, '1. Reynolds Memorial Hospital et al. v. County Court of Marshall
County 78 W. Va. 685, 90 S.E. 238 (1916); State ex rel. Cook v. Rose, 299
S.E.2d 3 (W.Va. 1982).
24.8.5.
Hospital property, in order to be exempt from ad valorem property taxation,
must not be held or leased out for profit. W. Va. Code '11-3-9.
24.8.6. Under West Virginia Constitution
Article X, '1, the exemption of property from taxation depends on its use. To
warrant such exemption, the use must be primary and immediate, not secondary or
remote. State ex rel. Farr v. Martin, 105 W. Va. 600, 143 S.E. 356
(1928).
24.8.7. The fact that a
hospital is incorporated as a nonstock, nonprofit hospital does not make it
charitable, even though some operating funds are derived from private,
voluntary contributions; only the nature of its activities can determine if it
is operated in a charitable manner.
24.8.8. Any Internal Revenue Service
determination as to exemption of a hospital from federal taxation under Section
501(c)(3) or Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C.
''501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4)) shall not be determinative of the issue of whether
property is exempt for ad valorem property tax purposes.
24.8.9. If the hospital ceases to be used for
charitable purposes, it will lose its tax exempt status.
24.9. Admissions and ability to pay.
24.9.1. The charitable purpose of a hospital
shall be determined by an examination of several factors. The primary factor is
the provision of charity care consistent with the standard contained in Section
24.2 and the definitions contained in Section 24.9.7. Promotion of health,
relief of burdens of government, and volunteer and community services, as
described in Section 24.10 of these regulations, shall be considered in
determining charitable use of hospital property.
24.9.2. The provision of charity care by a
charitable hospital on a below cost or free basis to those who are financially
unable to pay for those services is limited by the economic health of the
institution. It is essential that such hospitals continue to provide quality
health care and entirely unrealistic to expect that federal or state
governments fill the void which would exist in their absence. In order to so
continue, these hospitals must be able to maintain and promote their own
financial and economic health. The quantity of free and below cost health care
which a hospital can provide, therefore, is necessarily limited to the amount
which can reasonably be provided consistent with the maintenance of the
economic well-being and fiscal soundness of the hospital.
24.9.3. Each hospital which intends to
establish charitable use of its facilities by use of this section shall
develop, by July 1, 1990, a charity care plan which must be approved by the
hospital board of trustees. Such plan, once approved, must be reviewed by each
board of trustees not less than every two (2) years to ascertain its
effectiveness and respond to changing financial conditions of the institution
and needs of the community.
24.9.4.
The charity care plan must reflect the following minimum criteria:
24.9.4.1. The hospital may not arbitrarily
restrict the provision of health services to certain individuals or
groups.
24.9.4.2. Restriction may
be based upon any rationale which reflects a definite benefit to the general
public interest, e.g., restricting admission to a general class of indefinite
number such as children, burn victims, or heart patients.
24.9.4.3. No hospital may insist that
patients provide assurance that all of their bills will be paid as a condition
for obtaining emergency medical care or medical care for the treatment of a
life threatening condition.
24.9.4.4. A hospital must develop reasonable
rules and regulations which may require that those patients who are financially
able to do so pay the charges incurred for the care provided. However,
emergency medical care may not be withheld until a patient or person seeking
such care, demonstrates that charges incurred will be paid. Deliberate failure
to provide such emergency medical care due to lack of assured payment may be
sufficient cause to deny tax exempt status to the hospital.
24.9.4.5. Governmental or nonprofit hospitals
must establish procedures and maintain records which demonstrate compliance
with the provisions of this Section 24.9.4.5. Such hospitals shall plainly post
in the emergency and admitting areas a notice containing a statement of the
existence of their obligation to provide free and below cost care and of the
criteria and mechanism for receiving such care. Such hospitals shall provide
written notification of the existence, criteria and mechanism for receiving
such care, at a minimum, to each person admitted or treated who does not
demonstrate payment coverage under governmental programs or private insurance.
Such hospitals shall create and maintain records demonstrating that such
required criteria and mechanisms are established, that such required policies
have been posted and distributed, and which record any and all requests for
free or below cost care, the disposition of such request, the rationale for
such disposition and the dollar amount of charity care provided:
Provided, That in all instances, patient confidentiality shall be
protected and maintained. Aggregate data reflecting the number of requests for
charity care, the dispositions of such requests and the dollar amount of
charity care provided shall be made available to the general public annually.
To the extent the specific required information is on file with the West
Virginia Health Care Cost Review Authority, it is unnecessary for hospitals to
maintain separate records for purposes of the Section 24.9.4.5.
24.9.5. A hospital may also
develop reasonable rules and regulations which allow persons (including infants
who are referred by a court to a hospital) to be given a priority for receiving
hospital services over those hospital services to be provided to indigent or
charity patients, based upon criteria articulated in subsection 24.9.8 of these
regulations.
24.9.6. A hospital in
formulating a charity care plan may take into consideration the overall
financial condition of the institution, including but not limited to:
24.9.6.1. Days outstanding of accounts
receivable.
24.9.6.2. Cash flow
problems encountered by the hospital.
24.9.6.3. Amount of profit or loss on
operations in preceding fiscal years.
24.9.6.4. The amount of charity care and bad
debts previously generated from operations.
24.9.6.5. Any other financial restraint or
limitation, including legislatively mandated assessments, placed on the
hospital which would effect a limitation on its ability to provide free or
below cost care.
24.9.7.
Accounting classification: charity care and bad debts. For purposes of this
section 24.9, the following definitions shall govern accounting classifications
and the charity care plan:
24.9.7.1. Charity
care. That care rendered by a hospital or nonprofit subsidiary or affiliate
which is free care to individuals who do not have the ability to pay for such
care. Charity care does not include bad debts as that term is defined in
subsection 24.9.7.2 of these regulations.
24.9.7.2. Bad debts. Unpaid accounts of any
individual who has received medical care or is financially responsible for the
payment for medical care, has the ability to pay and refuses to do
so.
24.9.8. A hospital,
to be charitable under this Section 24, must provide an amount of free and
below cost necessary medical services as determined by its board of trustees,
consistent with other provisions herein, to those who are unable to pay
therefore:
Provided, That at the time free or below cost service
is sought, in the judgment of the hospital, its medical staff and ancillary
health professionals:
24.9.8.1. The hospital
routinely provides such medical services.
24.9.8.2. Capability presently exists within
the hospital to safely render the service requested.
24.9.8.3. The care requested is medically
appropriate.
24.9.8.4. The hospital
in providing such care will not be sanctioned or penalized by a professional
standards review organization.
24.9.8.5. The rendering of such medical
services is consistent with the charity care policy of the hospital.
24.10. Promotion of
health and relief of burdens of government. Providing charitable medical care
is accepted as assisting in the relief of the burdens of government. In
addition to providing charitable medical care, a hospital may provide other
volunteer and community services which also assist in relieving the burdens of
government. The reasonable value of such volunteer and community services, as
well as the short fall between charges for services as approved by the West
Virginia Health Care Cost Review Authority and payments received from Medicaid,
Public Employees Insurance Agency and similar governmental programs, may be
used to demonstrate charitable use of property: Provided, That
such volunteer and community services, short falls, or promotion of health
shall not occur to the neglect or detriment of the provision of charity care.
The volunteer and community services which may be utilized for this purpose
include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:
24.10.1. Public education programs relating
to preventive medicine or the public health of the community.
24.10.2. Donations of medical supplies,
equipment and manpower to support groups for the promotion of health and the
provision of medical care.
24.10.3.
Free, at-cost or below-cost health screenings and assessments.
24.10.4. Social services
assistance/counseling.
24.10.5.
Free or reduced charge medical clinics.
24.10.6. Operation of poison control
centers.
24.10.7. Free or
below-cost blood banking services.
24.10.8. Free or below-cost assistance,
material, equipment and training to EMS and ambulance services.
24.10.9. Disaster planning.
24.10.10. Unreimbursed costs for education
and training of medical, nursing and allied health profession students.
24.11. Private gain or
benefit.
24.11.1. Unless certain conditions
are met, no property or activity of a hospital which is exempt from taxation
shall cause any economic benefit to inure to any private individuals or
businesses other than the charitable hospital. No economic benefit shall inure
to any employee, staff member, trustee, director or other person associated
with the hospital:
Provided, That economic benefit does not
include payments for the receipt of reasonable goods and services, which are
provided to the hospital under valid arms-length contracts, as that phrase is
generally defined.
24.11.1.1. Provided such
an agreement is entered into on an arms length basis, as that phrase is
generally defined, a hospital may lease a portion of its space to private
business for the purpose of furnishing necessary segments of the normal
hospital operation; e.g., leasing space to a third party to operate a
for-profit pharmacy. Total leased areas shall not be more than ten percent
(10%) of the available floor space of the hospital; available floor space shall
be all floor space exclusive of maintenance areas or common areas such as
hallways and stairways.
24.11.1.2.
A hospital complex may include more than one building or structure. If the
primary use of one or more structures is for nonexempt purposes, such
structures and the land upon which they are situated must be divided from the
remaining structures in order for the remaining structures to continue as
exempt property. The division of property shall be accomplished in accordance
with W. Va. Code '11-4-18.
24.11.2. A hospital may pay
salaries to its employees and staff. The salaries paid may be commensurate with
the value of the services rendered. The salaries and benefits paid to employees
and staff members must not be excessive when compared with other salaries and
benefits for the same services in the community. For the purpose of these
regulations and because of the rural nature of West Virginia, "community" may
be determined on a state-wide basis: Provided, That when
developing salary and benefit comparisons, those salaries and benefits paid at
hospitals outside of West Virginia may be used so long as such hospitals are
not in excess of one hundred (100) miles from the borders of West
Virginia.
24.11.3. A hospital may
accumulate and aggregate a surplus of revenue over expenses.
24.11.3.1. A hospital may not pay out any
surplus operating funds to any individual or organization. This prohibition
applies to payments in the form of dividends and excessive salaries; bonuses
and similar employee incentive plans are not necessarily inconsistent with the
charitable use basis for the exemption where it is shown that such plans are
not merely a device for diverting profits and that they contribute to the
charitable purpose of the hospital.
24.11.3.2. Any excess operating funds shall
be used for the hospital's exempt purposes. Such purposes must include the
hospital's charitable activities and also may include other activities. By way
of illustration and not limitation, other activities may include the payment of
reasonable salaries, purchase of new or replacement equipment and the cost of
capital improvements which carry out those charitable activities. A hospital
may enter into other activities which will provide additional revenues so long
as such activities are accomplished in accordance with a plan approved by the
hospital's board of directors; however, if such other activities are performed
on a for-profit basis, such as owning and operating a doctor's office building
or a medical laboratory apart from the hospital's own laboratory, it is
presumed that a separate corporation will be formed for those purposes and that
the hospital will receive a reasonable rate of return on the revenues it
provides.
24.11.4. If a
hospital is transferred from proprietary ownership to ownership which will
operate the hospital as a charitable hospital, no economic benefit shall inure
to any of the former owners, directors, trustees, staff members, or any other
persons subsequent to the time of transfer as a direct or indirect result of
the transfer, unless such benefit is the result of an arms length negotiation
for services rendered to the hospital in accordance with another provision
contained with subsection 24.11.1.
24.11.5. When a hospital is transferred from
proprietary ownership to an ownership for charitable operation, and the former
owners are the only members or a substantial number of the members of the
medical staff, the hospital may be exempt from ad valorem property tax.
However, the hospital will be subject to close scrutiny so as to determine
whether or not it is operating in the interest of the former owners.
24.12. Medical staff.
24.12.1. A hospital may restrict access to
the use of hospital facilities to qualified physicians and dentists who, in the
discretion of the hospital, are competent and qualified to practice:
Provided, That such restriction or the question of competency and
qualification is determined by the hospital in accordance with published
by-laws and policies. A hospital may restrict its medical staff to a limited
number of members, based upon the service needs of the hospital.
24.12.2. A hospital may not arbitrarily deny
access to use of hospital facilities in order to operate for the private gain
of its active medical staff; access may be denied in accordance with subsection
24.12.1.
24.13. Charges
and fees.
24.13.1. A hospital may charge
reasonable fees for the services that it provides to a patient. These charges
may include a reasonable amount above the actual cost of service for the future
use of the hospital.
24.13.2. Any
revenue that the hospital realizes from its charges shall be used solely for
the maintenance and support of the hospital: Provided, That a
hospital may accumulate and aggregate a surplus of revenues over expenses in
accordance with the procedures authorized in subsection 24.11.3 of these
regulations.
24.13.3. If a
hospital's expenses exceed its revenue, voluntary contributions may be used to
make up the difference.
24.14. Voluntary contributions and other
revenue.
24.14.1. Any hospital is permitted to
receive donations which are either restricted or nonrestricted. Restricted
donations shall be used in such a manner as to respect the wishes of the donor.
In appropriate cases, cypress proceedings may be initiated in any court having
jurisdiction. Unrestricted gifts may be used for any charitable purpose:
Provided, That such purpose is approved by the board of trustees
of the hospital and in some way furthers the charitable activity of the
hospital. For the purposes of this Section 24.14, and by way of illustration
and not limitation, charitable activity may include any of the following:
24.14.1.1. The promotion of health; such as,
the acquisition and use of major medical equipment.
24.14.1.2. Improvement of the quality of care
of medical services rendered to the community.
24.14.1.3. The provision of free and below
cost services.
24.14.1.4. The
purchase of real estate for capital expansion.
24.14.1.5. The offset of cost of construction
of capital improvements, as that term is generally defined, so long as such
improvements are related to the provision of medical services or the promotion
of health.
24.14.1.6. Retirement of
pre-existing debt of the hospital.
24.15. Ancillary functions.
24.15.1. A hospital may engage in certain
non-medical activities, so long as these activities are designed to serve
hospital staff, employees, patients and visitors, and are not such as to cause
the primary and immediate use of the property to be other than charitable use
in accordance with Section 19 of these regulations. These activities include,
but are not limited to:
24.15.1.1. The
operation of a parking facility,
24.15.1.2. The operation of a
pharmacy,
24.15.1.3. The operation
of a cafeteria or coffee shop, and
24.15.1.4. The operation of a gift
shop.
24.16.
Leasing.
24.16.1. A hospital may lease part
of a tract out for an legal use and retain the tax exemption described under
this section so long as the primary and immediate use of the tract is
charitable in accordance with Section 19 of these regulations and other
restrictions in these regulations are not violated.
24.17. Vacant land and construction.
24.17.1. When a hospital purchases land which
it intends to use for capital improvements, which will be used for charitable
purposes, the land shall not be exempt so long as the land is vacant. So long
as the land is vacant, it can be sold and used for noncharitable
purposes.
24.17.2. Vacant tracts
owned by a hospital will remain subject to taxation, even if plans are made
which show that the land will be used for tax exempt purposes.
24.17.3. If construction is begun on a tract
for the purpose of making improvements to be used for hospital purposes, such
property shall not be exempt under this section until it has been put to such
actual use as to make the primary and immediate use of the property charitable
in accordance with Section 19 of these regulations.
24.17.4. If construction is begun on a tract
exempt under this section from ad valorem taxation at the time construction is
initiated, such construction shall not void the pre-existing exemption if the
proposed use of the improvements so constructed is to be a charitable use
consistent with the provisions of this section.
24.17.5. Construction of improvements, the
proposed use of which is not charitable, shall not void a pre-existing
exemption under this section until such time as the primary and immediate use
of the property is not longer charitable in accordance with this section and
Section 19 of these regulations.
24.18. Hospital owned housing.
24.18.1. Property which a hospital owns and
uses for housing for doctors, nurses, interns, technicians and other hospital
personnel may be exempt from ad valorem tax. It is necessary for the housing to
be located on or near the same tract of property as the hospital. Also, it is
incumbent upon the hospital to show that the housing is being used in a way
which directly and immediately relates to the charitable purposes, such as
housing medical personnel in an actual "on call" status, as that phrase is
generally defined. Otherwise, such housing would be used for purposes which
would put it in competition with generally available commercial housing; a
commercial use would not be primarily and immediately charitable in such an
instance.
24.19.
Education facilities on hospital property.
24.19.1. Possession by a hospital of property
used as a place of education shall not void the exemption provided under this
section so long as the primary and immediate use of the property is for
charitable purposes under Section 19 of these regulations. If education is the
primary and immediate use of the property, then the exemption provided under
this section will typically no longer apply. However, the exemption provided
under Section 16 of these regulations may apply.
24.19.2. Any property owned by a hospital
which is used as a place of residence for medical or nursing students, or other
students who are studying in a medical related field at the hospital shall not
be exempt from ad valorem property tax unless such property is exempt under
Section 21 of these regulations.
24.19.3. Recreational facilities shall not be
considered property used primarily and immediately for charitable purposes
unless such facilities are designed for and primarily and immediately used by
patients of the hospital.
24.20. Hospital service corporations, medical
service corporations, dental service corporations and health service
corporations.
24.20.1. Hospital service
corporations, medical service corporations, dental service corporations and
health service corporations are exempt from ad valorem property taxation. See
W. Va. Code '33-24-4.
See Section 35.40 of these regulations.
24.21. Health care corporations.
24.21.1. All health care corporations are
exempt from ad valorem property tax. See W. Va. Code '33-25-3.
See Section 35.41 of these regulations.