No, this tax is not quite dead yet. Personal property tax statements are still due to your local assessor by Friday, February 20, 2015. The new legislation adopted by the legislature and approved by the voters in August of 2014 does eliminate the personal property tax for some personal property in the state, but not quite yet for everyone. For businesses in possession of personal property valued at less than $80,000 in true cash value within a taxing jurisdiction, there is no personal property tax. However, to take advantage of this, you need to file a Form 5076 with the local assessor by no later than Tuesday, February 10, 2015. If you have property in more than one taxing jurisdiction and the value is less than $80,000 in each, you will need to file the form with each taxing jurisdiction’s assessor. When you file it, either send it by FEDEX, UPS, or certified mail so that you have evidence that it was timely filed. For all manufacturing personal property with a value of greater than $80,000, the personal property tax elimination will start to kick in as follows:
- Beginning January 1, 2016, all new manufacturing personal property, defined as personal property that is used more than 50% of the time in industrial processing or in supporting industrial processes, purchased between 2013 and 2015, will be exempt from the tax.
- Beginning January 1, 2016, all manufacturing personal property that is at least 10 years old will be exempt from the tax. This will continually roll old personal property off the tax rolls until all manufacturing personal property is exempt in 2024.
To take advantage of these exemptions, there will be filing requirements as set forth in the statute. In the meantime, remember to file your personal property statements for 2015. Otherwise, assessors may evaluate what they believe to be the value of your personal property and it will be up to you to appear at the March Board of Review the second week in March to contest that value. If you have any questions about this tax or real property taxes, please contact attorney Karrie Zeits at kzeits@shrr.com.