|
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS |
|
The DEADLINE FOR FILING A SCHEDULE B ONLINE has passed. |
You can file your Schedule B online!
Davidson County businesses now have a new, easier, more secure method for fling Tangible Personal Property Schedule B returns!
Simply submit your Schedule B information directly online to our secure servers that operate behind a safe firewall.
Most businesses should be
able to complete their
Schedule B, file it, print a
confirmation page showing
they have submitted, and
send our office any asset
lists needed for reference...all
within minutes!
We prefer to receive asset
lists as electronic files in
spreadsheet or database
formats, (Microsoft
™ Excel or Access.)
However, we also will accept
files in a graphic format (JPG, TIFF, GIF, or
PDF).
These documents may now be attached to the B-Online filing, faxed to (615)880-2333 or emailed to personal.property@nashville.gov.
If you have a different format to submit, please call our office to ensure its compatibility.
NOTE: If you have problems with the 'B' ONLINE program, please let us know by calling us at (615) 862-6073.
Benefits of filing the online form:
- It is convenient and easy for the taxpayers.
- It saves time and effort, plus the postage needed to return the printed Schedule B and asset lists.
- It eliminates some of the paperwork that has to be scanned into an imaging system, thereby saving time which can be better used on quality control and auditing of returns.
- It offers a more secure way to handle information, some of which may be confidential in nature. The data you submit online is imported into our servers, which operate behind a robust firewall. Access to this information is limited to only those employees who require it.
Advisories:
- Businesses that report non-standard depreciation will not be able to file online.
- Once the form is submitted to our database, you be unable to change it without contacting our office. So, please check your work as you enter it. Also, you should PRINT the summary page after it is reviewed prior to submission and save a copy for your records.
- It would be prudent to file your return as early as possible, in order to avoid possible network congestion near the filing deadline,
- Please do not file both online and by mail. If you file online and also file a printed Schedule B return, the earliest file received will be considered your official return.
When you have your information ready to complete your Schedule B, just click the button below and experience the ease of online filing. We believe you will find it a great timesaver!
NOTE: Passwords should be entered in all lower-case exactly as printed on the Schedule B.
General Information
Tangible Personal Property (better known as Personalty) is all property that is owned or held by a business in orer to operate that business (including but not limited to, furniture, fixtures, vehicles, tools, machinery, equipment, raw materials, and supplies. One of the most common tests used to differentiate "personal property" from "real property" is whether it is moveable (personal) or affixed (real). In Tennessee, personal property is assessed at 30% of its value for commercial and industrial property and 55% of its value for public utility property.
Reporting Information
Not later that 1 February each year, the Assessor of Property is required to furnish each applicable business in the county with a Schedule B for listing all of their tangible personal property.
Those business owners (or agents) must then complete and return those forms to the assessor's office on or before 1 March.
In many cases, for an existing business, this simply involves listing the equipment acquired or disposed of during the previous year, so that it may be added to or removed from the schedule already on file. It is basically a "self declaring" system, but is subject to audit for verification.
Unlike the system for assessing real property, where the appraisal is based on fair market value and equalized across the entire jurisdiction, the appraisal of personal property is based on the actual cost of the property plus depreciation.
Personal property is categorized in 10 groups for reporting. Each of those groups has its own depreciation schedule that is outlined in state statutes. In Tennessee, leased personal property used by a business is assessed to the lessee (user) and must also be reported on a company's reporting schedule.
For smaller accounts, the system allows an alternate method for reporting personal property. If you believe the depreciated value of your business's personal property is $1,000 or less, you can declare so in the reporting schedule and you do not have to itemize or report detailed costs. With this certification, subject to audit, your assessment will be set at $300.
Again, the deadline for filing Personal Property Reporting Schedules is March 1 each year. Failure to return the schedule by that date may result in a forced assessment of the business's personal property using information about the quantity and value of personal property held for use by businesses of similar size and function.
To view a copy of a Schedule B click here. (Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view the Schedule B form and can be obtained here.)
Intangible Personal Property Information
Intangible personal property is defined by statute to include "money, any evidence of debt owed to a taxpayer, any evidence of ownership in a corporation or other business organization having multiple owners, and all other forms of property whose value is expressed in terms of what the property represents rather than its own intrinsic worth." Included is all personal property not classified as tangible personal property. The assessment level is 40% for this classification.
The state constitution gives the legislature power to establish subclasses and assessed value percentages for intangible personal property, but currently the statutes impose the assessment only on intangible personal property of certain insurance companies, loan, investment and for-profit cemetery companies. Provisions for assessing bank intangible property were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1983 and an excise tax is now imposed in lieu of the property tax on intangible personal property of banks.
Reporting
The Davidson County Assessor's office provides two scheduled for reporting intangible personalty. For Loan, Investment and For-profit Cemetery Companies a Tax Schedule "A" is provided by February 1 of each year to be completed, signed, notarized and returned to the Assessor's office by March 1. Certain Insurance companies are provided a Tax Schedule "D" to be completed and returned in the same manner.
Appeal
As with "real property", a property owner has the right to appeal their personal property assessment, beginning with the Metro Board of Equalization and continuing until satisfied or their appeals are exhausted. For the initial appeal to be heard, however, the taxpayer must first file a completed schedule.
For more information on tangible personal property, reporting procedures, and your rights and responsibilities as a property owner please contact the Assessor of Property Office.