Jo Ann North

Property Assessor

I WANT TO ..

• Look at your file data on my property

• Estimate my property taxes

• Learn how the appraisal processes work

• Read about Business Personalty Assessment

• Find a parcel on Metro's online property maps

• Go to Metro Nashville Government's Home Page

Personal Property

'B' ONLINE -- Temporarily OFFLINE!

The 'B' ONLINE is temporarily unavailable. It will become available again on May 19, 2008 for all accounts that wish to appeal to the Metropolitan Board of Equalization and have not filed a Schedule B along with a complete listing.

BASIC INFORMATION ON PERSONALTY ASSESSMENT

General

Tangible Personal Property (better known as Personalty) is all property owned or held by a business 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

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 prior to 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, also 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.)

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.