While the annual reporting forms for your company’s personal property return appear simple, the assessment process and property tax laws are complex and vary by state. To achieve a fair assessment, it’s important to receive the right tax insight from a trusted advisor.

A Favorable Assessment

Property tax assessors generally value a business’s personal property based on the annual costs the company reports. But annual reporting forms by themselves don’t often provide enough insight into a business and, as a result, often don’t result in an assessment that benefits the company.

Asking the following questions—which aren’t on the annual reporting forms—and making changes to your annual return based on the answers, could help to significantly reduce your assessment.

• Do you retire assets from your fixed-asset records as they’re disposed?
• Do you maintain inventory in multiple states?
• Do you ship goods out of state?
• Do you have idle equipment?
• Do you have a manufacturing process that’s not fully utilized?
• Do you have bundled-asset purchases recorded in your fixed-asset system?
• Do you track repairs and maintenance in your fixed-asset system?
• Do you have tooling or molds on your books used for offsite manufacturing?
• Do you have installed equipment that’s mandated by government regulation?
• Do you have software costs?
• Do you provide your salespeople with display equipment to give to customers?
• Do you have assets located out of the country?

To realize a lower tax burden, it’s important to stay current with changing property tax laws, including exemptions, abatement and exclusions, and the penalties associated with missed filing deadlines.

We're Here to Help

Our tailored insight can help reduce the cost of compliance, ease the burden on your company and decrease the risks associated with incorrect, incomplete, or late filings. Our professionals can provide the valuation and property tax services your company needs to fully benefit from exemptions and other tax-mitigation opportunities. These services include the following:

• Providing insight on ever-changing laws and statutes
• Defending tax positions
• Planning compliance strategies that can save your company bottom-line property tax dollars

Contact Us

To learn more about our property tax services or arrange a complimentary consultation, visit our state tax web page. You can also contact your local Moss Adams professional or our property tax leaders.