The Texas Property Tax Code for many years had required owners of business personal property (BPP) to annually render those assets used in a business. Rendering is summarizing to the central appraisal district the ownership and value of the assets.
Historically,Guest Posting however, over half of all owners of business personal property have not rendered.
The Texas law was unusual in that while rendition was mandatory, there was no penalty for not rendering. Therefore, many property owners did not render because it was not material, was not convenient or would dramatically increase their tax liability. For many small business owners, the value of the personal property and the associated property taxes are modest and not a material issue for the business.
Chief appraisers at central appraisal districts and tax entities have long been concerned that a material amount of business personal property is not being taxed. There is a reasonable concern that if business personal property owners are not being taxed equitably with real property owners, the burden of taxation is shifted from owners of personal property to owners of real property.
Impetus for Change
Several factors combined to make business personal property rendition a hot topic. In Robinson vs. Budget Rent-a-Car Systems, a 2001 appeals court decision, the court clarified that the chief appraiser may sue to force a business personal property owner to render BPP. In addition to the objective of chief appraisers to equitably spread the burden of property taxation, fiscal shortfalls at many city, county and school entities as well as at the state level have raised the government’s need to ensure it is receiving all due revenue based on current tax laws.
Although Robinson vs. Budget allowed chief appraisers to sue property owners who did not render, this was a largely unsatisfactory remedy due to the financial costs and political stigma of chief appraisers suing large numbers of taxpayers. The other possible solution was for chief appraisers to “guess high” on assessed values in order to effectively force business personal property owners to provide information. Fortunately, few chief appraisers have chosen this option.
Summary of the New Law
During the summer of 2003, the Texas legislature put some teeth into the rendition law by passing Texas Senate Bill 340. Starting in 2004, a company that does not render will automatically pay a 10% penalty on its business personal property tax bill. This penalty will be collected by the chief appraiser, although there are options to appeal the penalty. There is also a 50% penalty for filing a fraudulent rendition. In addition, filing a fraudulent rendition is a criminal offense.
Rendition Requirements
Owners of business personal property with an aggregate value of less than $20,000 can file a simplified rendition statement containing only: 1) the property owner’s name and address; 2) a general description of the property by type or category; and 3) the location of the property. Owners of business personal property worth more than $20,000 must file a rendition with: 1) the owner’s name and address; 2) a description of the property for inventory; 3) a description of each type of inventory; 4) a general estimate of the quantity of each type; 5) the property’s physical location; and 6) either the owner’s good faith estimate of the property’s market value or the property’s historical cost new and its year of acquisition.
If the owner simply provides a good faith estimate of the property’s market value the appraisal district may request a statement of supporting information indicating how the property owner determined the value rendered. This detailed statement must be delivered within 21 days after the date the property owner receives the request.
Rendition Deadlines
The rendition addresses business personal property as of January 1st of the tax year and may be filed annually between January 1st and April 15th. There is an automatic extension of the filing deadline until May 15th upon written request. The chief appraiser may extend the filing deadline for an additional 15 days (until May 30), if the property owner files a written request showing good cause.
Amnesty Provision
With the new legislation the Texas Property Tax Code also offers property owners a special rendering provision for the 2003 tax year. If owners render BPP before December 1, 2003 the appraisal district may revalue the property for tax year 2003. Revaluation is likely to occur if there was no previous account for the property or if the rendered value greatly exceeds the current assessed value.
However, exercising the special rendering, or amnesty, provision in 2003 allows the property owner to avoid omitted property taxes for the two prior years. When business personal property not already on the tax rolls is discovered, the Texas Property Tax Code requires it be assessed at the market value for the two prior years. For example, if business personal property were discovered in 2003, the appraisal district would also typically assess the property for 2001 and 2002. By rendering during the established amnesty window, September 1, 2003 through November 30, 2003, the property owner avoids the exposure of paying property taxes for prior years.
What is Business Personal Property?
The Texas Property Tax Code 1.04 (5) defines tangible personal property as property that can be seen, weighed, measured, felt, or otherwise perceived by the senses, but does not include a document or other perceptible object that constitutes evidence of a valuable interest, claim, or right and has no negligible or intrinsic value. Examples of tangible personal property, or business personal property, include equipment, furniture, computers, and inventory. Business personal property would not include accounts receivable, stocks, bonds, notes, franchise agreements, licenses, permits, certificates of deposit, insurance policies, pensions, contracts and goodwill.
Conclusion
The new business personal property rendition requirements will sharply increase compliance with rendition laws over the next three to five years. Many small business personal property account owners will probably not address the issue until receiving a 2004 tax bill with a 10% penalty for failing to render. It is unclear how many large accounts are either not on the tax roll or are substantially undervalued. It is clear there are some, but from a practical perspective this writer has not seen or heard of many such cases.
The benefits of the law are that it will make taxation more equitable between business personal property and real property. It will also make business personal property taxes more equitable between those who do and do not render. Less attractive features of the new rendition requirements are an increase in tax revenue and an increase in paperwork for businesses.