Personal Property

All non-exempt tangible personal property is valued and assessed annually by the Personal Property Division of the Assessor's Office. Taxable personal property is primarily that which is used in the operation of a business or mobile and manufactured homes not affixed to real property.

All businesses are required to declare their personal property to the Assessor annually by way of a personal property filing statement. Prior to March 1st statements are mailed to all businesses on the tax rolls. Taxpayers need to complete the statement and return it by May 15th. After our office reviews your filing, we will send you a bill for the exact amount due. All tax bills will be due 30 days after we bill you or May 15, whichever is later.

Statutory citations regarding the assessment of personal property are contained in Title 59, Chapter 2 of the Utah Code. New businesses should register with the Assessor when taking out a business license to avoid assessment of escaped property taxes. The personal property tax is collected and apportioned to the county, cities, school districts, and other taxing entities to pay for local governmental services.

The Utah State Tax Commission provides all county assessors with recommended percent-good schedules each year. These schedules are used to equalize the valuation of personal property statewide. Personal property is classified according to its economic life. Applying the appropriate percent-good rate for the age and class of the property to the original cost will yield an approximate fair market value for the subject property.

A taxpayer may appeal their personal property valuation to the Davis County Board of Equalization. The appeal must be filed within 60 days of notification of assessment and must include a description of the property, documentation of an alternative value and the methodology used to arrive at that value or a legal brief, if the appeal relates to a legal interpretation of the assessment statutes. The appeal deadline is typically May 15th. All appeals must be in writing and addressed to the Clerk of the Board of Equalization, c/o Davis County Auditor, P.O. Box. 618 Farmington UT 84025. Decisions of the county board of equalization may be appealed to the Utah State Tax Commission.

In order to insure compliance with the self-assessing program, audits are performed by the Utah State Tax Commission. The Personal Property Auditing Division of the Utah State Tax Commission performs detailed reviews of financial records and on-site inspections of taxpayers' facilities and assets. The findings are compared to the statements submitted by the taxpayer. Escaped property, when discovered, may be assessed as far back as five years from the date of discovery. Property willfully concealed, misrepresented, or moved, in order to escape taxation is subject to a penalty equal to the tax on its value.

The Utah State Legislature has established an exemption level for personal property.  This is how it works.  If the total taxable value (the value after scheduled depreciation) of all assets (furniture, fixtures, computers, phones, equipment, tools, etc.) used in the operation of a business is at or below the current year exemption level, the filer may apply for and request an exemption be granted.  This means the filer would not have to pay the tax generated from all reported assets for that filing period.  Exemptions must be requested each year when filing a personal property statement.

In order to have an exemption granted, the following conditions must be met:

• The personal property filing must be submitted timely.  Filings which are late will automatically forfeit the right to exempt.
• All personal property must be declared.  No exemptions will be granted for accounts which have not listed personal property, or are on an estimate.
• The exemptions must be requested by signing where indicated on the filing statement.  Exemptions are not automatically granted.  Each exemption must be taxpayer requested, and approved by the County Board of Equalization.
• All accounts using the same EIN are considered in the aggregate.  The total taxable value of assets for all accounts must be at or below the exemption level.
• Exemptions will not be granted for accounts which have outstanding balances from prior tax years.  Accounts that would otherwise qualify must clear outstanding balances by May 15^th of the year in which the exemption is requested.

All tangible property, unless statutorily exempted by the Utah State Constitution and enacted by the legislature, is taxable. Property owned and used exclusively by a non-profit religious, charitable, or educational institution may be exempted upon application and approval by the Davis County Board of Equalization. Until the exemption is approved by the board, the entity is deemed taxable.

Property owned by the Federal, State, or local government is exempt by virtue of its ownership. Property leased to an exempt entity is not considered exempt.

Additionally, the following types of tangible property are exempt: Livestock, farm machinery and equipment, and inventory held for resale in the normal course of business. See our "Forms" tab, specifically our Personal Property Utah Code Information.

 All personal property is subject to audit.

Personal Property means property which is subject to assessment and taxation according to its value, but does not include moneys, credits, bonds, stocks, representative property, franchises, goodwill, copyrights, patents, or other intangibles. Personal Property includes every class of property defined as property which is the subject of ownership and not included within the meaning of the terms "real estate" and "improvements".

Percent Good Schedule is a schedule used to calculate the approximate remaining value of an item of personal property. Multiplying the appropriate percentage from the table, based on the class of property and its age, by the historical cost will yield the percent good, or remaining value

Escaped Property means any property, whether personal, land, or any improvements to the property, subject to taxation that is: inadvertently omitted from the tax rolls, assigned to the incorrect parcel, or assessed to the wrong taxpayer by the assessing authority; undervalued or omitted from the tax rolls because of the failure of the taxpayer to comply with the reporting requirements of this chapter; or undervalued because of errors made by the assessing authority based upon incomplete or erroneous information furnished by the taxpayer. Property which is undervalued because of the use of a different valuation methodology or because of a different application of the same valuation methodology is not "escaped property."

 Property Willfully Concealed is any property found to be willfully concealed, removed, transferred, or misrepresented by its owner or agent in order to evade taxation.  Willfully concealed property is subject to a penalty equal to the tax on its value, and neither the penalty nor assessment may be reduced or waived by the assessor, county, county Board of Equalization, or the commission, except pursuant to a procedure for the review and approval of waivers adopted by county ordinance, or by administrative rule adopted in accordance with Title 63, Chapter 46a, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.

A Penalty of $25 or 10% of the tax due, whichever is greater, is assessed when a taxpayer fails to file a statement of personal property by the due date (Utah Code 59-2-306(2)(a) 59-2-307). Property willfully concealed, misrepresented, or moved, in order to escape taxation is subject to a penalty equal to the tax. Commercial movers, that do not obtain the required moving permit for mobile and manufactured homes, may be charged with a Class B misdemeanor.

Interest accrues on Personal Property tax 30 days after billing.  The assessor is required to charge interest.  The current annual interest rate is 10%.