Personal Property

'B' ONLINE -- File your Schedule B online!

A new, easier, more secure method for filing of the Tangible Personal Property Schedule B returns is now available to Davidson County businesses.

You can submit your Schedule B information directly online to our secure servers operating behind a safe firewall. Schedule B forms were mailed to businesses January 29th and returns are due on or before March 1st.

Most businesses will be able to complete their Schedule B and file it within minutes, print a confirmation page showing they have submitted, and send our office any asset lists needed for reference.  We prefer to receive asset lists as electronic files in spreadsheet or database formats, such as Microsoft ™ Excel or Access.  However, we also will accept files in a graphic format, such as JPG, TIFF, GIF, or PDF. These can now be attached to the B-Online filing or faxed to (615)880-2333 or emailed to  personal.property@nashville.gov or . 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.

The new program accomplishes great things for both the taxpayer and our office. Instructions for filing are clear and simple in the online form.

  1. It is convenient and easy for the taxpayers, saving time and effort, plus the postage needed to return the printed Schedule B and asset lists.

  2. It eliminates some of the paperwork that streams into our office during Schedule B reporting which has to be scanned into an imaging system -- saving time which can be better used on quality control and auditing of returns.

  3. Because the data goes into our servers behind a robust firewall and access to files is limited to just those employees who require it, it's a more secure way to handle information, some of which may be confidential in nature.

A few advisories:

  • Businesses reporting non-standard depreciation will not be able to file online;

  • Once the form is submitted to our database, you will not be able to change it without contacting our office, so please check your work as you enter it -- and you should PRINT the summary page after it is reviewed prior to submission and save a copy;

  • To avoid possible network congestion near the filing deadline, it would be prudent to file your return as early as possible; and,

  • 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.

'B' ONLINE

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 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

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.

To view a copy of the Tax Schedule "A" for Loan, Investment, and Cemetery Companies, click here.

To view the TCA Statute for the Tax Schedule "A", click here.

To view a copy of the Tax Schedule "D" for Insurance companies, click here.

To view the TCA Statute for the Tax Schedule "D", click here. (Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view these forms 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.

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