Frequently Asked Questions Following are the most commonly asked questions about the personal property assessment process. They may help answer some of your questions. If you need additional information, please contact us at 206-296-3914 or by e-mail at Personal.Property@kingcounty.gov. We'd be happy to help! You also may find it helpful to review Personal property laws and rules. Information in Title 84 - Property Taxes provides the basis for the personal property assessment process. Do I need to sign the listing? How do I report my business assets to the county? What is done with the information I provide? What business property do I need to report? What about supplies and inventory? What are leasehold improvements, and should I report them? What if I own and occupy the building? How about formerly and currently leased equipment used in the business? What happens once I return a completed listing? If I'm just starting a business, when do I first need to report business assets? Who do I contact if I have questions about how to fill out the listing? What if I file after April 30th? What if I disagree with my valuation? If I sell the business or it closes during the year, who is liable for the personal property tax? Am I eligible for any exemptions?
Yes, click here to access eListing.
Do I need to sign the listing? No, a signature is no longer required. But be sure to include the preparer's contact information. In this state, personal property refers to assets used in conducting a business. The chief characteristic distinguishing personal property (RCW 84.04.080) from real property (RCW 84.04.090) is mobility. Washington State law requires that all non-exempt personal property be assessed for tax purposes (RCW 84.36.005). Taxable personal property includes (but is not limited to): office machinery and equipment
as well as supplies and materials which are not held for sale or do not become an ingredient or component of an article
being produced for sale. Furniture and fixtures in commercial use, leased equipment, certain leasehold improvements,
lessee-owned improvements on public land and commercial vessels not subject to excise tax also are assessed and taxed
as personal property. Additionally, agricultural machinery and equipment, manufacturers', contractors' and logging
machinery and equipment also are assessable as personal property. The tax is administered at the county level. The county in which the business is physically located administers the tax. The location of the business owner’s residence is not relevant unless that is also the location of the business. The King County Department of Assessments determines the assessed value of taxable personal and real property in King County (RCW 84.40.040). This office also calculates levy rates based on information provided by its various taxing jurisdictions. This information is used by the King County Treasurer’s Office to bill and collect taxes. The King County Finance Division bills and collects taxes on personal and real property in King County (RCW 87.03.440). In counties with low business activity, the assessor may be responsible for both the valuation and collection functions. In King County, contact the Department of Assessments with questions about the valuation
of your personal property (206-296-3914). Contact the Treasury Operations (206-296-4290) for questions about a personal
property tax bill.
If you have not filed with this office before, you can download a form by clicking here (link to http://www.metrokc.gov/assessor/forms.htm, listings). Or you may contact us at 206-296-3914 or by e-mail at Personal.Property@kingcounty.gov to request a Personal Property Listing form. Businesses in operation on the first day of January will be sent a listing form. Please
use that form to report your assets. State law requires businesses to complete and return their personal property
listing forms by April 30. (link to http://www.metrokc.gov/assessor/forms/forms.htm). What is done with the information I provide?
We will review information you provide on the listing and ensure it is correctly entered into our
computer system. Reported items’ description, purchase price and year of acquisition will determine allowable
depreciation. Items’ cost minus their depreciation and any exemptions will provide the assessed value of the
property. This value then is used to calculate the personal property tax.
To properly complete the listing, you’ll need to report business property which you own, may have formerly leased but now own, leased business property, building improvements, supplies and such items as laser disks, game cartridges, rental video tapes, title plants and DVD’s. A summary list of the categories of business property to report is included on the listing. A complete list of business property categories also is available on the Assessor’s web site (http://www.metrokc.gov/assessor/forms.htm). You need to report personal property used in your business on January 1 of the year in which you report (RCW 84.36.005). For example, if you had $20,000 of business assets in place on January 1, 2001 you would report them on the 2001 listing form. Any items obtained in 2001 after January 1 would be reported on the 2002 listing, if still in use on January 1, 2002. The listing also includes instructions
for properly completing the form. If you have any questions about how or what to report, just call the number on the first
page of the listing.
Supplies should be reported and a special place is provided to do this on the listing form. Supplies include such items as paper, envelopes, staples, etc. Supplies are defined as items used to conduct everyday business. Report the cost of supplies on hand on January 1 or take 1/12th of your annual supply expense -- whichever is easier to determine. Inventory includes items held for resale and those items which become part of the product
or service provided by the business. For example, bottles or cans used in a food manufacturing operation. These items
are exempt from personal property tax and do not need to be reported.
Leasehold improvements are improvements or additions to leased property that benefit the
lessee (tenant or renter). Improvements made to a building that you own and occupy, are not leasehold improvements. You
should report leasehold improvements as personal property if:
If you own the building you occupy, do not report leasehold improvements.
Both need to be reported. For the majority of equipment currently being leased, the leases are categorized as operating leases. In this case, the tax will go to the lessor, but the lessee is required to list the leased property on the personal property listing. For capitalized leases, the lessee assumes the tax. For formerly leased now owned equipment, be sure to provide the year the lease started and
ended. This information will be used to determine the equipment’s acquisition year and allowable depreciation.
The business property information you provide on the listing will be entered into our computer system. The system will use this information to calculate an assessed value. A Personal Property Valuation Notice showing this assessed value will be sent to you. This value is multiplied by the levy rate for your business’s location to determine personal property taxes. The valuation notice also provides information about the process and timelines for appealing the valuation. About mid-February of the following year, you should receive a tax bill from the King
County Finance Division. This bill should show the assessed value that appeared on the Personal Property Valuation
Notice along with the amount of taxes due and the required payment date(s).
You’d need to submit a completed listing in the year your business was first in operation on January 1. For example, if you started your business on June 10, 2000, you would first file a listing in 2001 listing those assets used by your business as of January 1, 2001. If you contact us at the onset of your business, we can set up an account and make sure
you get the listing form in plenty of time to complete and return it by the April 30 due date.
Call 1-800 325-6165 (ext. 6-3914). Or, e-mail us at
Personal.Property@kingcounty.gov (link to e-mail form) and someone will contact you.
Late filers are subject to a penalty of 5% a month of the amount of tax due up to 25% (RCW
84.40.130). This penalty will be added to and will appear on the personal property tax bill.
The first step is to contact us. We will review your account information with you to make sure an error has not been made. If indicated, an Assessments Auditor may be asked to review the assessment and may make equitable adjustments. If the assessed value is still disputed, you may appeal the value to the County Board of
Equalization. Contact them at 206-296-3496 to obtain appeal forms and related information.
The person who owned the business on January 1 is liable for the tax for that year. There
is no proration. Even if the computer was used only 1% of the time for business, it is 100%
assessable.
Yes. There's
a $15,000 Head of Household exemption. This is only available for Sole Proprietors. The $15,000 exemption is deducted from the business’s total assessed value (RCW
84.36.110).
An exemption for certain farm equipment is also
available using the form at this link: http://dor.wa.gov/docs/forms/PropTx/forms/AppForExmptMachEquip.doc
This is at the discretion of each county assessor. King County’s policy is to waive
non-filing penalties for voluntary filing. If, however, we discover non-filing, the county can apply non-filing
penalties for up to three tax years (RCW 84.40.130). Assessments for up to three years back, if applicable, would still
be due (RCW 84.40.080, 84.40.085). King County encourages voluntary disclosure. Updated: April 24, 2007
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