Texas Personal Property Tax
Section Talking Points
- What is taxable personal property?
- Rendition filing requirements
- Rendition deadlines
- Penalties
- Options to consider
What is taxable personal property?
Personal property tax in Texas is imposed on income producing tangible personal property. The local county appraisal district uses the Texas personal property tax to fund county services. All income producing tangible personal property is taxable for county appraisal district purposes. Taxable personal property includes equipment and inventory. Nontangibles such as goodwill, accounts receivable, and propriatary processes are not taxable for county appraisal district purposes.
All tangible personal property that a person owns which is not held or used for the production of income, with the exception of manufactured homes, is exempt from county appraisal district taxes.
Rendition filing requirements
A person or business who owns tangible personal property used for the production of income is required to file a rendition. The rendition is to be filed with the county appraisal district where the personal property is located. A simplified rendition may be filed if, in the opinion of the owner, the aggregate value is less than $20,000. Go to our Rendition Requirements section for details on standard and simplified rendition requirements.
County appraisal district rendition filing forms are available for download at our Appraisal District Forms section.
Rendition deadlines
April 15 is the primary deadline for filing a personal property rendition. There is an automatic extension of the filing deadline until May 15 upon written request prior to the April 15th deadline. The chief appraiser of the county appraisal district may extend the filing deadline for an additional 15 days (until May 30), if the property owner files a written request showing good cause.
Penalties
A 10% penalty is automatically assessed if a rendition is not filed. There is a 50% penalty and criminal offenses for filing a fraudulent rendition.
Options to consider
Owners with small amounts of personal property may want to consider whether to pay the penalty for not rendering. The penalty is 10% of the tax bill, which is the tax rate multiplied by the market value of the personal property. The law clearly requires an income property owner to render. The decision whether to render depends upon the owner's specific circumstances including record keeping, the risks involved, and corporate culture.
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