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Personal Property Tax
What is Personal Property Tax?
The Personal Property Tax is assessed separately from real estate. This tax is assessed upon non-real estate, tangible assets. These assets are composed of goods, material objects and other items capable of material ownership that are not part of real estate. Items defined as tangible personal property range from the chairs in a barber shop to the furnishings of a doctor’s waiting room; from the drills used by a dentist to the poles owned by a utility company.
Personal property is assessed by the city or town where the property is "situated" on the assessment date. In limited circumstances personal property may be assessed by the community in which the owner is an inhabitant on January 1st, even if the property is located in another community on that day. This primarily applies to items that may not be permanently situated in a town, such as construction equipment.
Forms & Guidelines:
Income & Expense:
Form of List:
Change of Address
Please contact personalproperty@needhamma.gov with any further questions.
- Who must file a return?
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All proprietors, partnerships, associations, trusts and corporations must file a Form of List declaring items as personal property as of January 1 each calendar year. This is a state requirement.
- Where and when must my file be returned?
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The Form of List is to be filed with the local Board of Assessors each year before March 1 to determine its fair market value. If property has no permanent location (e.g. construction equipment), it must be listed with the assessors in the city or town where you are domiciled (legal place of residence).
- Can I get an extension of the filing deadline?
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Requests for an extension may be granted if you can show sufficient reason for not filing on time. The latest date the filing deadline can be extended is 30 days after the tax bills are mailed for the fiscal year. Request for extensions must be in writing.
- What is the penalty for failure to file or for filing late?
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Pursuant to Massachusetts General Law c. 59, sec 64, if no Form of List was filed for the fiscal year, the assessor cannot grant abatement for overvaluation of personal property for the year. A Form of List is not considered filed unless it is complete.
If the Form of List is not filed on time, the assessor can only grant abatement if the taxpayer shows a reasonable excuse for late filing or if the tax assessed is more than 150% of the amount that would have been assessed if the Form of List was filed on time. In this case, only the amount over the 150% of the correct value can be abated.