Business Tangible Personal Property Taxes

Business tangible personal property generally includes taxable property used in a business in Arlington County unless specifically exempt.

Taxable property may include, but is not limited to, furniture, fixtures, computers, peripheral hardware, machinery, tools, programmable computer equipment, business equipment, and leased property in your possession.

If you lease tangible personal property from others, you must report all property in your possession, including leased property, even if the lessor also reports it. 

If you lease tangible personal property from others, you must provide a list of these items, including the complete names, mailing addresses and phone numbers of the owners.

Over-the-road vehicles such as cars, trucks, and trailers should not be reported on the Business Tangible return. These should be reported through Vehicle Personal Property Taxes instead.

The assessed value of business tangible personal property is based on a set percentage of each item’s original capitalized cost, determined by the year the item was purchased.

Original capitalized cost is the actual cost of the property before any allowance for depreciation. It includes costs associated with placing an asset into service, such as sales tax, delivery, freight charges, installation, and labor.

If property was expensed under IRS Code Section 179, the original capitalized cost is the amount expensed for federal tax purposes.

Fully depreciated or IRS-expensed property must still be reported. The County Board sets the tax rate each year.

Potential exemptions may include application software, inventory for resale, and some manufacturers’ property.

Property of nonprofit organizations is not generally exempt, though some categories may qualify.

Over-the-road vehicles such as cars, trucks, and trailers should not be reported on the Business Tangible return. These are reported through Vehicle Personal Property Taxes.