Completing your Personal Property Listing for New Businesses
Each year, the Department of Revenue (DOR) provides us with a list of businesses that completed a Master Application. Reasons for filing a Master Application with the state may include:
- opening a new business
- changing ownership
- adding a license/registration to existing location
- registering/changing a trade name
- reopening a business
- changing or opening a new location
- hiring employees.
Because your business is included on this year's list, you are receiving this form. The purpose of the form is to obtain information needed to include your business on the King County
assessment roll. In Washington State, business personal property is assessable for tax purposes unless otherwise exempt. Taxable business 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. A more complete listing of the categories of taxable personal property is available on our Forms page.
Please complete your form by providing the business-related information requested on the front of the form. On the back of the form, please list assets you use in your business on
January 1 of this year. This listing should include the year you acquired the asset. Also provide the asset's cost in the appropriate column. For example, a business purchased these
assets:
- Computer in 2005 for $2,000
- Software in 2007 for $500
- Table in 2001 for $500
- 4 chairs in 2000 for $300
- Alarm system in 2006 for $700
- Cash register in 2000 for $250
- Manufacturing equipment in 2004 for $127,300
These assets would be listed on the form like this:
| Year Purchased | Computer Equipment Cost |
Machinery & Equipment Cost | Furniture & Fixtures Cost | Software Cost |
Office Equipment Cost | Other Asset Cost(s) |
| 2007 |
|
|
|
$500 |
|
|
| 2006 |
|
$700 |
|
|
|
|
| 2005 |
$2000 |
|
|
|
|
|
| 2004 |
|
$127,300 |
|
|
|
|
| 2001 |
|
|
$500 |
|
|
|
| 2000 |
|
|
$300 |
|
$250 |
|
Also, please provide an average monthly supply cost.
If your business is in a leased building and you have made improvements to the building,
these also may be assessable as building improvements. Examples of building improvements include items such as: drapes, racks, sinks, wall coverings,
carpets and rugs. A more complete listing of the types of building improvements assessable as business personal property is available on our
Forms page.
If you are a home-based business, please keep in mind that any assets used in your business are assessable for personal property tax purposes at the time the assets are
physically brought into the business regardless of the amount of time the assets are used for business and personal purposes.
Please be sure to provide a person's name and phone number we can call if we have any questions.
We use the information you provide in preparing our annual assessment roll. The assessment roll is used to generate personal property tax bills. Tax bills for
assessments made this year will be mailed next year. If you would like more information about the business personal property assessment process, please visit the
Business Personal Property Assessments page of our web site at
www.kingcounty.gov/assessor.
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