By Jeff Prang
Los Angeles County Assessor
It’s that time of year again when I reach out to your readers and business owners to remind them of an important deadline fast approaching that must not be overlooked because there are penalties attached.
I’m talking about Business Personal Property Statements (BPP). Businesses with personal property and fixtures that cost $100,000 or more must file a BPP by April 1. This is required by state law. However, you have until May 7 to file. After that a 10% penalty will be applied.
Each year Business Personal Property Statements, which provide a basis for determining assessments for fixtures and equipment, are mailed by my office to most commercial, industrial and professional firms.
Generally, businesses with personal property and fixtures that cost less than $100,000 are not required to file a BPP annually. Instead, a value is established based on an initial BPP filing or by an on-site appraisal. That value may be adjusted by subsequent annual on-site appraisals. My office is legally mandated to assess the value of business personal property in excess of $10,000 as of January 1.
Business Personal Property is typically all property owned or leased by a business except Real Property and Inventory items.
Business Personal Property includes, but is not limited to:
Machinery
Computers
Equipment (e.g. FAX machines, photocopiers)
Telephones
Furniture (e.g. desks, chairs, bookcases)
Supplies
It’s important to remember that Business Personal Property is valued annually as of January 1. If you were in business on that day and have the required amount of property, you are required to file. BPP statements are private documents and are held confidential by my office.
Having said that, I understand that times have been challenging for many businesses and I am inviting you to provide me with information about your business equipment for the possibility of some relief. Make no mistake about this, I intend to be proactive about these reductions. As an example, our office proactively in years past have reduced Business Personal Property for about 47,000 businesses countywide. For more information on this relief go to https://assessor.lacounty.gov/tax-relief/decline-in-value.
The bureaucratic name for the Business Personal Property form is the 571-L and as I mentioned it must be filed no later than May 7 to avoid a penalty. To file the form online or just to learn more about this go to https://assessor.lacounty.gov/businessowners/business-prop-statement-filing.
Moreover, to help businesses navigate and complete this often confusing form, we’ve hosted several virtual workshops that are available for viewing on my website. They can be viewed at the same link https://assessor.lacounty.gov/businessowners/business-prop-statement-filing. Once there click on the box marked videos.
I also think it’s important to note that the very reason for our property taxes are to support vital public services provided to all of us, including law enforcement, fire protection, education, parks and recreation, as well as roads.
Property taxes are based on the assessed value of your property. Property tax bills show land and improvement values. Improvements include all assessable buildings and structures on the land. In general, properties that are owned and used by educational, charitable, religious or government organizations may be exempt from certain property taxes. You may also qualify for certain exemptions.
For more information regarding other tax savings’ programs, please visit my new and improved website at assessor.lacounty.gov.
______________________________________________________________________________For more information on tax savings programs, visit assessor.lacounty.gov or call (213) 974-3211. Los Angeles County Assessor Jeff Prang has been in office since 2014. Upon taking office, Prang implemented sweeping reforms to ensure that the strictest ethical guidelines rooted in fairness, accuracy and integrity would be adhered to in his office, which is the largest office of its kind in the nation with 1,400 employees and provides the foundation for a property tax system that generates $19 billion annually.
