Personal Property

PERSONAL PROPERTY
By law, all tangible personal property subject to taxation must be listed and assessed as of January 1st of each year in the name of the owner. Individuals, companies, and corporations that own or have tangible personal property subject to their control on January 1st, must file a Personal Property Rendition with the County Appraiser’s Office on or before March 15th to avoid a penalty. If a taxpayer fails or refuses to file a rendition or, if the rendition filed does not truly represent all the property, the County Appraiser has the duty to investigate, identify, list and value such property in an effort to achieve uniformity and equality. K.S.A. 79-1411(b) and K.S.A. 79-1461. 
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PERSONAL PROPERTY RENDITIONS
Who must sign the personal property rendition? 
By law, every person, association, company or corporation required to list property must personally sign the personal property rendition (assessment form). In addition, if a tax preparer completes the rendition, then the preparer must also sign the rendition to certify that the information is true and correct. [K.S.A. 79-306]
 
When and where does a taxpayer file a rendition?
Taxable personal property must be listed with the county appraiser on or before March 15th of each year in the county where the property has its tax situs. When March 15th falls on a day other than a regular business day, the rendition can be filed on the next following business day. Oil and gas renditions must be filed on or before April 1st of each year. The county appraiser may grant the taxpayer an extension to file if the taxpayer submits a request in writing to the appraiser on or before the March 15th or April 1st filing deadline, stating just and adequate reasons for the extension. If a person has filed an initial statement listing property with the county appraiser pursuant to this section, no subsequent annual statement shall be required to be filed with the county appraiser regarding such property unless there is a change to report relating to the property previously listed or the statement.  [K.S.A. 79-1422, 79-1457, K.S.A. 79-306, 79-332a, 60-206(e)]
As a general rule, all tangible personal property is listed in the taxing district where the property is located on the first day of January, except for:
(a) Tangible personal property owned by a Kansas resident that is stationed, located or stored on any municipal airport or airfield is listed and taxed in the taxing district where the owner resides. If the owner is not a resident of Kansas or the county in which the property is located, then the property is listed where it is located.  
(b) Motor vehicles used by students while attending a university or college and owned by such student or another person are listed in the taxing district where the owner resided on January 1st.
(c) The tangible personal property of banks, bankers, brokers, merchants, insurance or other companies (except mutual fire insurance companies) is listed in the taxing district where their business is usually done.
(d) The tangible personal property of manufactories or mines is listed in the taxing district where the manufactories or mines are located.
(e) Personal property in transit is listed in the taxing district where the owner resides unless it is intended for a particular business, then, it is listed in the taxing district where the business is to be transacted. Whenever property is removed from Kansas between November 1 and the following January 1, and then returned to Kansas prior to the following March 1, the property must still be listed unless the owner submits proof that the property was removed for a legitimate business purpose and was listed for taxation in another state. [K.S.A. 79-304] 

Personal Property Rendition Form.pdf           Personal Property Calendar.pdf

PERSONAL PROPERTY PENALTIES
What happens when a taxpayer does not list taxable personal property with the county? 
The county appraiser is required by law to apply a penalty to the assessed value of personal property that is not listed in a timely manner or that is not listed at all. County appraisers may grant an extension to file if a taxpayer submits a written request, on or before the March 15th deadline, which states just and adequate reasons for the extension. When an extension is granted and the taxpayer fails to file by the extended deadline, penalties are calculated from the March 15th deadline (April 1st for oil and gas renditions), not the date of the extended deadline. [K.S.A. 79-1422, 79-1457] 
By law, only the Kansas Board of Tax Appeals can abate, waive or refund penalties imposed by the county appraiser on personal property that was untimely filed or not filed at all. Taxpayers seeking relief from a filing penalty must file an “Application for Relief from a Tax Grievance” form with the county appraiser in the county where the penalty was incurred. The county appraiser will forward the application to the Board. [K.S.A. 79-1422] 

Note: By law, motor vehicles and watercraft can be prorated on to and off of the tax roll when they are acquired or sold during the tax year. Filing penalties are applied only to those motor vehicles and watercraft that are owned as of the January 1 assessment date.

Late Filing Penalties: [K.S.A. 79-1422] 
If within one year following the March 15th filing deadline, a taxpayer files a list or an additional list of taxable personal property, the county appraiser must apply a late filing penalty to the assessed value of the property. The late filing penalty is applied only to that portion of the property that is filed after the March 15th deadline. The penalty for late filing is 2% per month up to a maximum of 10%. 
Late filing penalties are applied as follows: 
                                                                    Date Rendition Filed Penalty:     March 16 through April 15 2%
                                                                                                                             April 16 through May 15 4% 
                                                                                                                             May 16 through June 15 6% 
                                                                                                                             June 16 through July 15 8% 
                                                                                                                             July 16 through March 14 of the following year 10% 

Failure to File Penalties:[K.S.A. 79-1422] If within one year following the March 15th filing deadline, the county discovers a taxpayer failed to file a list or failed to file a complete list of taxable personal property, the county appraiser must determine the assessed value of the property and apply a 12.5% penalty for failure to file. When the taxpayer fails to file a complete list of the property, the penalty is applied only to the omitted or underreported property. If the county discovers taxable personal property that was omitted from the appraisal roll after June 15th of the current tax year (the date the appraiser certifies the appraisal roll to the county clerk), but prior to March 15th of the following tax year, the county clerk must place the property on the assessment roll as an added tax and apply a 12.5% penalty to the assessed value. [K.S.A. 79-1427a] 
If a failure-to-file penalty is applied to the value of taxable personal property and the taxpayer later files a list of the personal property within one year of March 15th, the failure to-file penalty is no longer applicable, and the appropriate late filing penalty is applied to the assessed value of the personal property which is now filed late