Completing Your Personal Property Declaration

Not sure if you are required to complete this form?  It depends on the value of your business personal property assets.  Beginning in the upcoming tax cycle, the first $50,000 of personal property assets will be exempted from taxation.  This means if your business has less than $50,000 in assets, you do not need to submit a declaration and you will not receive a tax bill.  If your business has more than $50,000 in assets, you will need to file the declaration, however, you will only be taxed on the total value of your assets less the $50,000 exemption.  For example, if you have $30,000 in assets, you will receive no tax bill.  If you have $85,000 in assets, you will be taxed on only $35,000 of value.  The Assessor’s office will apply the exemption automatically to every account, no application is required by the business owner to receive the exemption.

This December, the Assessor’s Office will send every business in town either a letter or the annual declaration, depending on the total value of your business’s assets.  If you receive the declaration, this means we have you on record as owning more than $50,000 in assets in the Town of Smithfield.  If we have you on record as owning less than $50,000 in assets, we will send you a letter further explaining the exemption.  If you received the letter, but you have acquired new assets this year and feel that your total asset value exceeds $50,000, please download the declaration form here and submit as usual.

If you have over $50,000 in business personal property assets, you will need to submit the declaration to report the personal property that your business owns as of December 31st (Rhode Island’s assessment date), and this reporting is due to the Assessor by the following January 31st each year.

Please note that these declarations are not considered public information and are not shared with anyone outside of qualified assessment personnel.  Whereas we will share our assessment information with the owner of a specific business (upon verifying ID), it is expected that each year’s property declaration will be based upon the reporting of the owner or agent of each business, not on existing assessment data.  Therefore, declarations simply referring to last year’s assessment or property list will not be accepted as complete.

If the form does not provide enough space for your property listing, please attach your own list that references your business.  Excel format is preferred, but the Assessor will accept any list that is clear, legible, and provides the requested information.

Step 1:     Download the Declaration Form

Click Here to download the Annual Declaration of Business Personal Property form.  The form will be used to report the declared personal property value for your business.

Step 2:     General Business Information

Complete the first page by filling in your name and contact information.  Also on the first page, please provide a brief description of the business, such as:

Residential & Commercial Landscaping

Retail Health & Fitness Store, or

Insurance Office

Then, indicate the appropriate ownership type for your business, and fill in the owner name, business name (DBA), the number and street where the business is located in Smithfield, and your desired mailing address.  If your business is incorporated, it is usually appropriate to list the corporation in the Owner Name field.

If your business has sold, dissolved, or relocated outside of Smithfield, please use the section on the last page to request removal from the tax roll.  We may follow up to request documentation regarding the location of the assets.

Step 3:     Itemized Property Listing (optional)

If you do not already have an itemized list of the personal property owned by your business, it is good practice to keep one on file.  Keeping a copy of this year’s list will make next year’s reporting that much easier.

The list should consist of all property that is not considered real estate.  This includes, but is not limited to, computers, furniture, fixtures, tools, equipment, supplies, decorations, unregistered motor vehicles, and leasehold improvements.  This list should not include inventory stocked for resale, as inventory is not currently taxable in Rhode Island.  Also, do not list registered motor vehicles on this declaration.

For each item, you would list the Acquisition Year, Item Description, Original Item Cost, Quantity, and Total Cost.

Step 4:     Disposals

You must report items that have previously been assessed but have been disposed, sold, or otherwise removed from the jurisdiction.  If your disposed property is not reported, these assets may continue to be assessed for the following tax roll.

Please attach a disposal list that references your business.  For each disposed item, you would list the Acquisition Year, Item Description, Original Item Cost, Quantity, and Total Cost.  Excel format is preferred, but the Assessor will accept any list that is clear, legible, and provides the requested information.

Step 5:     Summarize Property by Class & Year

In section two, three and four on page two of the form, you will summarize the values of all personal property items that you own.  In order to do this, it is important to have a basic understanding of the four legal property classes:

Class I- Computers

Only computers, such as desktops, laptops, and tablets should be counted in this section.  Printers and copiers are not Class I items and should be counted as Class II in section three.

Class II- Furniture, Fixtures, & Equipment

It is likely that most of your personal property will be counted as Class II property, including furniture, fixtures, tools, and equipment.  Include all property not counted as Class I, Class III, or Leasehold Improvements in this section.

Class III- Long-Life Assets

No, the vintage typewriter that you've owned since 1967 does not count as a long-life asset.  This classification is used for items such as heavy equipment and machinery.  Outside of certain industrial operations, most businesses do not own Class III property.  Contact the Assessor’s Office if you have questions about long-life assets.

Leasehold Improvements

Leasehold Improvements refers to property that is owned by you, but attached to real estate that is owned by others.  For example, if you lease a space in an office building and paid for a fit-out or improvements to the unit, this would be considered a leasehold improvement.  Please contact the Assessor’s Office if you have questions regarding Leasehold Improvements.

You will sum the total cost for each item according to property class and report this cost according to acquisition year.

Supplies

Supplies consist of property not possible or practical to be itemized.  This could be office supplies such as paper, pens, paperclips, staples printer toner, etc., or other supplies such as cleaning products, toiletries, and hardware such as screws and nails.  You will enter one dollar amount here – the total cost of the average level of supplies kept on hand at your business.

Step 6:     Leased Items

Use section eight on page three to report all personal property items in your possession, but not owned by your business.  This should include leased, rented, consigned, or borrowed property.  Please include the appropriate information for the owner of each piece of property.

If the form does not provide enough space for your leased property listing, please attach your own list that references your business.  Excel format is preferred, but the Assessor will accept any list that is clear, legible, and provides the requested information.

Step 7:     Sign and Notarize Your Return

In section eleven on the last page, sign and date your declaration, provide your title or position at your business, and contact phone number.  Be sure to sign your return in the presence of a Notary.

Step 8:     Submit Your Declaration by January 31^st

Declarations are due to the Assessor on January 31st of each year.  The deadline can be extended to March 15th, provided that you submit an extension notice to the Assessor by January 31st.

To submit your declaration via email, send to deputyassessor@smithfieldri.gov.  Email submissions should be forms that are either completed electronically or good-quality scans of typed or hand-written forms.

To mail your form, send to:

Assessor’s Office
64 Farnum Pike
Smithfield, RI 02917

Thank you for your efforts to help the Assessor ensure fair & equitable taxation in the Town of Smithfield.