County Bulletin
TO: ALL COUNTY AUDITORS Bulletin No. 256
FROM: Joanne Limbach, Tax Commissioner
DATE: October 31, 1983
RE: $10,000 tangible personal property exemption
With the enactment and signing into law of Am. Sub. H.B. 291
(the biennial budget bill, effective July 1, 1983), a new
personal property tax exemption has been created. Every
taxpayer engaged in business is entitled to an exemption of
$10,000 against the taxable value of tangible personal
property for each taxyear. The statute provides that "taxable
value means "listed value," i.e., the true value as reduced
by the listing percentage. Prior years' tax liabilities are
not affected, nor are taxes on intangible property for any
year.The law provides that the exemption is to be applied in
the taxing district in which the taxpayer has the greatest
taxable value of tangible personal property required to be
listed in the tax return. If the exemption reduces that
amount to zero without being fully utilized, the remainder of
the exemption is to be applied in the taxing district with
the next greatest taxable value, if any. The process is to be
repeated until either the exemption is fully utilized or no
taxable property remains to which it can be applied. There
are no provisions in the law for carryover of any
remainder.The law also provides for reimbursement of the
"lost" taxes from the State General Revenue Fund. In order to
claim reimbursement, the County Auditor must compute the
amount of taxes that would have been charged in the current
year if the exemption had not been taken. This computation is
then to be certified to the County Treasurer on the third
Monday in August, when the general duplicate of personal
property is delivered. Within thirty days after the October
settlement, when the County Treasurer certifies to the
Auditor of State that the settlement has been made, the
latter will draw a warrant on the General Revenue Fund for
the amount of certified "lost" taxes. The County Auditor will
then distribute this amount among the taxing districts as if
it had been levied, collected and settled as personal
property taxes.The law specifies reimbursement at 82% of
"lost" taxes for 1984 and at 100% for future years.
It is important that all tangible property reported in every
tax return filed by a taxpayer engaged in business be entered
on the general tax list, even if it indicates that the
exemption reduces the tax due to zero. Otherwise, the "lost"
taxes cannot be certified. Also, the amount of exemption
taken and the taxing district(s) in which it is applied are
subject to audit and may require adjustment.
The tax return for unincorporated business (Form 910) and for
corporations with property in one county (Form 930) have been
combined into a single return- Form (Form 920) for use by
every taxpayer engaged in business except those who are
required to file the inter-county return (Form 945). Form 920
must be filed in duplicate because, based on other statutory
changes, all business returns are now "state size." The Tax
commissioner’s copy is needed for both compliance-checking
and auditing purposes. The amount of claimed exemption is to
be deducted on the face of the return by the taxpayer, to
enable the County Auditor to accumulate the exemption data,
by taxing district, for certification.
Preliminary assessment certificates for inter-county
corporations, which you receive on the second Monday in
August, will indicate separately the amount of exemption
claimed and the taxing district(s) in which applied.
In the event that taxable values are subsequently amended
because of audit, final determination or court decision, the
resulting assessment certificate will indicate any change in
the exemption allowed. Exemption data must be accumulated
from such changes as well as from the assessment of
late-filed returns, in order to be included in the annual
certification of "lost" taxes.
If a tax return is received in which no deduction (or a
partial deduction) for the exemption is taken, it is not
advisable to insert the exemption on the taxpayer’s behalf.
The exemption may have been taken in a return filed (perhaps
in error) in another county.
In a consolidated tax return, each corporation in the group
is entitled to a $10,000 exemption. In no event is one
business-taxpayer entitled to more than $10,000 of exemption
in Ohio in the same year.
When a late-filing penalty is appropriate, it applies only to
the taxable value remaining after the exemption has been
deducted.