Definitions

(Statutory Reference: 59-2-102)

Property

“Property” means property which is subject to assessment and taxation according to its value, but does not include moneys, credits, bonds, stocks, representative property, franchises, goodwill, copyrights, patents, or other intangibles.

Personal Property

Every class of property defined as a property which is subject of ownership and not included within the meaning of the terms “real estate” and “improvements”.

Percent Good Schedule

A schedule used to calculate the approximate remaining value of an item of personal property. Multiplying the appropriate percentage from the table, based on the class of property and its age, by the historical cost will yield the percent good, or remaining value.

Acquisition cost

Cost of acquisition must include all costs required to put an item into service. In addition to the cost of the item include the following costs:

1. Freight in, includes shipping costs, loading at origin, unloading at destination, crating, skidding and other applicable costs of shipping.
2. Installation, engineering, rigging, erection or assembly to include foundations, pilings, utility connections, any other such costs.
3. Excise and sales tax.
4. Any other costs related to putting personal property into service are to be included in acquisition cost.

Indirect costs such as debugging, licensing fees, permits, insurance or security are not included in the acquisition cost.

Escaped Property

“Escaped Property” means any property, whether personal, land, or any improvements to the property, subject to taxation and is:

• Inadvertently omitted from the tax rolls, assigned to the incorrect parcel, or assessed to the wrong taxpayer by the assessing authority;
• Undervalued or omitted from the tax rolls because of the failure of the taxpayer to comply with the reporting requirements of this chapter, or
• Undervalued because of errors made by the assessing authority based upon incomplete or erroneous information
• furnished by the taxpayer.
• Property which is undervalued because of the use of different valuation methodology or because of a different application of the same valuation methodology is not “escaped property”.

Property Willfully Concealed

Any property found to be willfully concealed, removed, transferred, or misrepresented by its owner or agent in order to evade taxation is subject to a penalty equal to the tax on its value, and neither the penalty nor assessment may be reduced or waived by the assessor, county, county Board of Equalization, or the commission, except pursuant to a procedure for the review and approval of waivers adopted by county ordinance, or by administrative rule adopted in accordance with Title 63, Chapter 46a, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.

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Valuation Methodology

The Utah State Tax Commission provides all county assessors with recommended percent-good schedules each year. These schedules are used to equalize the valuation of personal property statewide. Personal property is classified according to its economic life, an appropriate depreciation table is generated and then trended to replacement cost new using Marshall-Swift cost indexes. Applying the appropriate percent-good rate for the age and class of the property to the original cost will yield an approximate fair market value for the subject property. Assessors may deviate from the recommended schedules on an individual item of property when provided sufficient documentation to establish an alternative fair market value.

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Exemptions

HB77 Personal Property Exemption Instructions

All tangible property is taxable, unless exemption is provided for by the Utah Constitution and enacted by the legislature. The Utah Legislature has exempted the following specific property and entities:

• Livestock and farm machinery and equipment
• Inventory held for resale in the normal course of business
• Household furnishings used exclusively at the owner’s home
• Property owned by any government entity
• Disabled veterans may qualify for an exemption based on percent of disability (Application required)
• Blind individuals are entitled to an $11,500 exemption (Exemption Application required)
• Religious institutions (Call 435-657-3190 for exemption application)
• Charitable organizations (Call 435-657-3190 for exemption application)
• Educational institutions (Call 435-657-3190 for exemption application)

An exemption for small business and a per-item exemption for equipment in certain classes are also available. Please contact the Personal Property Division for specific details.

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Interest

Personal property taxes become delinquent after May 15 and the assessor is required to charge interest at a rate which is 7.25% over the Federal Discount Rate as of January 1 of each year.

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Appeals

A taxpayer may appeal their personal property to the Wasatch County Board of Equalization. The appeal must be filed within 30 days of notification of assessment and must include a description of the property, documentation of an alternative value and the methodology used to arrive at that value, or a legal analysis, if the appeal related to a legal interpretation of the assessment statutes. All appeals must be in writing and addressed to the Clerk of the Board of Equalization, c/o Wasatch County Clerk/Auditor, 25 North Main Street, Heber City, UT, 84032. Decisions of the County Board of Equalization may be appealed to the Utah State Tax Commission.

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Audits

In order to insure compliance with the self-assessing program, random and/or referred audits may be performed. The Utah State Tax Commission, Division of Personal Property, performs detailed reviews of financial records and on-site inspections of taxpayers’ facilities and compares those results to the statements submitted by the taxpayer. Escaped property, when discovered, may be assessed as far back as five years from the date of discovery. Property willfully concealed, misrepresented, or moved, in order to escape taxation is subject to a penalty equal to the tax on its value.

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Penalties

A penalty of $25.00 or 10% of the estimate tax due, whichever is greater, is assessed when a taxpayer fails to file a statement of personal property after the county provides certified notice of the failure to file. Property willfully concealed, misrepresented, or moved, in order to escape taxation is subject to a penalty equal to the tax on its value. Mobile homes or manufactured housing moved without a permit issued by the assessor may be subject to a penalty equal to the tax and a commercial mover may be charged with a Class B misdemeanor.

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Aircraft Division

General aviation aircraft that are usually based in Wasatch County are required to pay an annual registration fee and a fee-in-lieu of property tax. These aircraft include privately owned and corporate airplanes that are not commercial airline, military or exempt (government, not-profit entities).

Aircraft assessment and registration will be administered by the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Division of Aeronautics beginning in 2009.

Registration

The Utah Tax code required aircraft that are used or kept in the state to be registered.

The registration fees are:

Type of Plane	Amount
Annual registration January 1 to December 31	$25.00 per year
Antique registration for aircraft 30+ years old	$50.00 one time fee
Experimental registration for home built and war birds	$50.00 one time fee
Jets under 20,000 pounds maximum, gross weight	$5,000.00 per year
Jets 20,000 pounds and over, maximum gross weight	$10,000.00 per year

Property Tax (Fee-in-Lieu):

Beginning in the 2009 tax year, all aircraft sited in Utah pay a fee-in-lieu of property tax of $25.00 to the county where the aircraft is sited.

State Registration:

Beginning in the 2009 tax year, all aircraft sited in Utah pay a registration fee based on the value of the aircraft as listed in the Aircraft Bluebook Price Digest. The tax rate for aircraft is .04% of this value. Balloons and other aircraft not listed in the Aircraft Bluebook Price Digest pay an annual registration fee of $100.00. An aircraft 50 years and older pays $100.00 or the uniform registration fee, whichever is lower.

Aircraft registration fees are remitted to the Utah Division of Aeronautics.

Aircraft registration forms are now mailed out by the Utah State Department of Motor Vehicles and include the fee-in-lieu, which is remitted back to the county where the aircraft has situs.

For any questions or additional information call (435) 657-3221.

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