Assessor&Rsquo;S Office

Business Personal Property Tax

** Please refer to the forms at the bottom of the page for your convenience **

Questions about your account? - All business personal property questions should be e-mailed to bpp@burlingtonvt.gov

 

The Burlington City Assessor's office is mandated by the City Charter to appraise all business personal property assets located within the City of Burlington, VT taxing jurisdiction.

The most equitable way to fairly appraise the assets of Burlington's businesses is to require all businesses to complete our Business Personal Property Asset Listing Form, on a yearly basis.

We recognize that information provided is proprietary. Our intention is to keep these records private. The public will not be allowed to view submitted information on your business asset listings. The exception to this rule is if the property value becomes part of a property value appeal. Property value appeals are part of the public record. We will make every attempt to settle valuation disputes prior to a formal appeal procedure for those businesses that report all assets within a timely manner.

The method for determining fair market value of business assets is to take the original cost of each asset, categorize the assets, determine the present value of the assets and depreciate that asset based on estimated life expectancy. Our depreciation schedule is based on the Useful Life Expectancy of categorized assets. Our depreciation schedule is different from the Federal Government's depreciation guidelines. We recognize that the depreciation schedule attached to the form may not apply to all types of business personal property assets.

All businesses with tangible assets within the City of Burlington taxing jurisdiction must complete a business personal property registration form upon commencing business within the City. Please also update the businesses contact information whenever a change occurs.

The Business Personal Property Asset Form must be received before the due date each year. The Form due date typically is April 20th. There will be no exceptions for late forms; postmarks are not accepted. If you need assistance completing the Business Personal Property Form do not hesitate to call our office at (802) 865-7114.

Formula: Original purchase price multiplied by the cost factor rate equals the estimated current cost new. Current cost new multiplied by the estimated percent good equals the estimated value of the asset (appraised value.) Per City Charter, the estimated value of the asset is then multiplied by 120% to arrive at the assessed value, to which the municipal tax rate is applied to determine the tax amount for the fiscal year.