This has been one of the most challenging seasons for businesses and individuals in American history. Many companies were forced to furlough employees as they went on hiatus to comply with stay-at-home orders, while others who were able to remain operational have served fewer clients and struggled to meet goals and projections. With business owners and executives scrambling to figure out how to cut costs and preserve profit margins, it has never been more important to reduce overhead and shed unnecessary expenses.
In this article, we are discussing some of the ways you can lead your business to reduce business property tax spending.
GET A FAIR PROPERTY VALUATION
Counties perform property valuations every 6-8 years. Fourteen counties in North Carolina are valuating business property in 2020 and many companies have been surprised to find their real estate property values increasing upwards of 30%. Municipalities utilize mass appraisal techniques to determine your real estate property value and there is an appeals process if you feel something is in error. Generally, you have 30 days to begin that process. Lyall CPA is happy to review your valuation at no cost and help you determine your options.
PROPER CATEGORIZATION BETWEEN REAL ESTATE PROPERTY AND PERSONAL PROPERTY
Real vs. Personal Analysis: Counties tax both business real estate and personal property and are not supposed to tax the same item, building, or parcel as both real estate AND personal property. Nevertheless, some companies are indeed paying taxes twice on the same property, often due to reporting requirements that rely on the taxpayer, and the separation of the two departments at the county level. For companies with a significant amount of personal and real estate property, it can take a lot of time to analyze everything on which you are paying property taxes.
Contact Lyall CPA for help determining whether your property is properly categorized to ensure you are not being taxed twice and getting all of the available credits and breaks.
ELIMINATE GHOST ASSETS
Many companies are paying taxes on personal property that they no longer own and items that have become obsolete. These “ghost assets” haunt your books and are especially scary when it’s time to pay your business property taxes. They occupy a significant portion of your capital, give you nothing in return, and often hide in plain sight.
For over twenty years, Lyall CPA has been helping companies identify and eliminate ghost assets and assisting business owners by adding to their bottom lines. Our expertise and experience in this frequently misunderstood area of taxation is unique. We excel at finding tax savings opportunities for our clients. We can perform a free review of your business property tax situation and often find significant potential savings. Contact Lyall CPA for more information.