Personal Property

All owners of tangible personal property are required to file declarations of such property with the assessor of the town where the property is located on the October 1st assessment date. The declaration will be mailed out late in September and is due back in the Assessors Office on or before November first. Declarations shall include but are not limited to the following types of property: all commercial furniture, fixtures, EDP equipment, machinery and supplies owned by any manufacturer, wholesaler and/or retailer. Personal Property located in factories, stores, offices, hotels restaurants, recreation halls, taverns, utility companies, etc. must be included on the declaration filed by the owner.

If the declaration is not received on or before the statutory November 1st return date, a 15% penalty will be added to the assessment. If the declaration is received after December 15th, a 25% penalty will be assessed.

In the event a person fails to file a declaration, the assessor shall: 1) fill out a declaration of all property which the assessor has reason to believe is owned by the taxpayer; 2) determine an assessed value from the best information that can be obtained; and 3) add a 25% penalty to the assessment.

Personal Property Tax

The grand list of all personal property is compiled annually from a varied list of sources. These sources include a listing from trade names filed, advertisements in local media or online, Health Department listings, staff inspections and last year's Grand List. From time to time, businesses move out of town or cease operations before the assessment date. The following procedures have been established to determine if a business should not be or should not have been included on the Grand List.

If an owner or business is aggrieved by the actions of the Assessor, the owner or business has the right to appeal to the Board of Assessment Appeals. An application, available in the Assessor's Office, must be filed in the Assessor's Office no later than February 20th.