Business Personal Property Tax on Equipment by State (2026)

A bigger number does not always mean a bigger break, because states measure differently. Indiana counts acquisition cost per county, Montana counts market value statewide, and Texas applies its $125,000 per location, so a business with several sites may get more than one exemption.

Nearly half the states in the 2025 table, 24 in all, tax business equipment with no meaningful exemption. Texas has since moved into the de minimis group, so the fully taxed column is a little shorter for 2026.

In Florida, skipping the return costs 25% of the tax each year. A late return runs 5% a month up to the same 25% cap, and leaving property off the return costs 15%. Filing on time with a complete list keeps you clear of all three.

Colorado taxes only a share of business equipment value, and that share is falling: 27% in 2025, 26% in 2026 and 25% from 2027. The drop trims the bill a little each year without any action from you.

Recent changes to business personal property tax exemptions

Source: Grant Thornton, States focus on personal property tax relief; Dallas Central Appraisal District, HB 9, Business Personal Property Exemption (rendition insert); Texas Legislature, H.B. 9, 89th Legislature, Regular Session (enrolled text); Arizona State Legislature, A.R.S. § 42-11127, Exemption of agricultural and trade or business personal property; Wyoming Legislature, Enrolled Act, S.F. 48 (2025), Business personal property exemption. Download as image

Business personal property filing deadlines in selected states

Source: Florida Department of Revenue, Tangible Personal Property Tax; Dallas Central Appraisal District, HB 9, Business Personal Property Exemption (rendition insert); City of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Assessor, Apply for a Small Business Property Tax Exemption; Montana Department of Revenue, Reminder of Personal Property Reporting Requirement; Mohave County, Arizona, 2025 Arizona Agricultural/Business Personal Property Filing Instructions; DC Office of Tax and Revenue, Personal Property Tax. Download as image

Property tax on business equipment and other tangible personal property by state

• 23Taxed, no meaningful small-business exemption
• 14Taxed, with a small-business (de minimis) exemption
• 14Broadly exempt

Do I have to pay property tax on business equipment?

Start with your state. If you operate in one of the 14 states that broadly exempt business tangible personal property, such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois or New York, you generally have nothing to file for ordinary equipment. Some of those states still tax certain centrally assessed property, like utility assets, but a consultant's laptop is not on that list.

Everywhere else, the starting point is that equipment, furniture, tools, computers and sometimes supplies are taxable. Then check for a small-business exemption. In a state like Michigan, a shop whose personal property is under $180,000 in true cash value per local unit can claim the exemption and owe nothing on it. In California, Washington or North Carolina, no meaningful exemption was identified, so even a modest setup is on the roll.

Freelancers working from home are not automatically off the hook. If you bought a camera kit, a large-format printer or a studio setup for the business, many counties expect it on a return. The exemption, if your state has one, is what usually keeps the bill at zero.

How do the small-business exemptions actually work?

They are thresholds, and the details matter more than the headline. Four questions decide if you qualify.

First, what value counts. Indiana uses acquisition cost, which is what you paid, while Montana uses market value and Michigan uses true cash value. Older equipment looks much smaller under a market value test than under a cost test.

Second, the unit. Texas applies its $125,000 per location. Colorado's $56,000 and Georgia's $20,000 apply per county. Montana's $1 million is measured statewide, and Arizona's $500,000 is per taxpayer. A business with sites in two Georgia counties is measured twice; the same business in Montana is measured once.

Third, whether it is a floor or a cliff. Wyoming's new rule exempts the first $75,000 of fair market value per county, so a larger business still gets that slice. Under a cliff-style test, crossing the line can make the whole amount taxable.

Fourth, do you have to claim it? Michigan wants Form 5076 by February 20. Texas lets you file a one-time certification that your value is $125,000 or less instead of a full rendition each year. Miss the claim and you can be assessed as if no exemption existed.

What changed for 2026?

This is a moving target, and mostly in your favor. Texas jumped from an exemption that covered only property worth under $2,500 to one worth $125,000 per location. Indiana raised its threshold from $80,000 to $2 million of acquisition cost per county starting with the 2026 assessment date. Wyoming replaced its old $2,400 cutoff with the first $75,000 of value per county.

Arizona's cap went from $269,905 for tax year 2025 to $500,000 in the current statute, and it is indexed each year. Utah's indexed figure rose to $30,100 for 2026. Alabama raised its exemption to $100,000, though only for the state portion of the levy, so local taxes may still apply. As of early 2026, a District of Columbia bill to lift its $225,000 exemption to $325,000 was still pending in committee.

If you set up your books or signed an equipment lease before these changes, your current paperwork may assume a tax you no longer owe. That is worth a look at renewal time.

What happens if you never file a return?

Assessors do not need your cooperation to send a bill. When a business skips the return, many counties estimate the value themselves, and that estimate can easily come in higher than your real number. On top of that come penalties.

Florida shows how steep they can be. The return is Form DR-405, due April 1 to the county property appraiser. Not filing at all costs 25% of the tax per year. Filing late costs 5% a month, capped at 25%. Leaving property off the return costs 15%. Florida's $25,000 exemption also depends on filing a timely return, at least in the first year, so a small business that ignores the form can lose a break it would otherwise qualify for.

Keep a simple asset list: what you bought, when, what you paid, and where it sits. That one spreadsheet covers most of what any state's return will ask.

Who pays the tax on leased or financed equipment?

Legally, the assessor usually looks to the owner. On a true lease, that is the leasing company. In practice, most equipment leases shift the cost to you through a tax clause, and the lessor adds it to your invoice, often with an admin fee on top.

That surprises people in two ways. You may pay tax on a copier even though your state exempts small businesses, because the lessor owns it, and the threshold is measured against the lessor's much larger holdings, not yours. And the charge often shows up months after the assessment, as a lump sum you did not budget for.

On a financed purchase or a nominal buyout lease, you are usually treated as the owner and file the return yourself. Either way, the contract decides who carries the cost.

• Ask the lessor whether it files the return or expects you to.
• Ask for last year's tax charge on similar equipment in your county.
• Check whether an admin fee is added on top of the tax, and how much.
• In an exempt state, ask why any personal property tax line would appear at all.

What should a small business do this year?

• Look up your state on the map above and note whether it is exempt, de minimis or fully taxed.
• If there is an exemption, find out what value it uses and whether it applies per county, per location or statewide.
• Put the deadline in your calendar now: April 1 in Florida and Arizona, April 15 in Texas, February 20 for Michigan's exemption claim, July 31 in the District of Columbia.
• File even if you expect to owe nothing, when your state requires a return or a claim to get the exemption.
• Read the tax clause in every equipment lease, finance agreement and commercial lease before you sign, not after the first surprise invoice.

Sources and method

Every number on this page comes from the sources below, each opened and read on or before October 18, 2026. A second, independent review checked every figure against its source and corrected anything that did not match. 51 of 51 state entries were confirmed; any that could not be are marked "Not yet confirmed" and left out of every count and chart.

1. Tax Foundation, Tangible Personal Property De Minimis Exemptions by State, 2025 (April 29, 2025 (2025 edition))
2. Grant Thornton, States focus on personal property tax relief (February 16, 2026)
3. Dallas Central Appraisal District, HB 9, Business Personal Property Exemption (rendition insert) (2026 rendition season)
4. Texas Legislature, H.B. 9, 89th Legislature, Regular Session (enrolled text) (2025)
5. Montana Department of Revenue, Reminder of Personal Property Reporting Requirement (January 6, 2026)
6. City of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Assessor, Apply for a Small Business Property Tax Exemption (Accessed October 2026)
7. Mohave County, Arizona, 2025 Arizona Agricultural/Business Personal Property Filing Instructions (Tax Year 2025)
8. Florida Department of Revenue, Tangible Personal Property Tax (Accessed October 2026)
9. DC Office of Tax and Revenue, Personal Property Tax (Accessed October 2026)
10. Arizona State Legislature, A.R.S. § 42-11127, Exemption of agricultural and trade or business personal property (Accessed October 2026)
11. Weber County, Utah, Assessor, Personal Property Information (Accessed October 2026)
12. Wyoming Legislature, Enrolled Act, S.F. 48 (2025), Business personal property exemption (2025 General Session)