A rendition is a list of the taxable inventory, furniture and fixtures, machinery, equipment, and other property owned or managed by a business as of January 1st of a tax year.

Included on the form are the business name and location, a description of assets, costs and acquisition dates, and the business owner’s opinion of value.

The appraisal district may use this information to set property values.

A rendition allows a property owner to record their opinion of their property’s value and ensures that the appraisal district notifies property owners before changing a recorded value.

Exempt property, such as church property or equipment used for farming, are not subject to a rendition.

A rendition must be filed by a person who owns tangible business personal property used for the production of income that the person owns or manage and controls as a fiduciary on January 1st.

A rendition must also be filed by a person who owns tangible business personal property that had an exemption, and the exemption was cancelled or denied.

If your business or organization has qualified for an exemption that applies to personal property, such as a religious or charitable organization exemption, then you are not required to submit a rendition.

The Texas Tax Code requires people who own tangible business personal property that is used for the production of income or that is used in a business to render that property.

This property includes furniture and fixtures, equipment, supplies, machinery, computers, inventory held for sale or rental, raw materials, finished goods, and work in progress. This also includes leased property. The owner of the leased property is taxed.

Property owners are not required to render intangible business personal property.

Intangible personal property is property that can be owned but it does not have a physical form, such as cash, accounts receivable, goodwill, computer software, and similar items.

You can find the business personal property rendition form at BPP – Fort Bend Central Appraisal District (fbcad.org)

There is also an electronic form on our website at Form 50-144 – Fort Bend Central Appraisal District (fbcad.org)

You can submit a rendition electronically at Form 50-144 – Fort Bend Central Appraisal District (fbcad.org)

You can email the form to bpp@fbcad.org

You can mail it or drop it off at 2801 B. F. Terry Blvd., Rosenberg, TX 77471.

If you have questions, please call 281-344-8623 or email bpp@fbcad.org.

The last day to file your business personal property rendition is April 15th.

If you submit your rendition electronically through the website or email it to the appraisal district, it must be on or before April 15th.

If you mail the rendition, it must be postmarked by the U.S. Postal Services on or before April 15th.

You can mail the form or drop it off in person.

Our address is 2801 B. F. Terry Blvd., Rosenberg, TX 77471

The information on your business personal property rendition is confidential.

Information on it cannot be disclosed to third parties except in very limited circumstances.

The Texas Tax Code states that any estimate of value a property owners provide is not admissible in proceedings other than a protest to the Appraisal Review Board (ARB) or court proceedings related to penalties for failure to file a rendition.

Your rendition will be analyzed along with other information we collect on similar businesses. Then we will develop an estimate of the value of your property.

You can find step-by-step instructions on how to fill out form 50-144 on our website at How To Complete BPP Rendition

1. The property owner’s name and address;
2. a description of the property by type or category;
3. a description of the quantity of each type or category of property;
4. the property’s physical location;
5. the property owner’s good faith estimate or the acquisition date and cost when purchased of all property;
6. and the signature of the property owner, the property owner’s agent, or the property owner’s employee.

If you receive a statement that a penalty for filing a late rendition has been assessed, you can file a request for a waiver of the penalty. You must file the request with the chief appraiser within 30 days of receiving the notice of the penalty.

Your waiver request must include documentation showing that you substantially complied with the rendition laws or that you made a good faith effort to do so.

The documentation you provide should also show:
• your compliance with paying taxes and filing statements or reports in the past;
• the type, nature, and taxability of the specific property that is involved;
• the completeness of your records;
• your reliance on advice from the appraisal district that may have contributed to your failure to comply with the rendition law;
• any change in appraisal district policy during the current or preceding tax year that may have affected how your property is rendered;
• and any other factors that may have cause you to fail to comply with filing on time.

On a business personal property rendition, you can put a good faith estimate of the market value of the property you list on the rendition. You also have the choice of putting the date you bought a particular item of property (called the acquisition date), and the amount you paid for the property when you bought it (this is called original cost or historical cost when new).

To determine original cost, review your accounting records and original purchase documents. Cost includes transportation, set-up, and any other necessary expenses you incurred.

Business personal property renditions are due by April 15th. There are different deadlines for certain regulated property, such as property regulated by the public utility commission of Texas or the Railroad Commission of Texas. If a rendition is filed late, a penalty of 10% of the total amount of taxes imposed on the property for that tax year will be incurred.

You can request a 30-day extension for filing a rendition. Rendition extension requests are due by April 15th. The request is automatically granted if we receive it by April 15th. If granted it will give you a 30-day extension, and then your rendition will then be due May 15th. If you want confirmation of your extension request, you must submit it electronically.

Once you have been granted a 30-day extension, you then have the option of requesting an additional 15-day extension. It is due by May 15th. This request is not automatically granted. It may be granted with good cause, such as unforeseen circumstances. Approval and denial of this request will be sent to the address we have on file for the business, or to wherever you specify on the request. If approved, the rendition would be due May 30th.

You can submit both forms by visiting Business Personal Property Upload – Fort Bend Central Appraisal District (fbcad.org)

If you do not file a rendition, then the appraised value of your property will be based on an appraiser’s estimate. The appraiser will use information about comparable business types to make their estimate.

If a rendition is filed late or not at all, a penalty of 10% of the total amount of taxes imposed on the property for that tax year will be incurred.

If on your rendition you choose the option of including a good faither estimate of the market value of your property, then the chief appraiser may request an explanatory statement from you.

The request must be made in writing. You must provide the statement within 20 days of receiving the request from the chief appraiser.

The explanatory statement must be a detailed statement of the basis for your estimate of the market value of your property that you listed on your rendition.

The statement must include enough information to identify the property.

It must describe the physical and economic characteristics of the property that are relevant to its market value.

The statement must give the source of the information used in determining your good faith estimate of the market value.

The statement must also explain the basis for your estimate.

You can file a property value protest if you disagree with the value the appraisal district has determined for your property.

The Texas Tax Code requires all property value be determined as of January 1st of a tax year. Business personal property is taxed according to where it is located and owned by as of January 1st.

No, property taxes are assessed for the entire tax year whether you are in business for the full year or not. This is because the tax code requires all property value be determined as of January 1st of a tax year.

All businesses have some taxable assets, such desk chairs, computers, supplies, etc.

All tangible personal property used for the production of income must be rendered, regardless of the location of the property. Home businesses are included in this requirement.

The Texas Tax Code requires you to file a business personal property rendition every tax year. There is a space on the form to indicate that the assets are the same as the previous year.

The Texas Tax Code considers these forms confidential. Disclosure is only permitted to the person that filed the rendition, or the owner of the property or that owner’s agent that is authorized to receive the information. Please fill out an open record request for a copy of a previous year’s rendition.