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Business Personal Property

The Business Personal Property Section establishes values for the assets owned by businesses located in the City and County of Denver. By April 15 of every year, businesses with a total actual value greater than $52,000 are required to submit a declaration listing all owned assets as of January 1, along with information regarding their original date and cost of acquisition. Even if assets were disposed of after January 1, they must be declared. Current Colorado law does not provide for prorated assessments. Personal Property staff take the information provided and calculate a value for each business. A Notice of Valuation is mailed to the taxpayer by July 15. If the taxpayer disagrees with the value, s/he has the opportunity to protest the assessment. Protest instructions are included with the Notice of Valuation.

Personal Property Audits

The Assessor is required by the State Board of Equalization to conduct an annual personal property audit program. If selected for a routine personal property audit, a company will be asked to provide such standard accounting documents as a general ledger, chart of accounts, depreciation schedules, purchase documentation, etc. The primary purpose of the audit is to ensure that all current assets have been declared, any retired assets have been removed and that correct acquisition dates and costs have been provided. Many audits result in a finding that everything was declared properly and no adjustments are needed.

For Owners of Small Businesses

If you own a new small business in Denver, you might be exempt from personal property tax, in accordance with §39-3-119.5 Colorado Revised Statutes. Under this law, you will not be required to file an annual personal property declaration if the total actual (market) value of all your personal property in Denver (owned and used for your business) is $52,000 or less. However, if your business is new to Denver and you have never filed a personal property declaration with the Denver Assessor's Office, please file a listing of all of your company's machinery, equipment, furniture and other personal property. To confirm your exempt status the Assessor's Office must first verify whether you do qualify and then your business will be flagged as non-taxable.

New business owners are often unaware of the basic rules and procedures regarding the personal property assessment process. For more information call the Personal Property Section at 720-913-4067.

How is my property assessed?

For residential properties, Division appraisers study the sales of homes similar to yours which sold within a specific 24-month period. For commercial and industrial properties, the cost, market and income approaches are considered and for business personal property, values are based on the asset information submitted directly by business owners.

Exemptions from Assessment

Organizations which have non-profit status for federal IRS purposes are not automatically exempt from local personal property assessments. To obtain such exemption status, charitable, educational, hospital or religious entities must apply to the State Division of Property Taxation at 303-866-2371. Learn more on the State Division of Property Taxation website.

Valuation Tables

* If you have difficulty reading any of the above files, please contact: DOF.Communications@denvergov.org.