Rental furnishings and property tax

Furnishings in a rental, short-term or long-term, count as business personal property. North Carolina counties ask owners to list them during the January listing period, separately from the house. List what you owned on January 1; items you got rid of before then don't belong on the list. Listing late adds a 10% penalty.

Counties use the North Carolina Department of Revenue's cost index and depreciation schedules: what each item cost, adjusted to today's prices, less depreciation for its age. That's different from the depreciation on your income tax return, which counties don't use. An itemized list with what you paid and when is the strongest way to show the right value.

When a county finds property that wasn't listed, it can bill the year it was found plus up to five earlier years, with a penalty of 10% of the tax for the earliest year and another 10% for each later listing period.

The county assumes you owned the property in every year it bills. Years before you bought the house or started renting, and items you bought later, are the first things to check against your closing statement and receipts.

You have 30 days from the notice of value to appeal it. If you didn't get a separate notice, the tax bill counts as the notice. After the county's review, you can take it to the county Board of Equalization and Review, then the state Property Tax Commission.

North Carolina taxes all property in a town or county at one rate, so there's no separate commercial rate for a rental house to argue about. The house is appealed the same way as any home: by showing what similar homes sold for. Check your house.