Inventory Tax Law and Legal Definition
Some state laws, which vary by state, require that certain inventory, such as that of motor vehicles, boats and trailers, mobile homes, and heavy equipment, be appraised and taxed. Inventory tax is typically based on the total sales of the inventoried item in the prior year. Local law should be consulted for specific requirements in your area.
The following is an example of astate inventory tax law:
"(a) Except as provided by Sections 23.121, 23.1241, 23.124, and 23.127, the market value of an inventory is the price for which it would sell as a unit to a purchaser who would continue the business. An inventory shall include residential real property which has never been occupied as a residence and is held for sale in the ordinary course of a trade or business, provided that the residential real property remains unoccupied, is not leased or rented, and produces no income.
(b) The chief appraiser shall establish procedures for the equitable and uniform appraisal of inventory for taxation. In conjunction with the establishment of the procedures, the chief appraiser shall:
- establish, publish, and adhere to one procedure for the determination of the quantity of property held in inventory without regard to the kind, nature, or character of the property comprising the inventory; and
- apply the same enforcement, verification, and audit procedures, techniques, and criteria to the discovery, physical examination, or quantification of all inventories without regard to the kind, nature, or character of the property comprising the inventory.
(c) In appraising an inventory, the chief appraiser shall use the information obtained pursuant to Subsection (b) of this section and shall apply generally accepted appraisal techniques in computing the market value as defined in Subsection (a) of this section.
(d) Subsections (b) and (c) of this section apply only to an inventory held for sale, lease, or rental.
(e) A person who owns an inventory to which Subsection (b) of this section applies may bring an action to enjoin the chief appraiser from certifying to a taxing unit any portion of the appraisal roll that lists an inventory for which the chief appraiser has not complied with the requirements of Subsection (b) of this section.
(f) The owner of an inventory other than a dealer’s motor vehicle inventory as that term is defined by Section 23.121, a dealer’s heavy equipment inventory as defined by Section 23.1241, a dealer’s vessel and outboard motor inventory as that term is defined by Section 23.124, or a retail manufactured housing inventory as that term is defined by Section 23.127 may elect to have the inventory appraised at its market value as of September 1 of the year preceding the tax year to which the appraisal applies by filing an application with the chief appraiser requesting that the inventory be appraised as of September 1. The application must clearly describe the inventory to which it applies and be signed by the owner of the inventory. The application applies to the appraisal of the inventory in each tax year that begins after the next August 1 following the date the application is filed with the chief appraiser unless the owner of the inventory by written notice filed with the chief appraiser revokes the application or the ownership of the inventory changes. A notice revoking the application is effective for each tax year that begins after the next September 1 following the date the notice of revocation is filed with the chief appraiser."
