What Is Taxable Property?

• Personal Property
  Personal Property includes unlicensed motor vehicles, boats, campers, permanent tagged trailers, singlewide mobile homes and doublewide mobile homes not on a permanent foundation, and airplanes. Anyone who owns any of these must list them with the Tax Department during the month of January each year. (Mobile homes located on land owned by the owner of the mobile home will be considered real property.) If a Property Tax Listing form is not received in the mail, please call the Tax Department to request one. You can also download a Personal Property Listing Form (866 KB) our website. A 10% late list penalty will be charged for anyone not listing the required property with the Tax Department before the end of January.
  
  
• Licensed Motor Vehicles
  Licensed Motor Vehicles and Trailers are listed automatically when you register or renew your motor vehicle or trailer registration through the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Each month the Department Of Motor Vehicles sends to each County Tax Office a list of every person in the county who has registered a motor vehicle or a trailer. A licensed trailer includes any trailer that requires a registration, such as boat trailers, animal trailers, utility trailers, camping trailers and motor homes. Taxpayers receive a separate tax bill for each licensed motor vehicle or trailer about 3 months after it is registered.
  
  
• Business Personal Property
  Business Personal Property includes machinery, computer/office equipment, airplanes, unlicensed vehicles, leasehold improvements, leased equipment, supplies, furniture, fixtures, farm equipment, etc. Listing must be submitted during the month of January to avoid a 10% late listing penalty. However, an extension can be granted until March 15 if the request is made in writing and is postmarked by January 31st. Listing forms are mailed to taxpayers in early January. If you have business personal property, but did not receive a listing form, please call the Tax Department at 250-4930 or download the Business Personal Property Form (2.63 MB) or Business Listing Exemption Request Form (341 KB) from our website.
  
  
• Real Property
  Real Property includes land and structures or improvements on the land including doublewide mobile homes on a permanent foundation and other mobile homes located on land owned by the owner of the mobile home. A system of automatically listing real property in Buncombe County is made possible through the coordinated efforts of the County Planning Department, Permits and Inspections, Land Records and the Register of Deeds.
  
  

The Tax Department will attempt to automatically list all improvements for which a permit was granted. Taxpayers, however, are still responsible for insuring any new construction completed during the previous year is properly listed by the Tax Department. This must be done before the end of January each year.