HELP personal property tax--new condo owner--wtf!! (Myrtle Beach: sale, oceanfront, rent)

[saralvr]

I called today and they said as long as it’s just one rental property you do not have to have a business license.. Whew!!

[Maggieandgranny]

Some more info on the issue. If you have a long term rental, or rent to your own family I suspect they will not find you....But those of us who own "condotels" probably can't hide....

Horry County to consider requiring all landlords to have business licenses | Myrtle Beach Sun News

My property mgr was able to give me the replacement costs for the furniture and appliances, still not sure what their current value would be.

[Retire in MB]

Most appliances have a 5 year depreciation schedule for rental property. So if a stove cost is $1000, you subtract $200 from the value each year. Furniture is usually depreciated over 7 years. Small items (wastebasket, shower curtain, etc.) would have zero value after 1 year.

[UNCCMom20]

Maggieandgranny, we are in the same boat as you guys are. We bought our condo March, 2018 and no one, not even our realtor and/or attorney ever mentioned having to pay personal property taxes on furniture. There must be some mistake. Isn't that included in the real property taxes. In my home state, personal property means vehicles, boats, etc., not your furniture for Pete's sake. Seems like an aggressive way of extorting folks who invest in Horry County, SC which should to be a deterrent for future investors. I guess this is a little kept secret that is not exposed during one's initial search and purchase. Jeez!

[tmozer]

You only have to pay if you rent your unit out. If it is just a "vacation home", there is no tax. But you do have to file a PR-24 or you will be billed.

[Old_DW]

Here is the link to file the SC personal property tax. https://www.horrycounty.org/Departme...ngInstructions
This is the first year I did it online and it makes it a lot more tedious, beside being ridiculous. Give me a break, having to claim everything including a waste basket and shower curtain. Used to do it on a form and attach a spreadsheet that listed furniture items, etc. I never went into pots and pans and wastebaskets. People say Vermont, where I live is tough on business. Give me a break. SC is making millions on the people that come and condos like ours when we're not vacationing in it. What happens lest we forget the 4 for 88 cent forks we had to replace this year on next years forms.

[Old_DW]

Saralvr,
Who did you call? Is that for Myrtle Beach? The Business License info for Myrtle on their website says:


Sec. 11-28. Display and Transfer.
a. All persons shall display the license issued to them on the original form provided by the License Official in a conspicuous place in the business establishment at the address shown on the license. A transient or non-resident shall carry the license upon his person or in a vehicle used in the business readily available for inspection by any authorized agent of the Municipality.
b. Those rental properties, including condominiums, that are engaged in rental of accommodations on short-term basis shall post the license for each unit in the main office of the building or upon a bulletin-type board in an area viewable to the public, or shall post a sign informing the public that the business license for each unit is maintained in a file located on the premises, and can be produced upon demand for inspection. A single-family dwelling being lawfully rented on a short-term basis shall provide the name and address of the business license holder on a weather proof sign affixed near the front door. A change of address must be reported to the License Official within ten days after removal of the business to a new location and the license will be valid at the new address upon written notification of the License Official and compliance with zoning and building codes.


My management co. acquired, charged us for, and sent us a copy recently. We've owned our unit since 2012 and this is the first time this happened.

[beachangel]

He is right. As foolish as it sounds, they do want a list of furniture and lamps and all !! Crazy

[Maggieandgranny]

@UNCCMom20 I got my hands on the previous owners' tax bill, I think I found it online somehow...or maybe the realtor had it. I figured out that they paid their Personal property tax based on "total assessed" of 530. I believe this is about 10 or 15% of the value of the items....( it says the tax rate somewhere). I just tried to make my list of items add up to a similar amount. The prior owners had my unit for at least several years, so I figured that if I was close to what they listed I'd be good. My bill was $20 more than the prior owner for the previous year.

I got a list of estimated replacement costs from the Management Co. (or possibly from the onsite homeowner office). She gave me a list of estimated prices to replace things such as headboards, beds, dressers, end tables, tv's, appiances, etc. Nothing as minor as wastebaskets etc. I then used splitwise.com which had calculators for furniture and things to come up with values which I used for my depreciation schedule and used that for the personal property calculation. Pretty sure someone told me not to worry about things like wastebaskets etc because they really have no value....How much would you pay for a 2 year old wastebasket? (Retirein MB said it too!) That's basically what I did last year (didn't do this year's yet...) and my bill came out pretty close to the prior owner. The tax form asks you to attach your depreciation schedule and tax form 4562. But if you DO NOT CLAIM depreciation, then you have to do the itemized list.

I don't use an accountant and probably should....I am not an accountant, so don't blame me if you do what I did and land in trouble. I use Turbotax online. This year I might let an accountant review it over the summer, figuring I can always amend it if I messed up much. I understand just enough to be dangerous...

[user0392]

This is ridiculous. I just got this form PR-26 asking me for Cost/Value. First off, what is it you want? The Cost? or the Value? I can tell you right now my built in microwave probably cost $250. But if I tried to value it, based on what I could get on letgo, ebay or craigslist, that would be about $10. So what do they want, the cost or the value? And how is this legal anyway? I pay income taxes based on rentals already. They want to tax the value of my furnishings too? They are used to make my income on this property, so how is taxing them also a legitimate tax? This seems so excessive. I'm beyond infuriated at the paperwork and overhead this one personal property tax form is causing. It's absolutely not fair.