Business Taxes

Every taxpayer operating a business, including home-based businesses, in the City of Harrisonburg on January 1 is required to file a business personal property return on or before March 31 of each year (except if the date falls on a weekend or holiday, then it is the next business day). Returns, whether submitted by email, mail or in person, must be filed in the Commissioner’s Office or postmarked by March 31 of each year.  Any return received or postmarked after March 31 will receive a late filing penalty. Postage meter dates will not be accepted.  

Return of Business Tangible Personal Property Forms

[208KB] 2026 Accessible Business Personal Property Tax Form

Archived forms:

[156KB] 2025 Accessible Business Personal Property Tax Form

[156KB] 2024 Accessible Business Personal Property Tax Form

[156KB] 2023 Accessible Business Personal Property Tax Form

Required Property for Filing

• Under provision of law, the taxpayer is required to list all tangible personal property owned and used (or available for use) as of Jan. 1. 
• This list includes any furniture, fixtures, equipment, signage and all other tangible property, including personally owned items, used to conduct business. 
• The list excludes supplies (such as pen, paper, cleaning solutions) or real estate. 
• This listing must be attached to the business personal property return, grouped according to the year acquired and the total original cost. The total original cost includes all costs incidental to acquiring and placing an asset in use, i.e. freight, installation, sales tax. 
• A separate return must be filed for each business location. 
• All furniture and equipment must be reported, even if fully depreciated (on federal income tax schedule).
• Do not include in your listing any leased equipment for which you are not responsible for the taxes. These items must be reported separately on Section 3 on the front side of the Business Tangible Personal Property form.
• Business personal property taxes are not prorated if a business closes or moves to another locality during the year.
• Vehicles are reported on a different form and should not be reported on this return. 
• Please do not write "See Attached" or "Same as last year" on the return. The return will not be accepted as complete or on time and will be returned.

Important Dates and Deadlines

Filing Deadline

Business Personal Property Returns must be filed annually by March 31. If a filing is received after the due date only the official submission timestamp from emails or postmarks from U.S Postal Service or overnight courier are valid date stamps. Postage meter dates will not be accepted. Returns filed after March 31 are assessed a 10% late filing fee on the personal property bill.  Businesses that do not file a return receive a statutory assessment.

Filing Extensions

Business Personal Property extension request must be submitted in writing by March 31^st. A filing extension of up to 90 days may be requested in writing by email to ctycomm@harrisonburgva.gov, by fax 540-432-7781, or by mail.   

Tax Rate and Deadline

The City of Harrisonburg levies a tax of $2.12 per $100 of assessed value on tangible personal property employed in a trade or business. Business tangible personal property taxes are billed annually and are due to be paid to the City of Harrisonburg Treasurer by Dec. 5 of each year.  Any business that did not file a Business Personal Property Return or filed it after March 31 will have a 10% of the tax due late filing penalty on the bill.

Annual Filing Requirements

Note that the Virginia 762 Form will not be accepted and is not considered a filing. Filings can be completed by using the current year's Return of Business Tangible Personal Property form.

You must include the following with your business tangible personal property return:

• An itemized asset list of each piece of business property or equipment that includes the original purchase price, a brief description and the year of purchase.
• For each piece of business property or equipment on the asset list, that has been disposed (sold, junked or no longer leased) and/or moved out of the city include the original purchase price, a brief description, the year of the purchase and the disposal/move out date.
• A copy of the depreciation schedule and the IRS Form 4562.
• If any property is leased, rented or borrowed from others, provide an asset listing including the name and address of the owner, start and end dates of the lease, description, original cost, and purchase option (bargain buyout or fair market value).
• If you do not own any business tangible personal property, you must still file a return. You will enter "none" in sections 1 and 2 on the return and provide an explanation as to how your business is conducted without the use of property.

Please contact our office 540-432-7704 with any questions or if you need to adjust your business taxes. 

Every business owning a motor vehicle (automobile, truck, bus, motorcycle, trailer, semitrailer, van, recreational vehicle,  etc.) is required to file a personal property tax return by March 31st. Preprinted Returns are mailed by mid February. If a business has not received their Vehicle return by the beginning of March, please contact the Commissioner of the Revenue office at 540-432-7704 or email ctycomm@harrisonburgva.gov. There are no extensions given on business vehicle returns. Vehicles are assessed at clean trade in value as of January 1 as determined by J.D. Power. Heavy trucks, bus, motorcycles, recreational vehicles are assessed based on a percentage of original cost based on year of purchase. The tax rate for business vehicles is $3.45 per $100 of assessed value and the tax is due Dec. 5 each year. 

If you own an interstate truck for hire and you have apportioned license plates, your assessment may be apportioned.   Please provide the prior years IFTA reports that show the totals miles traveled and the total miles traveled in Virginia to adjust the current year assessment.   The IFTA reports can be provided to the Commissioner of the Revenue office as soon as received so that the current year tax bill reflects the apportionment.

In the event that you move or change your address, you should notify the office of the Commissioner of the Revenue as soon as possible so that we can properly update your records.  We do not receive automatic updates from the Post Office or Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).  All bills and personal property forms will be sent to the last address given to us by the taxpayer.  So, to ensure you receive all mail from us in a timely manner, please inform us of any address change by calling our office at 540-432-7704, or fax us the information to 540-432-7781, or email Deanna.Lam@harrisonburgva.gov. or complete the Change of Address form.

If the business has ceased operations in the City, please complete the form: [87KB]  Accessible Out of Business Form.
 

If the business would like to designate an individual(s) to act on behalf of the business, please complete the form: [161KB] Accessible Declaration of Representation form.  This form will allow the Commissioner of the Revenue to share confidential information with this individual(s). 

The City of Harrisonburg imposes the following trust taxes:

Note: Interactive fillable forms may not show up properly in all browsers. If you experience problems viewing a PDF with form fields, simply save the PDF file to your computer (right click the link then select "Save target as"/"Save link as") and open it using Adobe Reader. If the interactive fillable PDF does not work you can download the nonfillable version and complete by hand. Or please contact the office for a blank form if you cannot get either form to load for you.  All files are in PDF format.

• Food and Beverage Tax - 7.0% on all prepared food and beverage sales.  The Food and Beverage Accessible Tax Guide[430KB] provides a summary of the laws and regulations for the food and beverage tax in the City of Harrisonburg.  The monthly Food and Beverage report can be emailed to MealsTax@harrisonburgva.gov before the 20th of the month and a bill number will be emailed back to pay the tax by phone with an E-check, credit card or debit card. Service fees will apply for E-check, credit card or debit card. Please refer to bill payment for the amount of service fees.
  • Fillable Food and Beverage Tax report [348KB]
    • OR: Nonfillable and Accessible Food and Beverage Tax report [204KB]
• Admissions Tax - 5% on fees for admission or entrance into events or for amusement activities, such as movies, theater, concerts, lectures, etc.
  • Fillable Admissions Tax report  [305KB]
    • OR: Nonfillable and Accessible Admissions Tax report [188KB]
• Transient Occupancy Tax (also known as Hotel/Motel Tax) - 7.0% on fees charged for short-term lodging, including, but not limited to, hotels, motels, bed & breakfast establishments, and short term rentals (i.e. Airbnb, VRBO etc.) rented out for continuous occupancy for fewer than 30 consecutive days. 
  • Fillable Transient Occupancy Tax report  [453KB]
    • OR: Nonfillable and Accessible Transient Occupancy Tax report[238KB]
• Short Term Rental (nonlodging)-1% on rentals 92 consecutive days or less, 1.5% on heavy equipment rentals 270 consecutive days or less is a tax collected by a business/person certified to engage in the short-term rental of property. The tax must be collected from the lessee at the time of rental. 

The preceding four taxes are called trust taxes, meaning they are collected and held in trust by the business establishment, and reported to the City of Harrisonburg each month and or quarter. Please make sure that you have the United States Postal Service postmark your return by the due date or deliver the return to the Commissioner's office to avoid late filing penalties and interest. Postage meter dates will not be accepted.

*NOTE: The City Council has adopted a change in the Arts and Cultural District ordinance that exempts all businesses situated within the district and with current business licenses issued by the City of Harrisonburg from the fees for admission taxes imposed by Chapter 2 of title 4 of the Harrisonburg City Code.  Please contact the Commissioner of the Revenue office with any questions regarding this exemption.

Overcollection of Tax

If a tax/fee was collected in error, it should be returned to the rightful payer who was improperly charged. If this is not possible, the law requires that the overcollection must be remitted to the city with the normal monthly remittance, not retained by the operators of prepared food, lodging, or entertainment establishments as additional income.

The Code of Virginia § 58.1-3507 provides that Machinery and Tools (M&T) are limited to property used directly in manufacturing, mining, water well drilling, processing or reprocessing, radio or television broadcasting, dairy, and dry cleaning or laundry businesses. The property is assessed at various percentages of the total capitalized cost, excluding capitalized interest, depending on the year of acquisition. The City of Harrisonburg levies a tax rate of $2.12 per $100 of assessed value on machinery and tools used in the manufacturing process each year.

Filing Deadline

The Machinery and Tools return can be obtained by calling the Commissioner of the Revenue office at 540-432-7704.  The Machinery and Tools return must be filed annually by March 31. If a filing is received after the due date only the official submission timestamp from emails or postmarks from U.S Postal Service or overnight courier are valid date stamps. Postage meter dates will not be accepted. Returns filed after March 31 are assessed a 10% late filing fee on the personal property bill.  Businesses that do not file a return receive a statutory assessment.

Filing Requirements

A detailed itemized list must be included with the return, including all machinery and equipment that have been sold, deleted, disposed of or idle. Machinery and tools may be reported as "Idle and Unused" if:

• They have not been in use continuously for at least one year prior to Jan. 1 of the current tax year.
• From Jan. 1 to April 1 of the current tax year, the M&T have been specifically identified in writing by the taxpayer to the Commissioner of the Revenue as expected to be withdrawn from service before Jan. 1 of the next tax year. Additionally, no reasonable prospect exists that the machinery and tools will be returned to use prior to Jan. 1 of the year following the next tax year.

• Utility Service Tax - $15.00 each month on the consumption of electricity and natural gas.
• Cigarette Tax - $.30 per pack of cigarettes.

For more information on these taxes, please reference the Harrisonburg City Code, Title 4, Chapter 2.