Senate Bill 495 Summary

• Changes property tax assessment date from March 1 to January 1 for taxes first due and payable after December 31, 2015, with January 15 assessment date for mobile homes until 2016.

• Adjusts filing dates for personal property tax returns to January 15 (after 2015) and May 15 (before 2016), and requires assessors to provide online access to personal property tax returns beginning in 2016.

• Allows the Department of Local Government Finance to require electronic data submission for personal property tax returns starting in 2016 and to adopt emergency rules to implement the assessment date change.

• Permits the DLGF to prescribe assessed value reductions for taxing units to absorb effects of reduced property tax collections, with a maximum 2% reduction until 2016 and discretionary limits thereafter.

• Changes property tax payment due dates to May 10 and November 10 of the assessment year (after 2015) instead of the following year, and modifies deduction application deadlines for sales disclosure forms.