An Annual Report and Business Personal Property Return (Form 1) must be filed on or before April 15, 2016 by all business entities that were incorporated, qualified or registered to do business in Maryland as of January 1, 2015. This includes corporations, limited liability partnerships, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, statutory trusts, certified family farms and real estate investment trusts. Form 1 is required even if your business owns no personal property in the State or has not conducted any business activity during the prior year. A business which fails to file its Form 1 will receive an estimated assessment which will be twice the estimated value of the personal property owned as reported the prior year. More importantly, failure to file will result in forfeiture of your charter if you are a domestic entity or forfeiture of your right to do business in the State if you are a foreign corporation, LLC, LLP, LP, business trust, or REIT.
You now have several options for filing Form 1 since the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) will no longer mail the Form 1 to your business:
ONLINE FILING IS NOW AVAILABLE
YOU MAY DOWNLOAD FORM 1 FOR PAPER FILINGS
YOU MAY VISIT YOUR LOCAL ASSESSMENT OFFICE TO OBTAIN FORM 1
Certain businesses cannot currently file Form 1 online using the business portal: multi-location entities and other specialized types of filers. These businesses can download the paper form or visit their local assessment office to obtain Form 1.
You are still responsible for obtaining the paper form or filing the Form 1 online by the April 15th deadline. SDAT will grant a 2 month extension to file the Form 1 if you request an internet extension online. This option is free of charge. However, no additional extension to file will be permitted. The filing fee for the privilege of maintaining a legal entity’s existence in Maryland is $300 for most legal entities (SDAT Certified Family Farms pay $100). If you file Form 1 online, all major credit cards are accepted. This fee is due even if your entity did not own personal property in the State or did not conduct any business during 2015.
Corporations not authorized to issue stock, churches and foreign interstate corporations are not required to pay a filing fee, but they are still required to file a Form 1. All personal property returns shall cover the prior calendar year regardless of your entity’s fiscal year end. As a general rule, all tangible personal property owned, leased, consigned or used by your business and located within the State of Maryland as of January 1, 2015 must be reported.
Please contact Colleen Ferg Helmlinger at 410-893-7503 for assistance and further information so that you don’t miss this very important deadline.