Indiana Form 103: Exemption, Valuation Floor, and Filing Deadlines

To fill out Indiana Form 103, the Business Tangible Personal Property Return, choose the correct version for your business, report the acquisition cost of every taxable asset you owned in Indiana on January 1, apply the state’s True Tax Value percentages to reach an assessed value, and file the form with Form 104 to your township or county assessor by May 15, 2026. For the 2026 assessment year, the acquisition-cost exemption threshold rose from $80,000 to $2,000,000 per county, so most small businesses will now check the exemption box and skip the valuation math — but the return itself still has to be filed.¹²

Pick the Right Version of Form 103 First

Indiana publishes three versions of the return, and using the wrong one means refiling.³⁴

Form 103-Short works if you are a non-manufacturing business with a total assessed value under $150,000 and you are not claiming special deductions or adjustments.
Form 103-Long is required if you are a manufacturer or processor, if your assessed value is $150,000 or more, if you want to claim deductions beyond the enterprise zone credit, or if you need adjustments for equipment not placed in service, special tooling, permanently retired equipment, or abnormal obsolescence.
Form 103-SR is for taxpayers with personal property in more than one township within the same county. It pairs with Form 104-SR instead of the standard Form 104.

Whichever version fits, Form 104 (or 104-SR) has to be filed alongside it.⁵

Check Whether the $2,000,000 Exemption Applies

Starting with the 2026 assessment date, if the total acquisition cost of all your business personal property in a county is less than $2,000,000, that property is exempt from taxation.¹ The threshold is measured per county. If you operate in two counties, you look at each one separately.

Qualifying for the exemption does not remove the filing obligation. On Form 103, check the exemption box, enter your total acquisition cost in the county, and complete only the identification and signature sections. The return must include a declaration that the property is exempt, whether the property sits at one location or several within the county, and the address of the location with the highest acquisition cost.¹ File Form 104 with it.³

The rest of this guide covers the valuation sections that filers above the threshold need to complete.

What to Gather Before You Start

The return is easier to complete if you pull these records first:

A fixed asset ledger or depreciation schedule with the original acquisition cost and the date each depreciable asset was placed in service. Federal tax depreciation schedules are the easiest source.
Your Federal Employer Identification Number.
The township and taxing district for each business location. Filing to the wrong district creates processing problems.
Prior year returns, to track what was added or disposed of. Fully depreciated assets still in use must still be reported.
Form 104, which accompanies every Form 103 filing.

Current forms come from the Department of Local Government Finance’s Personal Property Forms page, which links to the State Forms Online Catalog.⁴

The property you’re reporting covers physical business assets used to produce income: computers, office furniture, fixtures, manufacturing equipment, specialized tools. Inventory is not taxed. Licensed motor vehicles, trailers, motorized boats, most airplanes, campers, and other vehicles subject to BMV excise taxes are excluded.⁶ If you possess equipment leased from someone else, you are typically the one who reports it.⁷

Completing the Identification Section

The top of Form 103 collects your business name, address, FEIN, taxing district, and township. If you operate at multiple locations within the same taxing district, one return covers that district. Different taxing districts in the same county require separate filings, or Form 103-SR if the locations span different townships.

Reporting Acquisition Cost and Calculating Assessed Value

Indiana groups depreciable personal property into four pools based on the asset’s useful life under federal income tax rules:⁸

Pool 1: federal tax life of 1 to 4 years (computers, light tools).
Pool 2: 5 to 8 years (office furniture, most equipment).
Pool 3: 9 to 12 years (longer-lived industrial equipment).
Pool 4: 13 years or longer (heavy machinery, certain structures).

On Form 103-Long, manufacturers and larger filers break assets into these four pools, each with its own depreciation schedule. On Form 103-Short, all depreciable property goes into a single schedule (Schedule A-1) and uses one set of True Tax Value percentages.³

For the 2026 assessment year, the Short form percentages by year of acquisition are:

1/2/2025 – 1/1/2026: 40%
1/2/2024 – 1/1/2025: 60%
1/2/2023 – 1/1/2024: 55%
1/2/2022 – 1/1/2023: 45%
1/2/2021 – 1/1/2022: 37%
1/2/2020 – 1/1/2021: 30%
1/2/2019 – 1/1/2020: 25%
1/2/2018 – 1/1/2019: 20%
1/2/2017 – 1/1/2018: 16%
1/2/2016 – 1/1/2017: 12%
Prior to 1/2/2016: 10%

Group your assets by acquisition-year band, add up adjusted cost within each band, multiply by the matching percentage, and add the results. That total is your depreciated value.

The 30% Valuation Floor

The total assessed value of your depreciable personal property in a single taxing district cannot drop below 30% of adjusted cost, no matter how old the property is.⁹ Calculate 30% of total adjusted cost, compare it to the depreciated value, and use the higher number as your assessed value. Equipment not yet placed in service, special tooling, and permanently retired property are exceptions to the floor.

The 2026 form also includes Schedule A-2 for property placed in service after January 1, 2025, that is not located in certain older tax increment financing (TIF) areas. Property reported on Schedule A-2 is not subject to the 30% minimum.³

Where and When to File

File the completed Form 103, together with Form 104, with the township assessor if your township has one, or with the county assessor for the county where the property is located. The deadline is May 15, 2026.³ You can deliver forms in person or mail them; certified mail gives you a delivery record if the deadline is tight.

The Personal Property Online Portal (PPOP-IN) was discontinued effective January 1, 2026. Historical data remains accessible at ppopin.in.gov, but no new filings are accepted through that system. Check with your county assessor or the DLGF (1-800-457-8283) about any electronic filing options your county may still offer.

Requesting an Extension

If you cannot make May 15, the township or county assessor can grant up to 30 more days. Submit a written or electronic request before the original due date, with a legitimate reason such as illness, absence from the county, or another sufficient cause.¹⁰ Penalty calculations then run from the extended deadline.

Penalties for Late or Understated Returns

Any return filed late gets a flat $25 penalty added to your next property tax installment by the county auditor.¹¹ If the return is still not filed within 30 days after the due date, an additional penalty stacks on top:

Filed by November 15: 10% of the taxes finally determined to be due, capped at $10,000.
Filed after November 15: 20% of the taxes due, capped at $50,000.

A separate 20% penalty applies if you undervalue property on the return and the undervaluation exceeds 5% of what should have been reported. Active-duty military members covered by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act are exempt from these filing penalties.¹¹

If You Disagree With the Assessor’s Valuation

Form 103 is only the taxpayer’s side of the process. If the assessor changes your numbers and you want to challenge the result, that goes on Form 130, generally within 45 days of the assessment notice or by June 15, depending on your situation.¹² The appeal is a separate track from filling out and filing the return itself.

1
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 6-1.1-3-7.2 – Exemption for Certain Business Personal Property
2
Department of Local Government Finance. Legislation Affecting Assessment Matters
3
Department of Local Government Finance. Indiana Form 103 Business Tangible Personal Property Return
4
Department of Local Government Finance. Personal Property Forms
5
Department of Local Government Finance. Form 104 – Business Tangible Personal Property Return
6
Department of Local Government Finance. Personal Property
7
Indy.gov. Business Personal Property Taxes
8
Cornell Law Institute. 50 IAC 4.2-4-5 – Pools of Property; Determination of Costs
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Indiana General Assembly. Article 4.2 Assessment of Tangible Personal Property
10
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 6 Taxation 6-1.1-3-7
11
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 6-1.1-37-7 – Personal Property Return; Various Penalties
12
Department of Local Government Finance. Appeals Property Tax