Indiana Form 103-Long: Asset Schedules, Deductions, and Filing

Indiana Form 103-Long is the detailed business tangible personal property return for manufacturers and processors, businesses with $150,000 or more in assessed personal property in a township, and anyone claiming deductions or special adjustments beyond the basic enterprise zone credit. To complete it, group every depreciable asset by federal recovery life into one of four pools, apply the state’s True Tax Value percentages for the asset’s acquisition year, add any required adjustments, and file the signed return with your township or county assessor by May 15, 2026.

One threshold change matters before you start. For the 2026 assessment date, Indiana Code 6-1.1-3-7.2 exempts all business personal property in a county when the total acquisition cost is under $2,000,000, up from $80,000 in prior years.¹ If you fall under that line, you still file once to claim it, but the return is short and you may never need to file again.

Do You Actually Need the Long Form?

Indiana offers Form 103-Short, Form 103-SR for property spread across townships in the same county, and Form 103-Long. You are required to use the Long version if any of these apply:²

You are engaged in manufacturing or processing, at any asset size.
Your total assessed personal property value in the township is $150,000 or more.
You are claiming an Economic Revitalization Area deduction, investment deduction, or any deduction other than the basic enterprise zone credit.
You have equipment not yet placed in service, special tooling, permanently retired equipment, or an abnormal obsolescence claim.

If You Qualify for the $2,000,000 Exemption

Even exempt businesses must file the return once to claim the exemption. On Form 103-Long, check the exemption box, enter the total acquisition cost of your personal property in the county, and complete only Sections I, II, and IV.³ After that first filing, you don’t file again unless your acquisition costs grow past $2,000,000.¹

What to Gather Before You Open the Form

The return is a self-assessment, built from your own records as of the March 1 assessment date.⁴ Pull these together first:

Acquisition cost for every asset, meaning original purchase price plus freight, installation, and any other cost to make the asset operational. This is the adjusted cost Indiana uses as its starting point.
The year each asset was placed in service. Grouping by year is how the pool math works.
The federal depreciable life for each asset, taken from your IRS Form 4562 schedules. That recovery period determines which pool the asset belongs in.
Records of any equipment sold, scrapped, or otherwise removed from service since the last assessment date.
Supporting documents for any deduction or adjustment: ERA resolutions, Form 106 obsolescence calculations, SB-1/PP statements of benefits, and so on.

You can download the blank form from the Department of Local Government Finance website.²

Building the Asset Schedules

Every depreciable asset goes into one of four pools based on its federal recovery period:⁵

Pool 1: federal life of 1 to 4 years (computers, some software, certain tools).
Pool 2: federal life of 5 to 8 years (office furniture, most machinery, vehicles).
Pool 3: federal life of 9 to 12 years (some manufacturing equipment, land improvements).
Pool 4: federal life of 13 years or longer (utility infrastructure, certain industrial equipment).

Inside each pool, group assets by acquisition year and enter the total adjusted cost on that year’s row. You don’t list items individually. The form prints a True Tax Value percentage next to each year; multiply the row’s adjusted cost by that percentage and you have the row’s True Tax Value.

The 2026 Percentages

Schedule A on the 2026 form uses these True Tax Value percentages:³

Pool 1 (1–4 year life): first year 65%, second 50%, third 35%, fourth year and older 20%.

Pool 2 (5–8 year life): first year 40%, second 56%, third 42%, fourth 32%, fifth 24%, sixth 18%, seventh year and older 15%.

Pool 3 (9–12 year life): first year 40%, second 60%, then declining through 55%, 45%, 37%, 30%, 25%, 20%, 16%, 12%, with a 10% floor for older assets.

Pool 4 (13+ year life): first year 40%, second 60%, then 63%, 54%, 46%, 40%, 34%, 29%, 25%, 21%, 15%, 10%, with a 5% floor for the oldest assets.

The 30% Minimum Valuation Floor

Total the True Tax Value across all four pools, then compare it to 30% of the total adjusted cost of your assessable depreciable property in that taxing district. If your calculated True Tax Value is lower, you must report the 30% figure instead.⁶ The floor does not apply to equipment not yet placed in service, special tooling, or permanently retired equipment.

Schedule A-1 vs. Schedule A-2

The 2026 form splits the asset schedule in two. Schedule A-1 holds property subject to the 30% minimum, which includes property placed in service after January 1, 2025, that sits in a tax increment allocation area whose base assessed value was set before that date, along with older acquisitions. Schedule A-2 holds property that is not subject to the 30% minimum under IC 6-1.1-3-29.³ If none of your property sits in a qualifying TIF area, most of your newer assets will go on A-2. Read the heading on each schedule before you start entering numbers, because putting assets on the wrong schedule throws off the totals.

Adjustments and Deductions Only the Long Form Handles

Abnormal Obsolescence

If an asset has lost value beyond normal wear, you can claim abnormal obsolescence. Curable obsolescence (where the cost to fix is less than the value gained) is measured by the cost to cure; incurable obsolescence drops the value to scrap or salvage.⁶ Support the claim with calculations on Form 106.

Special Tooling and Permanently Retired Equipment

Special tools, dies, jigs, and fixtures come out of the pool columns and get their own True Tax Value calculation on Form 103-T. Permanently retired equipment is valued at net scrap or net sale value and reported on Form 106. Both categories are excluded from the 30% floor calculation.³

Economic Revitalization Area Deduction

Businesses with qualifying new equipment used in manufacturing, logistics, IT, or research and development inside a designated Economic Revitalization Area can claim a personal property tax deduction. “New” means never used in Indiana; equipment transferred from another state qualifies. The local designating body must approve the deduction before installation, and several companion forms must be filed with Form 103-Long: Form 103-ERA, Form 103-EL, Form SB-1/PP, and Form CF-1/PP.⁷ The deduction must be attached to a timely filed Form 103-Long or it is invalid.

Filing the Return

The return is due May 15, 2026. If May 15 falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.⁶ File with the township assessor where the property is located, or with the county assessor if your township doesn’t have one.³

You have two ways to submit:

Online through PPOP-IN, the state’s Personal Property Online Portal at ppopin.in.gov, which gives you electronic confirmation of receipt.⁸
On paper, mailed or hand-delivered to the assessor’s office. On a mailed return, the postmark date is the filing date.²

Extensions

Your assessor can grant up to a 30-day extension. You must submit the request in writing or electronically before May 15, and you need a valid reason such as illness, absence from the county, or another circumstance the assessor finds sufficient.⁹ An extension moves the filing deadline for compliance purposes, but May 15 remains the statutory filing date used in penalty calculations.

Penalties

Penalties under IC 6-1.1-37-7 escalate quickly:¹⁰

$25 flat penalty for failing to file by the due date, added to your next property tax installment.
An additional 10% of the taxes finally determined to be due, capped at $10,000, if the return is more than 30 days late but filed by November 15.
An additional 20% of the taxes due, capped at $50,000, if the return is filed after November 15.
20% of the additional taxes resulting from a correction when the assessed value you reported is more than 5% below what it should have been.
$25 for failing to include required information on the form.

The undervaluation penalty does not apply when the reduction is caused by a denied deduction, exemption, or abnormal obsolescence adjustment, provided you followed the filing requirements for claiming them.

Fixing a Return After You File

If you spot an error after submitting, you can file an amended return within 12 months of the original filing date, but only if the original was filed on time. Amendments inside the first six months avoid additional penalties; amendments filed between six and twelve months after the original may trigger a 10% reduction in any resulting refund or adjustment. Ask your county assessor’s office for the amended return form and any local submission requirements before you send it in.

1
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 6-1.1-3-7.2 – Exemption for Certain Business Personal Property
2
Department of Local Government Finance. Personal Property Forms
3
Indiana Department of Local Government Finance. Indiana Form 103-Long – Business Tangible Personal Property Assessment Return
4
Department of Local Government Finance. Personal Property
5
Legal Information Institute. Indiana Administrative Code 50 IAC 4.2-4-5 – Pools of Property
6
Indiana General Assembly. Article 4.2 Assessment of Tangible Personal Property
7
Indiana Department of Local Government Finance. Form 103-ERA – Schedule of Deduction From Assessed Valuation
8
PPOP-IN. PPOP-IN Home Page
9
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 6-1.1-3-7 – Filing Returns, Extension of Time
10
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 6-1.1-37-7 – Personal Property Return, Various Violations and Penalties