Orange County Businesses Have to Render Their Equipment Every Year

Texas doesn't just tax the building your shop sits in; it taxes the stuff inside, the coolers, the lift, the inventory, the office furniture. Once a year you list it for the Orange County Appraisal District in a filing called a business personal property rendition, due April 15 off a January 1 snapshot of what you own.

File it and there's a real upside: a rendered account picks up a $125,000 exemption, and if your business property is worth $125,000 or less you can skip refiling in later years unless the value climbs. Skip the rendition or send it in late or half-finished, and the penalty runs anywhere from 10 to 50 percent, a steep price for a missed form.

Need more time? A written extension request to Orange CAD on or before April 15 buys you an automatic bump to May 15. Keep all of this separate in your head from sales tax and federal income tax: different governments, different deadlines, different offices entirely.