Businesses in Benton and Washington counties can save time if they assess their personal property online, assessors said Friday.
Individuals also can assess their personal property, such as cars and boats, through their county’s website.
Web Watch
Assess Online
Residents and businesses looking to assess their personal property can do so by following the links below.
Washington County: www.co.washington.a…
Benton County: www.bentoncountyar.… for individuals. Businesses must call 479-271-1033
The statewide deadline for personal property assessments is the end of the month. Counties apply a 10 percent penalty for individuals and businesses who assess after May 31. Taxes are collected on that personal property the following year.
Washington County began offering online assessments this year for any business in the county, said Jeff Williams, assessor. So far, 2,034 businesses have electronically filed their personal property assessment, he said. That’s out of 5,090 business assessments this year.
Benton County also started giving the option for businesses this year, said Bear Chaney, Benton County assessor.
Williams and Chaney said businesses can save time by filing electronically because they don’t have to print out documents, then mail them or take them directly to the assessor’s office. Counties also save man hours because staff will not have to enter the data onto a computer, they said.
The online option allows businesses to send spreadsheets of personal property date directly to the county.
Businesses in Benton County must first call the assessor’s office to give an email, said Phillip Wade, business and personal property manager.
“Our software provider gave us a program that sends a business person a password to allow them to get into a website,” Wade said. “They can download the assessment form or a spreadsheet. They take the spreadsheet and manipulate it the way they want and then upload it back. We will process it from there.”
Between 850 and 900 businesses have assessed online, he said.
Individuals can also reassess their property in both counties online. However, a first-time assessment of a new car, for example, must be done in person at the assessor’s office, Williams said.
Williams said 5,823 individuals have assessed online so far this year. That’s compared to 3,114 as of May 10 last year.
“We’re very glad to see it’s catching on as well as it has,” Williams said. “People have commented that it doesn’t take away from work or family. The process is literally seconds to complete.”
Benton County residents can also assess on their smartphone, Chaney said.
“You can do it online and do it off your cellphone,” said Chaney. “They can download the Benton County app.