Shorerock Loans, a small-business funding service in Marietta, Georgia, explains the Cobb County business personal property tax return: what property it covers, how the tax is figured, keeping an asset list, and how financed or leased equipment fits. Every rule, rate, form and date comes from the county and state.
At a glance
- Official source
Cobb County (cobbcounty.org), checked 2026-10-20
- Employer establishments, Cobb County, GA
22,148 (CBP 2023)
- Offices of dentists, Cobb County, GA
371 employers (CBP 2023)
Scope of this property return guide
This is a practical overview for owners, not tax advice. Filing rules, deadlines, exemptions, penalties and the assessment ratio are set by Georgia law and administered by the county; confirm them with the Cobb County tax assessors and your accountant.
What Is the Business Personal Property Tax? Notes for Marietta, GA Businesses
It is a property tax on tangible assets a business owns and uses: furniture, fixtures, machinery, equipment, computers, and in some cases inventory and supplies. Real estate is taxed separately. A Marietta law office's desks and servers, a dental office's chairs and imaging units, and a landscaper's mowers all fall in the category of business personal property.
Georgia Business Personal Property Tax
Georgia counties assess business personal property and local governments levy tax on it at their millage rates. The state sets the rules for valuation and filing; the county assessors receive the returns and send assessment notices. Owners who disagree with an assessment have an appeal process, with its own deadlines set out on the notice.
How Does Business Personal Property Tax Work? The Short Answer for Cobb County, GA
- The business lists its assets with their original cost and year acquired.
- The county applies depreciation schedules to estimate fair market value.
- An assessment ratio converts value to assessed value.
- Local millage rates are applied to the assessed value.
- The tax bill follows the assessment notice.
How Is Personal Property Tax Calculated? What Cobb County, GA Owners Should Know
Illustration only, invented figures: a practice reports equipment the county values at $80,000. With an assessment ratio of 40% and a combined millage of 30 mills ($30 per $1,000 of assessed value), the tax would be $960 by our arithmetic ($80,000 x 40% = $32,000 assessed; $32,000 x 0.030 = $960). The ratio and millage here are placeholders; take the real ones from the county.
Georgia Business Personal Property Tax Form and What Partners Ask For
The return is filed on the state's business personal property form, supplied by the county assessors with filing instructions. Keep a copy of each year's return. When a partner reviews an equipment request, the return is one place it can see what the business already owns and roughly what it is worth.
Cobb County, GA Business Personal Property Tax: Steps and Timing
- Keep an asset register through the year: item, cost, date bought, date sold or scrapped.
- Note leased equipment separately, with the lessor's name.
- Before the county's deadline, complete the return from the register.
- File with the Cobb County tax assessors and keep proof of filing.
- Check the assessment notice when it arrives and diary any appeal date.
Start at cobbcounty.org for the county's tax assessor pages.
Financed, leased and newly bought equipment
Who reports leased equipment, the lessor or the lessee, depends on the lease and on the rules; ask the lessor and your accountant. Equipment bought on an equipment loan is owned by the business and belongs on its asset list. Equipment-heavy practices are common in the county: 371 dentist offices and 654 offices of other health practitioners had payroll in 2023 (County Business Patterns).
Keeping the asset list ready for a funding request
An up-to-date asset register serves three purposes: the property return, insurance, and any request where equipment is part of the collateral. Bring it when you call (770) 275-6482. County data is on the Marietta, GA page, and the other guides are on the guides page.
Selling or scrapping equipment during the year
When equipment is sold, traded in or scrapped, record the date and remove it from the asset register so the next return reflects what the business actually owns. When a practice is bought, the buyer's first return should list what came with the purchase; ask the seller for their last return as a starting point.
A year-end asset register checklist
- Description, make and model of each item
- Original cost, including installation and freight
- Date acquired and date disposed
- Whether the item is owned, financed or leased
- Location, if the business has more than one site
By Shorerock Loans · Updated