Do Florida apartment owners have to file a tangible personal property tax return?
Usually yes, at least once. Florida taxes business-owned tangible personal property, and the Department of Revenue says owners who lease or rent property must file Form DR-405 with the county property appraiser by April 1. Appliances and furniture in your apartments are not exempt household goods, but the first $25,000 of assessed value on each return is exempt, and after one timely return under that amount the yearly filing is waived.
Why the appliances in your units are taxable
Florida's definitions in section 192.001(11) split personal property into categories. Tangible personal property is goods and other articles of value capable of manual possession whose value is intrinsic to the article. Household goods are carved out, but the statute defines them as furniture, appliances and similar items used for the comfort of the owner and the owner's family, not held for commercial purposes. The household goods exemption in section 196.181 covers a person's own permanent home.
A refrigerator in a unit you rent out is not used for your family's comfort; it is held for a commercial purpose. So the ranges, refrigerators, dishwashers, washers and dryers you own in the units, furniture in furnished units, laundry room machines, the leasing office's computers and furniture, fitness equipment and maintenance tools are generally tangible personal property of your rental business.
The Department of Revenue's tangible personal property page puts it directly: anyone who owns tangible personal property on January 1 and has a proprietorship, partnership or corporation must file, and property owners who lease, lend or rent property must also file. Items built into the building may be valued with the real estate instead, so ask your county appraiser how it draws that line.
The dates and the $25,000 exemption
- January 1: the snapshot. The return lists what you owned in the county on that date.
- April 1: the return is due, under section 193.062. The form is DR-405, filed with the property appraiser of the county where the property is.
- Before April 1: if you need more time, ask. Section 193.063 says the appraiser shall grant a 30 day extension and may grant up to 15 more days; the appraiser cannot require the request more than 10 days before the due date.
- February 1 the next year: if your filing was waived, the appraiser mails a reminder that you must file again if your property now exceeds the exemption.
Section 196.183 exempts up to $25,000 of assessed value on each return, and requires a single return for each site in the county where you transact business. A site includes places where equipment of the business is stored or its employees work, so an owner with two buildings in one county may file two returns, each with its own exemption. Confirm with the appraiser how it treats your buildings.
The same section waives the yearly return once you file an initial return showing value at or below the exemption. You must file again in any year the value goes over it, and you can return to the waiver only after another return at or under $25,000.
What skipping it costs
The penalties in section 193.072 are figured on the tax, not the value:
| Situation | Penalty |
|---|---|
| No return filed | 25% of the tax levied on the property, for each year with no return |
| Return filed late | 5% of the tax for each month or part of a month late, up to 25% |
| Property left off the return | 15% of the tax on the omitted property |
| Return not timely and not waived | The $25,000 exemption is lost for that year (section 196.183(5)) |
The appraiser may reduce or waive a penalty for good cause when the late filing or omission was not intentional. Losing the exemption is often the bigger cost, as the example shows.
A worked example
Example a made-up LLC owns a 24 unit building in one Florida county. Each unit has a range, refrigerator and dishwasher, and the LLC also owns laundry machines and maintenance tools. Suppose the appraiser values all of it at $28,000 on January 1 and the made-up tax rate is $18 per $1,000 of value. Filed on time, $25,000 is exempt and the tax is $3,000 times 0.018, or $54. Never filed, the exemption is lost, the tax is $28,000 times 0.018, or $504, and the 25% failure-to-file penalty adds $126, for $630.
The same building filed once at or under $25,000 would have had its later returns waived. That is why the first return matters even when the tax looks tiny.
Getting the list ready
- Pull every appliance, furniture and equipment purchase for the building from your books, with the date and cost.
- Remove items you sold, scrapped or replaced before January 1.
- List items even if they are fully depreciated for income tax or no longer usable; the Department of Revenue says property that is no longer usable or valuable is still listed.
- Ask the appraiser whether appliances inside leased units go in the main list or in the leased, loaned or rented equipment section of DR-405.
- File one return per site and keep the confirmation with the property's records.
How DoorKeeping helps with the list
In DoorKeeping, each property's LLC has its own books, and bills are read and coded by AI with the invoice attached, so every range and refrigerator you bought is already recorded under the building it went into. You can ask your AI app for every appliance and equipment purchase at one property, with dates and costs, and use it to fill in DR-405. The confirmation goes in that property's documents. DoorKeeping does not file returns or give tax advice. It costs $2 per unit per month, with no other fees for owners or tenants.
Sources
- Florida Department of Revenue, Tangible Personal Property, read Oct 30, 2026
- Florida Statutes 192.001, Definitions, read Oct 30, 2026
- Florida Statutes 193.062, Dates for filing returns, read Oct 30, 2026
- Florida Statutes 193.063, Extension of date for filing tangible personal property tax returns, read Oct 30, 2026
- Florida Statutes 193.072, Penalties for improper or late filing of returns, read Oct 30, 2026
- Florida Statutes 196.181, Exemption of household goods and personal effects, read Oct 30, 2026
- Florida Statutes 196.183, Exemption for tangible personal property, read Oct 30, 2026
Questions
- Are appliances in rental units taxable in Florida?
- Generally yes. Florida exempts household goods only when they serve the owner and the owner's family, so appliances you own in rented units are tangible personal property reported on Form DR-405.
- When is the Florida tangible personal property return due?
- April 1, for property owned on January 1. The property appraiser must grant a 30 day extension if you ask before the due date, and may add up to 15 more days.
- Do I have to file DR-405 every year?
- Not if your first timely return shows $25,000 or less of assessed value. The yearly filing is then waived until a year in which the value exceeds the exemption.