The April 30^th deadline for the calendar year South Carolina taxpayers to file their annual Form PT-300, Property Return, is fast approaching. Taxpayers subject to a fee-in-lieu of tax (FILOT) must file a new schedule with their 2017 property tax year that is designed to help local governments comply with their new financial reporting requirements under Statement No. 77 of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB Statement 77). GASB Statement 77 requires governmental entities that enter into “tax abatement agreements” to now disclose information about these agreements in their financial statements, including the gross dollar amount of taxes abated during the year. The South Carolina Department of Revenue (SCDOR or DOR) has developed Form PT-300G, Schedule G, Fee in Lieu of Tax Supplemental, as part of the new Form PT-300 package to help local governments comply with the requirements of GASB Statement 77.

Form PT-300G must be filed with the County Auditor where a FILOT project is located at the same time the Form PT-300 is annually filed with SCDOR. A separate PT-300G should be completed for each Schedule S or Schedule T that is filed. For example, if a manufacturer has entered into multiple FILOT agreements, a separate PT-300G should be filed for each.

Form PT-300G requires taxpayers to provide the fair market value of their real property and the fair market value of their personal property, along with the assessment ratios that would apply absent the FILOT arrangement. The fair market value of real property is the appraised value. The fair market value of personal property is its income tax basis less depreciation. These fair market values are often very different from the values that are used to determine FILOT payments. The assessment ratio for real property varies based on the use of property (e.g. a manufacturing plant is assessed at 10.5% while a warehouse facility is assessed at 6%).

Taxpayers should make sure their property tax personnel are aware of the new Form PT-300G filing requirement now to ensure they have time to coordinate with income tax personnel to obtain the income tax information necessary to complete Form PT-300G. There are no extensions for filing a Form PT-300, and the penalties for failing to file a timely Form PT-300 with the Department may apply to Form PT-300G.