Bell County, Texas: business personal property rendition, 2027
Businesses in Bell County report the equipment, furniture, computers, inventory and other tangible property they owned on January 1, 2027 to the Tax Appraisal District of Bell County (appraisal district) on 50-144. The return is due April 15, 2027, or May 17, 2027 with an extension. The first $125,000 of assessed value per location is exempt; tax applies to value above that. Owners whose property at a location is worth $125,000 or less need not render at all; they file a short certification on 50-144 once, and it stays in effect until the value exceeds $125,000.
No sourced tax rate; tax estimates are unavailable for this county.
Tax Appraisal District of Bell County still shows a $2,500 exemption; the state rule for tax year 2027 is $125,000. State rule applied.
Who files
Any business with tangible personal property at a Bell County location on January 1.
Furniture and fixtures, kitchen and other machinery, computers and point-of-sale systems, signage, leasehold improvements that are trade fixtures, supplies and inventory are reported at original cost by year acquired; the appraiser depreciates them on the schedule below. The exemption applies per location, so a company with three sites in Bell County files three returns and gets three exemptions.
Deadlines and extensions
- Assessment date
- January 1, 2027
- 50-144 due
- April 15, 2027 — Bell CAD BPP page: most property April 15; PUC/Railroad Commission/STB/FERC-regulated property April 30.
- Extension
- To May 17, 2027. Bell CAD: extension to May 15 upon written request, plus an additional 15 days for good cause shown (Tax Code 22.23(b)).
- Notice of value
- April-June (Tax Code 25.19(a): chief appraiser delivers notices of appraised value for non-homestead property 'by May 1 or as soon thereafter as practicable'; BPP notices typically go out April through June after renditions are reviewed)
- Protest deadline
- Later of May 15 or 30 days after the notice is delivered (Tax Code 41.44). Bell CAD: the chief appraiser must send a notice of appraised value if a higher value than rendered is placed on the property. (Appraisal Review Board (ARB) of the appraisal district; ARB orders may be appealed to district court, binding arbitration (41A) or SOAH (Ch. 2003 Gov't Code))
- Bills
- By October 1 or as soon thereafter as practicable (Tax Code 31.01(a)); tax bills are sent by the county tax assessor-collector or each taxing unit's collector after rates are adopted (typically October-November). Due: Due on receipt of the tax bill; delinquent if not paid before February 1 of the year following the tax year (Tax Code 31.02(a)); penalty and interest accrue from February 1
Exemption
The first $125,000 of assessed value per location is exempt; tax applies to value above that. Owners whose property at a location is worth $125,000 or less need not render at all; they file a short certification on 50-144 once, and it stays in effect until the value exceeds $125,000.
- Statute
- Tex. Tax Code § 11.145 and § 22.01(j-1)-(j-3), (n), § 22.24(c), as amended by Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., ch. 334 (H.B. 9), eff. Jan. 1, 2026; Tex. Const. amendment (Proposition 9) approved Nov. 4, 2025
- In force
- Tax years 2026–present
- Under the threshold
- Rendition is NOT required when, in the owner's opinion, the aggregate market value of the property at the same location in each taxing unit is not more than $125,000 (Tax Code 22.01(j-1)). An owner who elects not to render must instead file, by the rendition deadline, 'a rendition statement or property report that includes a certification' that the owner reasonably believes the value is not more than the exemption amount (22.01(j-3)); on Form 50-144 (rev. 10-25/29) this is the Section 5 check box 'I certify that the market value of the tangible personal property is $125,000 or less', and the rest of the form may be left blank. The election takes effect for the tax year after the year in which the certification is filed and continues until ownership changes; the chief appraiser may still require a rendition. The exemption itself is applied automatically by the appraisal district (no exemption application) - e.g. Dallas CAD: 'no application is required'.
- As stated by the county
- $2,500 — Bell CAD's BPP page (read 2026-11-02) still states personal property is exempt if its total taxable value is 'less than $2,500 in any one taxing unit' - the pre-2026 rule; the $125,000 exemption is not mentioned.
- Verify by
- 2027-01-15 — the county page shows a different amount than the statute now in force; the statute governs.
Depreciation schedule
Tax Appraisal District of Bell County publishes its own percent-good table with 12 asset classes.
| Class | Life | Percent good, years 1 → 6 |
|---|---|---|
| 2-year typical life (video tapes etc.) | 2 yr | 51% · 30% · 18% · 6% |
| 4-year typical life | 4 yr | 79% · 61% · 45% · 30% · 15% · 10% |
| 5-year typical life | 5 yr | 84% · 69% · 54% · 38% · 26% · 15% |
| 6-year typical life | 6 yr | 86% · 73% · 59% · 46% · 34% · 25% |
| 8-year typical life | 8 yr | 90% · 80% · 69% · 59% · 49% · 39% |
| 10-year typical life | 10 yr | 92% · 79% · 76% · 68% · 60% · 51% |
| 12-year typical life | 12 yr | 93% · 87% · 81% · 75% · 68% · 61% |
| 15-year typical life | 15 yr | 95% · 91% · 86% · 82% · 76% · 71% |
| 20-year typical life | 20 yr | 96% · 93% · 89% · 86% · 82% · 79% |
| 25-year typical life | 25 yr | 97% · 95% · 94% · 92% · 89% · 86% |
| 30-year typical life | 30 yr | 98% · 96% · 94% · 92% · 90% · 88% |
| Vehicle column (cars, MFG trucks, trailers per labels) | 6 yr | 85% · 76% · 67% · 59% · 50% · 42% |
Source: bellcad.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2026-Depreciation-Schedule.pdf
Source: Tax Appraisal District of Bell County '2026 Depreciation Schedule - Typical Life Expectancy & Percent Good Chart' (linked from bellcad.org/?p=26629). Columns (left to right) 30, 25, 20, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 2, Vehicle; rows are year acquired 2025 (age 1) through 1994.
Instruction: 'To calculate value - use Historical Cost New by the Percent Good that cooresponds to its Typical Life and Year Acquired'; '(If the asset is older than the chart listed in a life, use the last percent posted)'; 'This schedule does not include inventory items held for sale'; obsolescence may be considered case by case.
How to file
Online through Bell CAD Online Business Personal Property Rendition, or by mail.
- Online
- Bell CAD Online Business Personal Property Rendition
- By mail
- Tax Appraisal District of Bell County, P.O. Box 390, Belton, TX 76513
- Form
- 50-144 — Business Personal Property Rendition of Taxable Property (rev. 10-25/29)
District's official name per its site footer: 'Tax Appraisal District of Bell County' (Bell CAD). In-person offices: Belton (411 E. Central Ave.), Killeen (301 Priest Dr.), Temple (205 E. Central Ave.). No rendition email address is listed on the BPP page (it links to the Contact Us email section); no fax listed. Phone 254-939-5841 (Comptroller directory).
Penalties
- Late or missing return: 10% of the total tax imposed on the property for the year.
- Fraud or intent to evade: 50% of the tax.
Tax Code 22.28 (10%) and 22.29 (additional 50% for fraud); Bell CAD's page repeats both percentages.
Questions
50-144 is due to Tax Appraisal District of Bell County by April 15, 2027. A extension to May 17, 2027 is available: Bell CAD: extension to May 15 upon written request, plus an additional 15 days for good cause shown (Tax Code 22.23(b)).
The first $125,000 of assessed value per location is exempt; tax applies to value above that. Owners whose property at a location is worth $125,000 or less need not render at all; they file a short certification on 50-144 once, and it stays in effect until the value exceeds $125,000.
Online through Bell CAD Online Business Personal Property Rendition, or by mail. Portal: https://forms.bellcad.org/#/a/form/BPP/new. Mailing address: Tax Appraisal District of Bell County, P.O. Box 390, Belton, TX 76513.
Late or missing return: 10% of the total tax imposed on the property for the year. Fraud or intent to evade: 50% of the tax.
Sources
Every figure above is taken from one of these documents; the date is when Rendition last read it.
- 01Tax Appraisal District of Bell County — business personal property filing pagebellcad.org/?p=26629read 2026-11-02
- 02Filing deadlinetcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/TX/htm/TX.22.htmread 2026-11-02
- 03Bell CAD Online Business Personal Property Renditionforms.bellcad.org/#/a/form/BPP/new
- 0450-144 — Business Personal Property Rendition of Taxable Propertycomptroller.texas.gov/forms/50-144.pdfread 2026-11-02
- 05Exemption rule — Tex. Tax Code § 11.145 and § 22.01(j-1)-(j-3)capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/billtext/html/HB00009F.htmread 2026-11-02
- 06Tax Appraisal District of Bell County depreciation schedulebellcad.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2026-Depreciation-Schedule.pdfread 2026-11-02
- 07Notice of value and protest deadlinetexas.public.law/statutes/tex._tax_code_section_41.44
- 08Tax bill due datetexas.public.law/statutes/tex._tax_code_section_31.02read 2026-11-02
- 09Tax Appraisal District of Bell County websitebellcad.org
Find out what your Bell County locations will owe after the $125,000 exemption — in minutes.
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