Managing Personal Property Taxes: A Guide for Vineyards and Wineries

Key Takeaways:

• Vineyards and wineries must report all fixed asset changes, including obsolete or abandoned property, for accurate tax assessments.

• Properly classifying assets as either personal property or real estate impacts tax obligations.

• Investing in fixed asset management software can help you track and report assets to minimize your vineyard or winery’s personal property tax liability.

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Vineyards and wineries are unique in their operations — combining agriculture, manufacturing, and hospitality. This complexity brings specific challenges in managing personal property taxes.

Common Personal Property Tax Challenges for Vineyards and Wineries

Let’s look at a few specific aspects of vineyards and wineries that make personal property tax compliance unique:

Obsolescence and Abandonment

Continued taxation of obsolete or abandoned property is one of the most common issues for vineyards and wineries. It's not unusual to see old tractors, farm equipment, or other machinery sitting unused on vineyard land — sometimes for decades.

Although these assets are no longer functional and are not being depreciated on the books, they continue to appear on the personal property tax rolls and are subject to tax. Vineyard owners must take action to remove obsolete items from both their property and property tax renditions (personal property returns).

Asset Classification

Another challenge in managing personal property taxes for vineyards and wineries is correctly identifying and classifying the property type. The classification determines whether the asset is considered depreciable or real property, as each has different tax implications.

For example, mobile equipment — such as tractors used in the field and carts for transporting grapes to the processing center — is classified as personal property and assessed immediately upon being placed in service. On the other hand, in California, vines planted in the ground are not assessed until three years after the season of planting in vineyard form, giving them time to become productive.

Storing wine or grape juice in large vats adds another layer of complexity. Whether these vats are classified as real estate or personal property depends on whether they are affixed to the ground or movable.

In a tasting room, there may be tables, racks, and stools, all of which are depreciable property. However, if the room has a built-in bar, it is considered part of the building, having a much longer depreciable life.

It takes a deep understanding of the multitude of tax rules and the various types of property used in vineyard and winery operations to optimize the company’s tax position.

Technology

Modern wineries might also have high-tech equipment, such as computers and specialized machinery, that should be listed separately on tax renditions. These assets often have shorter depreciation lives, and accurate tracking helps avoid overpaying taxes.

Exemptions

The wine industry benefits from many specialized tax rules and exemptions.

For example, changes to the California property tax rules in 2017 allowed vineyards to write off certain planting costs, such as fertilizer, stakes, and wires, rather than capitalizing and depreciating them. Additionally, some counties offer exemptions for startup vineyards, which can provide significant tax savings.

If you (or your tax advisor) aren’t familiar with these exemptions, they are easy to overlook.

Multiple Entities or Locations

It’s not uncommon for larger operations to have separate entities for growing grapes and producing wines. An operator might also owe tax to multiple jurisdictions because the property is located in different towns and counties. Staying on top of property tax obligations for various entities and locations can be confusing and time-consuming.

Resources for Personal Property Tax Compliance

Your annual business property tax affidavit — California form BOE-571-L or BOE-571-A, operation dependent) — is typically due to the county on January 1. Once submitted, the county uses the property tax affidavit to calculate the business property tax liability.

Many companies remember to add new property purchased during the year and remove sold property but neglect to report obsolete and abandoned property. It’s the property owner’s responsibility to document and report obsolete items to prevent unnecessary tax payments. Neglecting this aspect of property tax reporting leads to overpaying taxes and issues during audits.

Investing in fixed asset software can help ensure accuracy. These tools help track acquisitions, disposals, and other changes in the asset base, making certain you report up-to-date and accurate information to the county.

Given the specialized nature of personal property tax issues in the wine industry, you can benefit from working with a firm that has experience and expertise in this area. This knowledge can be invaluable for understanding the various personal property tax exemptions available to vineyards and wineries.

How MGO Can Help

MGO offers comprehensive tax services — including income taxes, property taxes, and sales and use taxes — tailored to the unique needs of vineyards and wineries.

Reach out to our Vineyards and Wineries team for help reconciling your internal records with the county's asset lists to identify and correct discrepancies. We can also recommend fixed asset software to help you maintain accurate records going forward. Then, you can focus on what you do best: producing exceptional wines.