Managing and reducing operating costs are a priority for any company. Not all costs are fixed, and you have the opportunity to take steps to lower your costs. One of your greatest operating costs is your property taxes. When you reduce them, you could reap huge savings.

Consider enacting the following strategies to reduce operational costs and secure savings for your business.

Itemize Your Expenses

You’ll never know where potential savings exist unless you track your expenses and have a detailed outline of what you’re currently paying. Identify and itemize all your current operational costs, including not only utilities, repairs and maintenance but also your property taxes. When you have a big-picture view of your expenses, you’ll be equipped to find areas of potential savings.

Pay Attention To Your Tax Assessment

Because your property taxes are your highest operating cost, you need to pay close attention to your property tax assessment and leverage any appeal opportunities. Properties are often overassessed, and companies end up paying much more than their fair share in property taxes if they miss the opportunity to appeal. Look at your tax assessment and determine if the jurisdiction’s valuation of your property reflects its market value. If it doesn’t, you may want to consider appealing the assessment. 

Determine If Your Business Personal Property Is Taxed

One operating cost that many companies don’t fully understand is the potential to reduce their personal property taxes. While not every state taxes businesses’ personal property, in the states that do, you need to pay attention to detail to remain compliant. You have to be very specific with your identification of personal property and how you file records of that property with the jurisdiction. Lower your operating costs by leveraging obsolescence in your equipment and machinery, identifying personal property exemptions offered by your state and removing nonexistent assets from your itemized personal property list.

Secure Sustainability-Related Tax Breaks

The government offers a number of incentives to encourage sustainable business practices. Methods such as using alternative energy sources have the potential to save you on both taxes and energy consumption costs. Research what sustainability tax breaks your jurisdiction offers and take action to comply with the requirements.

Seek Expert Support

The easiest way to manage your operational costs is by partnering with a property tax management expert. They’ll know a variety of ways to cut your costs and increase your savings. And if you decide to pursue a property tax appeal, you’ll increase your odds for success if you have a property tax expert on your side.

Cutting operational costs is a priority for many companies. It increases the security of your business and strengthens your cash flow, giving you more funds to invest in growth. Enact these strategies and reap the financial benefits of reduced operational costs.

Learn how to avoid the top five most commonly made commercial property tax mistakes by downloading our new whitepaper.