If your business needs to file an Alameda County (California) 571L property tax return, don’t be alarmed by the April 1st due date on the form. There’s no penalty if you file by May 7th. It’s a strange tax return in other ways, too, like its name: they say it’s an assessment on “business personal property” which is accounting-speak for business assets like equipment but not land/real estate. And then there’s the fact that you file the return, wait, and they send you a letter telling you how much you owe. To top it all off, we’ve had County staff tell us, “Your client needs to file a return if they have more than $100,000 in fixed assets. If they have less than $100,000 in fixed assets and the County contacts them to file a return, they also have to file, but if the County doesn’t contact them, they don’t have to file.” No awards for clarity here!