Preparation and serving of returns.

(1) The following returns shall be filed:

(a) Tangible personal property; and

(b) Property specifically required to be returned by other provisions in this title.

(2) No return shall be required for real property the ownership of which is reflected in instruments recorded in the public records of the county in which the property is located, unless otherwise required in this title. In order for land to be considered for agricultural classification under s. 193.461 or high-water recharge classification under s. 193.625, an application for classification must be filed on or before March 1 of each year with the property appraiser of the county in which the land is located, except as provided in s. 193.461(3)(a). The application must state that the lands on January 1 of that year were used primarily for bona fide commercial agricultural or high-water recharge purposes.

(3) A return for the above types of property shall be filed in each county which is the situs of such property, as set out under s. 192.032.

(4) All returns shall be completed by the taxpayer in such a way as to correctly reflect the owner’s estimate of the value of property owned or otherwise taxable to him or her and covered by such return. All forms used for returns shall be prescribed by the department and delivered to the property appraisers for distribution to the taxpayers.

(5) Property appraisers may distribute returns in whatever way they feel most appropriate. However, as a minimum requirement, the property appraiser shall requisition, and the department shall distribute, forms in a timely manner so that each property appraiser can and shall make them available in his or her office no later than the first working day of the calendar year.

(6) The department shall promulgate the necessary regulations to ensure that all railroad and utility property is properly returned in the appropriate county. However, the evaluating or assessing of utility property in each county shall be the duty of the property appraiser.

(7) A property appraiser may accept a tangible personal property tax return in a form initiated through an electronic data interchange. The department shall prescribe by rule the format and instructions necessary for such filing to ensure that all property is properly listed. The acceptable method of transfer, the method, form, and content of the electronic data interchange, the method by which the taxpayer will be provided with an acknowledgment, and the duties of the property appraiser with respect to such filing shall be prescribed by the department. The department’s rules shall provide: a uniform format for all counties; that the format shall resemble form DR-405 as closely as possible; and that adequate safeguards for verification of taxpayers’ identities are established to avoid filing by unauthorized persons.