JJust like it seems to suggest, the term personal use property refers to any type of property owned by an individual that is strictly targeted toward personal use. The list of items that can be included as part of personal use property are many since they are derived from what is personal to the owner. As such, personal use property includes personal computers, televisions, toys, cars and any other personal items. The main reason for the categorization of property into personal use property is for tax purposes.
In some instances, items that were once listed as personal property may be converted to another use by the owner of the property. An example of this can be seen in the case of the personal computer that may be initially listed as a personal use property, but may subsequently be converted to business use by the owner. For instance, a person may decide to open a business and utilize his or her personal computer for business purposes. Assuming the individual decides to start a translation service and the computer is designated as a business computer, such a computer would have to be converted by the owner to business use.
In the case of the personal computer, the process for converting it from personal use to business use would include an analysis of the current value of the computer on the market in comparison to the original price of such a computer. In order to find out the current value of the personal computer, the owner would have to do some research, including looking for the current price of this product on the Internet and other places where such information can be obtained. Once the individual has this information, he or she would have to subtract the current price from the original price in order to arrive at the fair market value of the computer. In some jurisdictions, this quality of deprecation is used as a factor for the division of personal use property into property that depreciates over time and property that appreciates over time. Examples of personal use property that might appreciate over time include coin collections and other collectible items that generally increase in value with the passage of time, even though they are not intended for public consumption by the owner of such property.
