Was your residential dwelling rendered uninhabitable by Hurricane Ian or Hurricane Nicole? You may be eligible for a partial refund of your 2022 property taxes.

On December 16, 2022, section 197.3181, Fl. Stat., was signed into law, which provides for a prorated refund of ad valorem taxes for residents whose homes were impacted by Hurricane Ian or Hurricane Nicole. To qualify for the partial refund, the applicant’s property must have been determined “uninhabitable” due to Hurricane Ian or Hurricane Nicole, which means there was a loss of use and occupancy of a residential improvement which resulted from damage to or destruction of the residential improvement, or from a condition that compromises the structural integrity of the residential improvement.Continue Reading April 3, 2023 is the Deadline to Apply for a Partial Property Tax Refund

Property TaxIt feels like tax season is always upon us, and this time of year is no different. The month of August, and specifically the second week of August, marks the typical time of year when the Property Appraiser’s office sends out TRIM Notices to all property owners in the county. TRIM Notices are sent out for all types of property, including residential and commercial.

What is a TRIM Notice?

A TRIM Notice stands for the “Truth in Millage” notice, and reflects the official notice of proposed property taxes as required by Florida law. The TRIM Notice is not your property tax bill, but is an estimate of your property taxes based on the proposed millage rates for that taxing year, your property values as of January 1 of that taxing year, and any applicable exemptions applied to your property, such as your homestead exemption.

If your TRIM notice isn’t a bill, then why is it important?

Continue Reading August Marks TRIM Notice Season

bitcoin graphI am sure that by now most people have heard the news stories and social media posts about people becoming rich overnight simply by acquiring and often forgetting about Bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrency in recent years. Those viral stories of individuals getting lucky or unwittingly stumbling into fortunes are entertaining reads, but the reality is that cryptocurrency has become a legitimate investment opportunity attracting the attention of large institutional investors and influential CEOs such as Elon Musk, who are taking advantage of the tremendous growth of Bitcoin and other coins to enhance personal and corporate profits.

If you were one of those lucky individuals who bought into Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies early or are a savvy investor who realized profits through the highs and lows of the market, you may be wondering how you can turn those gains into tangible assets such as real estate. Similarly, for those involved in real estate transactions, this new technology creates challenges for the parties involved who attempt to navigate a largely unregulated area of the law, while also attempting to apply current regulations to crypto transactions.

Crypto only real estate transactions

buying real estate with bitcoinThere are two primary ways in which crypto-based real estate transactions can be structured. The first is purchasing the property using unconverted cryptocurrency. At the present time, this may not be feasible in most instances since many sellers, closing agents, brokers, and other parties involved in the transaction may be reluctant to accept cryptocurrency that is not converted into U.S. Dollars. Their reluctance is well founded as the price of Bitcoin and other coins, unlike securities, fluctuates constantly, even outside of business hours. This may lead to risk intolerant sellers from accepting cryptocurrency offers and entering into contracts. If the price of a particular coin were to plummet, the buyer may not have sufficient funds to proceed with the sale.Continue Reading Buying Real Estate with Bitcoin

Florida law currently caps taxes assessed on commercial and rental property, but that may end come January 1, 2019.

You might be thinking “why do I care because I rent my home or apartment and don’t own either commercial or rental property?” Consider this: if your landlord has to pay higher taxes, guess whose rent

In staunchly conservative Collier County, Florida, tax increases are rarely popular. But when the increases are to the bed tax (a.k.a. tourist development tax) and the sales tax, the impact is a little easier to digest. This is mainly because, as compared to tax increases on real property, the bed tax and sales tax do not have uniform impact on owners of real property.

The Board of County Commissioners, in its present form since Commissioners McDaniel and Solis were seated in late 2016, took bold steps in 2017:

  • to diversify the county’s economy through adoption of a bed tax increase;
  • to address overdue improvements to infrastructure via a 2018 voter referendum that would increase the County’s sales tax by 1%; and,
  • to solicit input on potential creation of a stormwater utility.

Bed Tax Increase

Continue Reading Tax Increases: Collier County Takes Bold Steps for 2018

tax.jpgWith Florida’s 2017 Regular Session officially adjourned on May 8, 2017, only 203 bills (of the total 1,606 general bills filed) survived both chambers of the Legislature.

From the handful of legislation that ultimately passed this year, Joint Resolution CS/HJR 21 was enacted. This resolution proposes an amendment to the State’s Constitution that would limit a local government’s authority to assess non-homestead real property for purposes of ad valorem taxation.

Background

Under Florida’s Constitution, ad valorem taxation is expressly reserved to local governments. The state is prohibited from levying ad valorem taxes on real and tangible personal property.

When preparing an annual assessment, the State Constitution also generally requires that all property be assessed at just value (i.e., market value) on January 1st of each year. Thereafter, such assessments are used to calculate property taxes to fund counties, municipalities, district school boards and certain special districts.

Florida’s Existing Limitations on Assessments for Non-Homestead Property

Continue Reading Florida Voters to Consider Permanent Cap on Annual Non-Homestead Property Tax Assessments