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

The Extended Deadlines

On October 20, 2022, Governor DeSantis signed Executive Order 22-242 offering relief to Floridians whose property has been completely destroyed or otherwise rendered uninhabitable in the form of extended deadlines for filing ad valorem property taxes and non-ad valorem assessments levied in 2022. Normally, ad valorem property taxes are assessed on each county’s tax rolls and are collected by the county tax collector are due and payable on November 1 and become delinquent April 1. Now, with the signing of this executive order, these taxes will be due and payable on January 1, 2023. In addition, these taxes and assessments will now become delinquent on June 1, 2023 instead of the April 1. Finally, “all dates and time periods, and their associated provisions, relative to the collection of, or administrative procedures regarding, delinquent taxes and non-ad valorem assessments, including but not limited to the sale of tax certificates, are similarly extended based on the June 1, 2023 delinquency date.”

Who Qualifies?

Continue Reading Hurricane Ian Extends Property Tax Deadlines, Governor DeSantis Calls for Special Session to Offer Further Relief

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

As of January 1st of 2017, it has been reported that the total value of real property in Lee County increased for the fifth consecutive year to $105.6 billion (nearly 9% higher than 2016 values).

With this year’s Truth in Millage (“TRIM”) Notices just around the corner (typically mailed by the Lee County Property Appraiser in mid-August), one recent legal opinion highlights the nuances of remedies available to the property owner—and the Property Appraiser—in the event assessed values are contested.

Background on Florida’s “Save Our Homes” Doctrine

For real property that has been classified as a “homestead” in Florida, the Save Our Homes provision of Section 193.155(1), Florida Statutes, allows for an annual increase of only 3% in the assessed value of property, or the yearly increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), whichever is less. Moreover, under 193.155(2), Florida Statutes, if the capped value exceeds the market value in a given year, the capped value will be reduced to the market value.

Nikolits v. Haney

Continue Reading Homestead, Save Our Homes, and Corrections to Assessed Value: Are You Ready for Your 2017 Property Taxes?

tax burdenThose owning real property in Lee County have likely received their annual TRIM (Truth in Millage) Notice. We have found that some questions continue to repeat every year once taxpayers receive their TRIM Notices.

To help taxpayers understand what the TRIM means for them, we thought it would be helpful to go through a few quick tips for what to look for when reviewing this important document:
Continue Reading Helpful Tips for Reviewing your TRIM Notice

The Foreign Investment in Real Property Act of 1980 (mercifully shortened in real estate and tax circles to “FIRPTA”) is a federal law designed to collect taxes on a foreign seller’s “disposition” of real property held in the U.S. The Act casts a wide net and applies not only to the sale of both commercial and residential properties, but also other real property interests such as swimming pools, mines, crops, and timber, just to name a few. Besides the typical sale of real property, the Act also extends to foreclosures and corporate mergers/reorganizations, among other “dispositions” of real property.

Foreign Investment on the Rise

With both residential and commercial real estate prices rising, but still deflated from the highs in 2008, both the U.S. as a whole, and Florida in particular, have experienced an influx of foreign investment in real estate.Continue Reading Increase in Foreign Investment = Increase in Tax Implications for Florida Real Estate Buyers

As those of us with school-aged children start frantically counting our last days until the new semester begins, we can be reminded that it is also that time of year when the county property appraisers begin to mail out the annual TRIM notices to notify taxpayers within their jurisdictions of the proposed property taxes for

tax.jpgIn the past few months, several clients have contacted me with questions regarding property that had been obtained through tax deeds. For example, one client contacted me to discuss property that had been purchased from an individual who obtained the property through a tax deed sale two years earlier. At the recent purchase, the client had obtained an owner’s title policy; however, there was an exception to this policy for anyone claiming by, through or under the prior owner whose title to the property had been disgorged by the tax deed sale. My client intended to develop the property into a multi-unit residential complex and wanted to be certain that they could provide clear title to the eventual third-party purchasers.

Background

Prior to a property being sold at auction via a tax sale, several things must have occurred or, in some cases, not occurred. By way of example, let’s say that “Adam” is an individual who owns a 10 acre tract of vacant land in Lee County, Florida. After the 2008 real estate crash, Adam fell on hard times and failed to pay the 2008 ad valorem taxes due and payable on March 1, 2009. On April 1, 2009, the taxes for Adam’s property were deemed delinquent and the tax collector, as required by law, advertised Adam’s property (along with other delinquent properties) once a week for three consecutive weeks for the sale of a tax certificate on the delinquent 2008 taxes. Once the delinquent properties had been properly advertised, the tax collector established an on-line auction for a tax certificate for the delinquent 2008 taxes.Continue Reading Tips for Understanding Tax Deeds and Tax Certificates