You’ve Got Mail
If you own property in Florida, you receive an annual TRIM notice titled, “Notice of Proposed Property Taxes”. That phrase, coupled with the overwhelming amount of numbers and our busy lives, has been known to discourage people from opening or reading this notice, but, hear me out, this information is really important.
Way back in the 1900’s, 1980 to be exact, the Florida legislature passed the Truth-in-Millage act. This law’s intention was that property owners would be able to clearly understand their proposed property taxes by strictly regulating the content and presentation of the important information. The form continues to be heavily regulated by the Department of Revenue and they are available for each property on our website, paslc.org, throughout the year.
As mentioned, the amount of information can be intimidating, so let’s highlight three bite size pieces of important information that could potentially save you hundreds of dollars in property taxes.
- We at the Property Appraiser’s Office produce the information on Page 2 and we affectionately call it “our information”. This page includes two significant sections that you really must review each year when you receive your notice by mail in mid-August. First up, your Market Value. Keep in mind the value presented is our opinion of the value of your property as of January 1, 2019 and is derived from sales that took place in your neighborhood in 2018. If you disagree with this value, you have 25 days from the mailing of the notice to dispute it.
Savings opportunity #1: Review the Market Value section on the top of Page 2, and if you feel that the Market Value that we assigned to your property is not accurate, please contact us. You know your neighborhood best, and we want to discuss your insider knowledge. You have 25 days from the mailing of the notice to dispute the Market Value.
- Another significant section on Page 2 of your TRIM Notice is the Exemptions section. Many homeowners get complacent after years of receiving an exemption and assume it is still there every year; however, there are situations where an exemption is justifiably removed, and a homeowner must file for the exemption again to continue the exemption and maintain possible capped value protection. Take a moment and double check this notice, especially if your taxes are escrowed!
Savings opportunity #2: Review the Exemptions section on Page 2 of the notice to make sure that any exemption(s) you expect to be receiving, and/or have been receiving, are still in place. If you are missing an exemption(s), please contact us right away.
- Page 1 of the notice is all about the tax rates for your property. This page aides in understanding just how much of your tax dollars are going to the taxing authorities providing public services such as education, police and fire protection, roads, libraries, and mosquito control to your property. On this page, we not only provide each taxing authority’s millage rate and phone number, but also where and when their public budget meetings are held.
Savings opportunity #3: Review Page 1, and, if there are areas where you feel that the proposed amount to be collected is unreasonable, don’t just vent on social media, reach out to the taxing authority(ies) or attend the budget hearing listed to share your perspective and advocate for your priorities.
If you are a fan of short videos, we invite you to visit our YouTube channel for a five minute breakdown of your TRIM notice. If you are one of those cool kids on social media, look us up; we would love to connect with you!
If you are left with any questions please call us, email us, or visit paslc.org to schedule an appointment at one of our award winning offices. To better serve you, we have extended our office hours during this TRIM season from 7AM – 7PM on select days. It is our pleasure to serve you and we look forward to doing so!
