Repo House Sales Cutting Taxes of Newer Florida Homeowners
Homeowners in Florida are experiencing contrasting residential property tax effects from the decline of home values across Florida due to repo house sales.
Last week, homeowners who purchased their homes during the boom and who were paying higher taxes got significant reductions in their tax bills for 2009 while homeowners who have been paying lower taxes because of Florida’s Save Our Homes tax increase cap got increases in their tax bills for 2009.
Taxpayer Jim Flateau, one of around 290,000 homeowners in the Tampa Bay area who received reduced tax bills, said he is happy about the tax reductions since his home is now worth around 20 percent less than its original value. For this year, his property tax was reduced by around $500.
According to Tim Wilmath, head of valuation at the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser’s Office, the taxpayers who will benefit from the lower home valuations are the ones who suffered most from the housing downturn. He said that these types of homeowners comprise about one-third to one-half of all homeowners in a county.
On the other hand, longtime homeowners who have been paying lower residential property taxes for many years due to the Save Our Homes program received increases in their tax bills for 2009.
The state Save Our Homes program limits annual increases in the taxable values of homesteaded properties at 3 percent. After several years, the difference between the assessed value of a house and its market value becomes bigger.
This year, despite the decline in home values, tax assessments for certain homesteaded properties were still increased up to their limits, according to tax officials. They argued that the properties enjoyed years of savings.
Now, it is the newer homeowners who will benefit most from the Save Our Homes program. In the future, the program will prevent their tax valuations from soaring to high levels.
Taxpayer Flateau paid $312,800 for his home in Pasco County when he bought it in 2005. This year, the tax valuation fell by over $52,000 to $194,490, giving him tax savings of around $500.
Nonetheless, according to tax official Mike Well, over 65,000 out of Pasco County’s 127,000 homesteaded properties will not experience higher taxes this year because of their substantial declines in value.
Meanwhile, in Pinellas County, one-third of the 245,000 owners of homesteaded properties will pay reduced taxes while two-thirds will pay increased taxes.
