Quote:
Originally Posted by ohioshooter
We received our first tax bill today and am in total shock. Several K more than expected.
|
I am assuming you bought a pre-owned home and not new construction.
One of the (many?) things that isn't explained well during a sale is the adjustment in property tax that occurs on resales.
Often, the tax bill you receive in the first November is based on exemptions and limits due to the previous owner. It will be what you found on the Tax Collector's website when you were researching the home.
The next bill you receive will be based on you and your sale. You likely don't have a homestead exemption yet so you will be paying on an additional $50,000 of value. You haven't accrued any Save Our Homes benefits yet so you will be taxed on the full value of your home. And, the full value of your home will be somewhat tied to the price you paid which was likely more than the previous assessment and will also be affected by inflation in the past year. All in all you will pay more and many will be surprised by how much more.
You can go to the Tax Collector's website and see the bill from last year. You can see the Exemptions that applied to the previous owner. See if the assessed value is significantly different from yours; this would be due to the Save Our Homes benefit, adjustments due to the sale, and inflation.