Clarification on Property Taxes.
 

We will be looking in the Villages this fall. I want to clarify the tax differences in locations.
Besides the 3 counties in the Villages, I understand that you would be paying property taxes in another city if your home falls inside the other cities borders.

Do we pay ONE or the OTHER or pay both Villages & the other City Taxes.

And is it correct that after 65 yrs old, after one year I can apply for homestead exemption - making 50K of our home value NON taxable.


Thanks for your time;
Will

There is no Villages tax, just the county tax and city tax. You always pay county tax. If your home happens to be within an incorporated area then you would ALSO pay city tax.

Every home is eligible for the homestead exemption if you live there full time; there is no age limit for this. If you are older (perhaps 65, I don't qualify yet) then there may be another exemption you can take. Google Sumter County Florida Property Tax to find a page with good information.

If you have not go to the county sites to review the taxes.
Yes you pay all the different taxes for the area you are living in. Utilities available and rates also vary withing a county or city in some cases.
Be careful if you are buying an older home. Refigure the taxes on what you are paying and not what they are paying as the law gives home owners various tax breaks.
You can qualify for the homestead exemption the year you are living full time in the home on Jan 1st as I recall. Since the taxes are generally billed at the end of the prior year you will have a number of months that you do not get the benefit of the deduction.

Actually, there is a separate "Villages" tax on your annual property tax bill, which is the annual maintenance for your particular unit. It is not based upon your property valuation, but is calculated annually based upon your unit's share of your district's annual maintenance. It tends to run between $500-$1000 annually.

Realtor Robyn Cavallaro did an excellent YouTube video on this subject.

Title of video: cheapest area to live in the Villages

I tried to upload onto this thread but was unable.

Once you watch the video, you will no longer be confused.

Here's a list of the property tax exemptions for Lake County. Exemptions - Lake County Property Appraiser

Each county will have different exemptions and potentially different amounts.

The over-65 exemption only applies to those who meet certain low income requirements.

I think this is the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl1OtA0Wsdk

Homestead exemption is income-based
 

Agree unless Florida is different from other states. In Ohio, the exemption is based on gross income, not just earned income. As a result, if you are drawing from pensions, retirement funds, you will likely NOT qualify for homestead exemptions....maybe Florida is different?

In Florida, all homeowners can qualify for the standard homestead exemption. But:

"In order to qualify for the Low-Income Senior Exemption for 2024, an applicant must be 65 or older as of January 1, 2024, receive the Homestead Exemption on the property, AND have a combined household adjusted gross income for 2023 not exceeding $36,614 (note: this adjusted gross income limitation number is adjusted annually in January to reflect the percentage change in the average cost of living index)."

Tax
 

I would not decide by taxes but by quick cart access to what you will want to do. That probably means preowned above hwy 44

I agree... however..
 

Location Location Location...I am a man of conveniences & dont want to spend an hour on a cart just to get a donut. So I agree with that point.
BUT....... I just can not find an answer to what I feel is a simple question.

Depending on WHERE the home is...I would be paying property taxes, but say I buy a home in the Villages, but also falls in fruitland Park city footprint would I be paying property taxes to the Villages AND to Fruitland Park ? If I bought a home up in Sumter county that is not inside any other city limits, I would only be paying property taxes only to the Villages. To me, paying DOUBLE the taxes would be a big deal.

Technically, there are no "property taxes" charged by The Villages. Property taxes are paid to the county and to the city, if your house is located within a city.

Your tax bill is divided into two sections, the ad valorem section and the non-ad valorem section. The ad valorem (based on value) section are your property taxes paid to the county and to the city. The non-ad valorem section are assessments that are collected by the county for convenience purposes only, but the funds go to others.

Regardless of where you buy, you will NOT pay property taxes to the Villages. The Villages collects NO tax at all. In most (all?) areas you WILL pay a maintenance fee to your CDD however, this is NOT a property tax and the CDD is NOT the Villages.

As for property taxes, as I stated above, you will pay property taxes to the county your home is in (Sumter, Lake, or Marion). If your home is in one of the incorporated areas such as Fruitland Park, Wildwood, or Leesburg then you will ALSO pay property tax to that city. In the case of Fruitland Park you would pay property tax to both Lake County and the city of Fruitland Park. It really is that simple.

The next question is what services do you receive from the city you might pay taxes to? There have been multiple threads on that topic with no clear answer.

Taxes
 

Annually fees can range from fairly low to over 10,000 per year excluding amenities. If you live in an unincorporated area you don’t pay the city tax portion that can be around 1000 on up per year all new locations have been drawn into paying the city taxes of Wildwood or Leesburg.

Inclusive in the annual taxes fees payment are county and school taxes along with a fire assessment fee.

Bonds can be a part of the annual bill, but they are going way up! This fee is calculated at the time of closing to pay for infrastructure like sewer, fire stations, water etc. Roads and bridges are paid for indirectly by the county now. Initial burdens are borne by the developer till reimbursement from the county, the last payment was 50 million for southern Oaks area to the Developer https://www.**************.com/2020/...outhern-oaks/# . In a way you pay for those twice through bond and as taxpayers to the county.