[Laker14]

The homestead exemption only applies to the ad valorem portion of the tax bill, correct? And as the ad valorem portion is further broken down into Sumter County, School Tax and SWFWMD, the school tax portion only gets a 25K reduction, whereas the other two items get the 50K reduction from assessed value to taxable assessed value, right?

[Mleeja]

It was mentioned as a “throw-a-way” statement above, but if you are buying a house turnkey or with a golf cart, negotiate separate deals for the house and the other items. Pay for them separately! You do not want the assessment based on the additional furniture or golf cart.

[Laker14]

Originally Posted by Mleeja

It was mentioned as a “throw-a-way” statement above, but if you are buying a house turnkey or with a golf cart, negotiate separate deals for the house and the other items. Pay for them separately! You do not want the assessment based on the additional furniture or golf cart.

yeah, I caught that. good advice, and I'll take it if it applies, thanks.

[VApeople]

Our taxes are about 1% of the value of our house.

This does not include a payment for the bond.

[Kim Fowler]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

The homestead exemption is for the entire year and it is not prorated. You must own the house on January 1 to get the exemption for that year. So, if you bought a house in February, you cannot get the homestead exemption until the following year.

And in our case, we moved into our house in early December, immediately became Florida residents (driver’s license) and qualified for the homestead exemption by January. That exemption applied to taxes due the following fall. Also, remember, in some cases, property taxes are deductible from your income for federal tax purposes.

[biker1]

Not exactly. It was $12.4 in Sumter for 2019.

Originally Posted by rustyp

I sense a baited question once again. The mileage rate is somewhere between $15 - $18 per thousand in any of the counties. On a $300K house that's $4500 - $5400. That is one small portion of what it cost to live here. It's like buying a big boat. If you can afford the boat it really does not matter what price of gas is compared to the rest of the expenses.

[noslices1]

Yes they did go up, but mine only went up a couple of hundred dollars. Sumter had not had a tax hike for several years.

[Annie66]

Originally Posted by Stuart Zaikov

We moved here in Feb and were told we cannot get the homestead exemption till next January

Interesting ….. we bought 4 years ago, and received the Homestead Exemption immediately. Possible the county made a mistake in not requiring us to wait. We were happy campers because of it.

[Gunny2403]

How do I get property information for County Property Taxes?

[biker1]

The County GIS service is a good place to start.

GIS | Sumter County, FL - Official Website

Originally Posted by Gunny2403

How do I get property information for County Property Taxes?

[ladyarwen3]

Originally Posted by davem4616

all great advice

I believe that it may take a year of being a Floridian and property ownership to qualify for homesteading...you may have an issue if you own another home in another state if you receive a tax break on it due to homesteading on that property

order of magnitude number for you to work with (for a home at the upper level of your range) would be around $4500 for taxes, bond and annual maintenance...(and plan on paying a monthly amenity fee of around $150)..

BTW - I found that Triple A had the best homeowner and auto combo insurance rates a couple of years ago when I shopped around

good luck

"I believe that it may take a year of being a Floridian and property ownership to qualify for homesteading."
We applied for and received homestead exemption / discount from the minute we got here. We purchased late June, moved in permanently in October. Changed our drivers licenses and vehicle registration that first week, then walked across the hall to the tax office, where we applied for homestead exemption. We were told it was in effect already because of the questions answered during the closing process.

[sterlingcnslts]

Just correcting a common misconception about the 3% maximum raise. That does not apply the 2nd year of increase. the 2nd year raise uses the average selling price for homes like yours for that 2nd year. Our 2nd year increase was almost 15% from $2500 to $2947

[Keninches]

Originally Posted by Gunny2403

How do I get property information for County Property Taxes?

Check out Sumterpa.com The taxes are not consistent anywhere in The Villages.

[FredJacobs]

I bought my house in Sumter in 2012. The first year, I paid taxes at the market value which was the selling price. After that first year, the market value came down slowly to reflect reality.

For an estimate, take the selling price in thousands, deduct about 75 for the homestead and multiply by 12.5 (Sumter County tax rate. A 350,000 home = 350 minus 75 times 12.5 = $3,437.50. This does not include other taxes and fees such as Fire Department, Bond (if any), etc.

Your realtor will know the exact current rate on any house he/she shows you.

[Davelinda91]

It’s a good question however you won’t get a straight answer until the closing. If your asking you probably will find it expensive. A $350K home in the Marsh Bend area is about $7K in taxes with county, city and bond. Plus monthly amenities