[graciegirl]

We moved to Hadley last June and got our Real EstateTax bill this week. It was almost as high as our Northern home

I guess it is good or bad news depending on what you are used to..

[JohnN]

welcome to Florida, now you know why there's no state income tax.

I got mine too, wasn't surprised though it was a lot higher than last year (taxed as undeveloped). Includes the annual bond payment if not paid off.

[spk7951]

Great news as far as we were concerned. Total bill (bond, maint, fire & taxes) for our Hadley home is $1,000 less than our former CT property taxes. When we consider the property taxes for cars and state income taxes that we used to pay we are now looking at a savings of about 50% of what we would be paying in CT.

[chuckinca]

Due to the decline in housing prices, ours went down about 20% from last year.

[swrinfla]

Remember, pay early (not later than 12/03) and save 4% on the entireSumter County bill!

SWR

[barb1191]

This real-estate tax exemption is definitely worthwhile addressing. You must qualify by proof of residing in TV longer than six months/year. ID is requested such as driver's license or a utility bill, or bank statement with the TV address, and of course proof of home ownership. With that, you qualify for a $50,000 exemption on your RE tax.

We live in Sumter Cty and applied for the exemption at the Cty Tax Collector's Office in the same building as the Sherriff's Office on Rte 466.

There is another $25,000 exemption if your income is less than $27,000/yr (not sure the exact dollar amt but close).

[jrjr729]

Homestead Exemption

Florida residents are exempt from $50,000 of the assessed value of their homes. This means that their real estate taxes will be reduced. However, the amount of the reduction is not simply the millage rate times the $50,000 because not all taxes that make up the real estate taxes are included. The amount that is excluded is school taxes on the second $25,000. For example: Sumter county’s real estate tax rate was 13.8669 mills in 2009 or $13.8669 per thousand in the appraised value. But part of that rate includes a school tax rate of 7.3540 mills. Instead of a tax exemption of $693.35, which would be the benefit if the homestead exemption applied to all taxes, the actual exemption amount is $183.85 less to offset the school taxes. So the exemption actually is worth $509.50.

This is still a nice break, but is it the true value? Not really, because you would have to take into account the effect of the reduction of federal tax deductions if you itemized deductions. Depending on your tax bracket, your federal taxes will increase by an amount equal to your tax bracket times your homestead exemption. Therefore, if you were in the 25% federal tax bracket, the true value of your homestead exemption would be $382.13 or 25% less than its nominal value.

The reason I am pointing this out is to get you to think twice about Florida residency if your only reason is to get the homestead exemption. However, there is another very good reason to consider becoming a Florida resident according to the “Save Our Homes” legislation of which the homestead exemption is a part. Florida homeowners cannot have their real estate taxes rise by more than 3%, or the rate of inflation measured by the CPI, which ever is less. Non-resident homeowners can be faced with as much as a 10% increase. (There is current legislation proposed to drop that to 5%. I believe it is Amendment 3 scheduled for the 2010 ballot.) Still, if you believe that inflation will remain low for the next few years as the economy continues to battle the recession, there is less of a need to rush into Florida residency.

Another indirect consequence of the “Save Our Homes” act occurs when purchasing a previously owned home. If the owners had the 3% limitation on real estate tax increases in effect for a long time, their stated real estate tax would probably not reflect the rate you might get when the house is reappraised at its sale. Just be aware of this.

Another benefit of the legislation is that your real estate tax saving is portable as long as you purchase another residence in Florida. There are formulas that explain how the tax savings is transferred to the new property. It is important to note that the savings apply regardless of whether you purchase a higher priced or lower priced property.

[villages07]

Gracie... as JohnN pointed out, your tax bill is not all County property taxes. It includes close to $2,000 for the annual CDD maintenance assessment and your bond payment. Sumter County is simply the collecting agent for the CDD.

Yes, for me the tax rate is higher here but home values are lower than the DC area and I sure am happy about no state income tax. Like SPK7951, my overall tax obligations are significantly lower in Florida. However, it is my primary and only residence. Snowbirds/seasonal residents do get socked by paying in two locales.

[barb1191]

http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/property/exemptions.html

Good site re FL RE tax exemptions.....b

[mfp509]

My taxes are about $1000 cheaper than they were in CT and I love no annual property tax on cars and no state income tax. Like having the money in my pocket instead of the states.

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by jrjr729

Homestead Exemption

Florida residents are exempt from $50,000 of the assessed value of their homes. This means that their real estate taxes will be reduced. However, the amount of the reduction is not simply the millage rate times the $50,000 because not all taxes that make up the real estate taxes are included. The amount that is excluded is school taxes on the second $25,000. For example: Sumter county’s real estate tax rate was 13.8669 mills in 2009 or $13.8669 per thousand in the appraised value. But part of that rate includes a school tax rate of 7.3540 mills. Instead of a tax exemption of $693.35, which would be the benefit if the homestead exemption applied to all taxes, the actual exemption amount is $183.85 less to offset the school taxes. So the exemption actually is worth $509.50.

This is still a nice break, but is it the true value? Not really, because you would have to take into account the effect of the reduction of federal tax deductions if you itemized deductions. Depending on your tax bracket, your federal taxes will increase by an amount equal to your tax bracket times your homestead exemption. Therefore, if you were in the 25% federal tax bracket, the true value of your homestead exemption would be $382.13 or 25% less than its nominal value.

The reason I am pointing this out is to get you to think twice about Florida residency if your only reason is to get the homestead exemption. However, there is another very good reason to consider becoming a Florida resident according to the “Save Our Homes” legislation of which the homestead exemption is a part. Florida homeowners cannot have their real estate taxes rise by more than 3%, or the rate of inflation measured by the CPI, which ever is less. Non-resident homeowners can be faced with as much as a 10% increase. (There is current legislation proposed to drop that to 5%. I believe it is Amendment 3 scheduled for the 2010 ballot.) Still, if you believe that inflation will remain low for the next few years as the economy continues to battle the recession, there is less of a need to rush into Florida residency.

Another indirect consequence of the “Save Our Homes” act occurs when purchasing a previously owned home. If the owners had the 3% limitation on real estate tax increases in effect for a long time, their stated real estate tax would probably not reflect the rate you might get when the house is reappraised at its sale. Just be aware of this.

Another benefit of the legislation is that your real estate tax saving is portable as long as you purchase another residence in Florida. There are formulas that explain how the tax savings is transferred to the new property. It is important to note that the savings apply regardless of whether you purchase a higher priced or lower priced property.

The 3% applies to the assessed value and not real estate taxes.
http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/property/limitations.html

[wmchale]

Ours is less that NH by about 3000 Nh has no income tax either.

the electric is about the same But the oil heat was the killer over 4000 a year.


The water bill is more down here. We can claim the sales tax deduction down here

NH has none

so I guess each case is different

[Xavier]

We're originally from upstate NY - (Southern Tier) and we were paying $6,500 for taxes on a $235,000 home ten (10) years ago. Our Gardenia is roughly in the same price range and it's $3,600. We think it is a bargain! It's all a matter of perspective.

[Number 6]

Well, we moved here from Upstate NY (Elmira) and our taxes are about 50% of what we paid there for a house valued less. The no income tax is a pretty good thing as well. What was our sales tax? I think it was something like 8.25%.

[Army Guy]

The wife and I were actually very shocked the bill was cheaper then we thought, even without the Homestead Exemp. We had figured it was going to cost a lot more.
We really can't compare it to what we pay here in Alabama as our property tax is way of of line with most of the US. We presently pay $381.00 a year, not a typo, 381.

Army Guy