Floridians overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment that overhauls the state’s property tax laws and saves the average homeowner $240 a year. (I blogged about the early stages of this state tax battle back in March; click here.)
The savings, however, will require a trade off when it comes to local government services funded by property taxes.
Amendment 1 doubles the state’s $25,000 homestead exemption (except for taxes that apply to school funding).
More importantly to many, it allows homeowners to take along their property tax limit benefits, known as Save Our Homes, when they buy a new residential property.
Many Floridians who had been lucky enough to sell a home in recent years found themselves aghast at the property taxes they then owed on a subsequent home. Now they can take along their 3 percent cap on annual property tax assessment increases.
Housing woes define voter trend: Such housing market considerations, say election observers, were definitely a factor in the amendment’s passage.
The Orlando Sun-Sentinel reports that support for the amendment correlated to housing market woes within the state. In areas that have seen the biggest crash of home values and sales (e.g., the Tampa Bay area and Southwest Florida), the amendment had the most support. But in counties that didn’t see huge speculative bubbles (e.g., Jacksonville and interior Florida), support was much less.
Now, local tax offices across the state are bracing for a flood of calls from homeowners wanting to know what to do next.
Once answer is likely to be "wait." A lawsuit has already been filed to stop the amendment from being implemented.
Read more on the new Florida property tax law in
- Orlando Sun-Sentinel
- Local6.com
- WFTV
- Reuters
- Daytona Beach News Journal
- St. Petersburg Times
- Palm Beach Post
Don’t forget to deduct: Whatever your property tax bill might be and wherever you call home, don’t forget to write off your property tax payments on your federal tax return.
The deductibility of these taxes is one of the many tax benefits of homeownership.
Read more about all the home-related tax breaks in this story. And the IRS has information here on property tax breaks.
