Home Valuation and Property Taxes

The annual tax notice and final tax bill for county homeowners contains much information on your home values that determine the amount of ad-valorem property taxes.  Ad-valorem taxes use the taxable value of the home and a taxing authority’s millage rate to calculate the amount of tax due each year.

Three home values appear on the property tax bill, and defined by the county property appraiser’s office as follows:

• Market Value – The estimated price a willing buyer would pay and a willing seller accept, both being fully informed and the property exposed to the market for a reasonable period.
• Assessed Value - Value placed on a homesteaded property before any exemptions are deducted but after the property tax cap is factored. For non-Homestead properties, the assessed value is the value placed on a property after a 10% cap is factored in. Assessed Value minus exemptions equals Taxable Value.
• Taxable Value – The Assessed Value less any exemptions

THE HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION

In the state of Florida, a $25,000 exemption is applied to the first $50,000 of your property’s assessed value if your property is your permanent residence and you owned the property on January 1 of the tax year. This exemption applies to all taxes, including school district taxes. An additional exemption of up to $25,000 is applicable if your property’s assessed value is between at least $50,000 and $75,000. This exemption is not applied to school district taxes.

For more information on Homestead Exemptions, the Save our Homes(SOH) program and portability of SOH tax benefits when you move to different home in Florida please visit the Palm Beach County property appraiser’s website.

CALCULATING PROPERTY TAXES USING MILLAGE RATES

The millage rate is the ad valorem property tax rate levied per $1,000 of a property’s taxable value. The rate is expressed in mills, which is equal to 0.1% of the taxable value. Each taxing authority adopts a millage rate each year that appears on the property tax bill. To calculate the tax levy using a given millage rate, the formula is:

Taxable Value/1,000 X Millage Rate = $ Ad Valorem Tax

For example, a Wellington property with an assessed value of $450,000 and exemptions of $50,000 has a taxable value of $400,000. The ad valorem property tax for Wellington would then be:

$400,000/1,000 X 2.47 Mills = $988

Comparison of Municipal Tax Rates

Many different taxing authorities can levy a property.  The county, school district, South Florida Water Management District, Health Care District and Children Services Council appear on the typical local property tax bill.  If the property is located in a municipality, the city or town levies millage for its operations, and may assess a separate rate for debt service, capital projects, police and fire.  Below is a comparison of millage rates for several local cities, and the impact of taxable values of homes.  In Wellington, police are included in the operating millage of $2.47 per $1,000 value, and county Fire Rescue levies a separate millage of $3.46 per $1,000 value.