Property tax savings?

The state Legislature has finally put together a property tax savings bill that will be voted on by residents in 2008. In Monroe County the savings, if the new bill is put into place, will only be realized about 24% of the properties currently homesteaded, according to the property tax appraiser. The bottomline is that the bill allows for the current homeowner to have a choice whether or not to remain under the Save Our Homes act, which caps the increase of appraisals for tax purposes at 3% annually, regardless of what the market is doing, and maintains the current homestead exemption of $25,000. OR a homeowner can opt out of the Save Our Homes act and have a homestead exemption which equals 75% of the first $200,000 of assessed value, with an additional 15% on the next $300,000. The bill does not provide tax relief for second homes or rental properties.

There are a majority of homesteaded properties in the Keys which currently fall under the Save Our Homes act. Properties which were purchased and homesteaded prior to the real estate value growth which began about five years ago have benefited and will continue to benefit if they remain under the act as the assessed value is based on the original assessment when the property was purchased and has only seen minimal increases based upon the 3% cap. Homesteaded properties which were purchased during the period of growth were reassessed at the market value in place at the time of purchase, so new homeowners saw a significant increase in the taxable value of the property they purchased.

The decision to opt out of the Save Our Homes program is one that must be considered carefully. While the initial savings may be significant, the increases in the long run due to a rise in property values subject to the market, could outweigh those savings. So, think about the decision carefully - assess your long term goals; how long do you plan to stay in the home - assess the market; the Keys home values had remained fairly constant for years and then saw quarterly dramatic increases for a period of years; while increases in value have leveled off, they are sure to rise again.

Prior to going to the polls, learn about the bill so that you can make an informed decision based on your understanding of it not just based on the information given by various media sources.