Trick or Treat! 2009 Property Tax Bills Arrive in Pasco County and the Rest of Florida

I just went to my mailbox, and guess what I found? My property tax bill from Pasco County, Florida. Now, this is no big surprise since I received a notice a couple of months ago that it would be arriving and what my taxes would be if the new budget was passed. I even wrote a post on it. That was called my TRIM notice which stands for Truth in Millage. It is a way that the public can see what the county government is proposing and can then attend hearings to express their views. Everyone in Florida who owns real estate should be getting these bills.

Now the official bill have gone out. They always arrive on November 1st or the first business day after that date. This year that was Monday, the 2nd. If you have a mortgage your lender may be paying your tax bill for you. If not, it is your responsibility to get your payments to the tax collector for your county. There is a discount if you pay early. So the quicker you pay your taxes, the less they will be!

No big surprises for me anyway. For many of us, our taxes actually went down for 2009. This was due to changes in the tax laws and also the reassessments of our homes that took into account the falling market of this past year.

If you own property in Pasco County and do not get your bill, you might want to contact the Pasco tax collector at:

• 352-521-4360
• 727-847-8165
• 813-235-6020

to see what you should do.

You can also visit the Pasco Tax Collector Site at: http://www.pascotaxes.com/   Then click on the link for "Real Estate Tax Record Search" Then just enter your LAST NAME & FIRST NAME and your 2009 tax bill should appear.

If you live in another county in Florida, just do a Google Search for your county tax collector, for example "Gadsden County Florida Tax Collector", and in all likelihood, his/her site will come up in the results.

To better understand your tax bill, our collector has included an explanation sheet. If you cannot find yours, click on the following link to download a copy from the one I scanned into my computer for you: Download Properrty Tax Explanation for PASCO COUNTY0001

Again, you can also call the numbers I gave you above to get even more answers to questions you might have.

If I can be of any further assistance, do not hesitate to contact me at: 813-783-4444 or e-mail me at: jelwell1@tampabay.rr.com  I will do my best to help you out.