Why Some Homesteaded Owners Won't See Taxes Drop As Values Drop
Under Florida law, a homestead "recapture" rule may cause some taxable values to rise even when the overall market value dropped from last year. If you are Homesteaded and your "Save Our Homes" (SOH) value is less than the market value as of January 1, Florida Administrative Code Rule 12D-8.0062(5) explicitly orders our office to increase your overall assessed value each year (up to the 3% annual cap level) until it eventually reaches the same amount as the market value. The Florida Department of Revenue set this year's SOH cap rate at 1.5%. Roughly 71,000 Broward homeowners will see their taxable SOH values rise this year even though their market values dropped, due to this recapture law. The Florida Legislature has placed this issue on the November 2012 ballot as a constitutional amendment. If passed by voters next year, the amendment would allow the Legislature to change this law in 2013.
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