In the month of August, your county mails out to each property owner what they call a TRIM NOTICE (TRIM is an acronym for Truth in Millage) for each individual property. The title of this document reads as a NOTICE OF PROPOSED PROPERTY TAXES AND PROPOSED OR ADOPTED NON-AD VALOREM ASSESSMENTS. In the first week of August – Palm Beach County; in Mid-August Miami-Dade County and Broward. Your TRIM NOTICE CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING:
- The taxing authorities that make up the total millage.
- Previous years taxable value and your property taxes for the previous year.
- Current year proposal of taxes based on whether or not the budget change is made.
- Current year, if no budget change is made.
- Your property value in the previous year which shows the market value and the assessed value for the previous year.
- Your property value this year – showing the market value and the assessed value.
The TRIM NOTICE also puts you on notice that if you do not agree with the Property Appraiser’s valuation, then you can initiate your Florida Statutory right to challenge your assessed value. Usually, the petition filing deadline is approximately 25 days from your receipt of this notice. In Palm Beach County the filing deadline is on or about September 15th and in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, the petition filing deadline is on or about September 18th. The filing deadline is stated on your TRIM NOTICE.
ONCE YOU FILE YOUR PETITION:
In the last week of October and starting in the first week in November the Value Adjustment Board (VAB) starts scheduling hearings of value. In the past 2-3 years many property owners and or in the tens of thousands are filing appeals. Over the many years, tens of thousands pf property owners and or their representatives have filed petitions or appeals to challenge the Property Appraiser’s excessive and arbitrary valuations. The sheer number of petitions filed yearly, greatly outnumbers the Special Magistrates available to hear these cases. This creates a backlog of cases to be heard in a timelier manner. The time for conducting these hearings usually take place between Mid-October to June of the following year. Obviously, by the sheer number of petitions, there are many, many property owners who feel that they are wrongfully taxed. PROPERTY TAX EXPERTS, INC can help.
The Value Adjustment Board will schedule your hearing for a date certain. UPON RECEIPT OF HEARING NOTICE AND DATE, WE HAVE 25 DAYS BEFORE THE HEARING DATE. WE ONLY HAVE THE FIRST TWO WEEKS OF THE 25 DAYS TO SUBMIT AND RECORD EVIDENCE WITH THE PROPERTY APPRAISER FOR HIS REVIEW.
At the hearing the Special Magistrate allots approximately 15-20 minutes for each case. He or she will conclude the hearing and will make a decision and notify you or your agent in approximately 2-3 weeks. A Special Magistrate Findings of Facts And Conclusion of Law with the decision on relief or not will be sent to the property owner or the property owner’s representative (whoever is on record for filing the petition).
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AS PER FLA. STATUTE SECTION 193.011
Florida law requires the Property Appraiser to establish a presumption of correctness. For the Property Appraiser to establish a presumption of correctness for the assessment, the admitted evidence must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the Property Appraiser’s just valuation methodology complies with Section 193.011, Florida Statutes and professionally accepted appraisal practices. The petitioner (property owner and or representative) must overcome the established presumption of correctness by proving that the admitted evidence proves by a preponderance of the evidence that: (a) the Property Appraiser’s just valuation does not represent just value; or (b) the Property Appraiser’s just valuation is arbitrarily based on appraisal practices that are different from the appraisal practices generally applied by the Property Appraiser to comparable property within the same county.
The above-mentioned statute is very specific with strict requirements for both the petitioner (property owner) and the Property Appraiser to prove their evidence. The first basic requirement of the property owner, in arguing his/her case is to be well versed in Appraisal principles. If not well versed in these principles, then PROPERTY TAX EXPERTS, INC DOES NOT RECOMMEND THAT A PROPERTY OWNER FILE THEIR OWN PETITION AND ATTEMPT TO GO TO THE HEARING TO DISCUSS THE EVIDENCE BEFORE A SPECIAL MAGISTRATE (‘JUDGE’), WITHOUT PROFESSIONAL HELP. THE SPECIAL MAGISTRATE IS A VERY PROFESSIONAL AND EXPERIENCED APPRAISER WHO IS AT YOUR HEARING AS AN OBJECTIVE THIRD PARTY. HE OR SHE IS THERE TO DECIDE ON THE MERITS OF YOUR CASE AND WHETHER OR NOT THE PROPERTY APPRAISER’S VALUATION IS ARBITRARY OR NOT, BASED ON THE STATUTE REQUIREMENTS AS DISCUSSED ABOVE. The Property owner (without professional help) will still be required to submit evidence to prove his or her case. This includes appraisal adjustments for differences in other sales compared to the subject property and applicable income analysis (depending upon the type of property). The property owner can expect that the Property Appraiser, at the hearing, will be very technical in his/her analysis of your property, using appraisal principles. If the property owner is not able to provide adequate evidence to support his claim, nor able to defeat the Property Appraiser’s evidence, then the Special Magistrate will predictably side with the appraiser’s preponderance of evidence; because of petitioner’s insufficient evidence to the contrary. At this point your petition is denied and no adjustment to your taxes. Most property owners are not knowledgeable about the appeal process and appraisal principles. This lack of knowledge creates a very high failure rate of up to 95%. This process requires the property owner to have a lot of skill in order to succeed. Not to dissimilar to representing yourself in court without a lawyer.
REFUNDS FOR OVERPAYMENT:
If the taxpayer presents convincing evidence to the Special Magistrate, that the Property Appraiser’s value was excessive, then he/she will make a recommendation to lower the value on your property and award tax relief in accordance with his/her recommendations.
If a refund for overpayment of taxes is warranted, then expect a refund check (rule of thumb) in 3 or 4 months from the date of the resolution of your petition by the Special Magistrate. Another rule of thumb is – whoever pays the taxes receives the refund check (e.g. lender). Remember, that at least 75% of the real estate taxes must be paid by March 31, 2025. April 1, 2025 is the delinquent date for payment of taxes. On or after the delinquency date, any and all petitions are deemed voided and any awarded tax relief will be denied; no matter when your hearing is scheduled. 100% of personal property taxes have to be paid by March 31st. If 75% of taxes are paid and you prevail at the hearing then the Tax Collector Office will send you a bill for the remaining balance of 25%; usually in 30 days, you will still be entitled to your refund of taxes.
IT IS YOUR CALL!
PROPERTY TAX EXPERTS, INC. IS YOUR REAL ESTATE TAX CONSULTANT. WE HAVE 34 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AND A HIGH RATIO OF SUCCESSFUL APPEALS.
If you want PROPERTY TAX EXPERTS, INC. to represent you; we will enter into a one-year only Contingency Fee Agreement. If we prevail and win our case then the contingency fee applies. If our petition is denied, then the property owner will not be charged for work completed. Please call for more information.
Remember, the filing fee is only $45.00 per petition. Just think of the return on investing your $45.00 filing fee with the thousands and maybe tens of thousands of dollars returned to you in the form of a tax refund
How can we help?
We go to work for you. We use all of our of skills, knowledge and computer analysis for the preparation in putting the evidence together for your appeal and when we go to the actual hearing. We pride ourselves in our success ratio and the relationships we have with the Special Magistrates and the Property Appraiser Office. we simplify the process so you save time and money. Call us in Broward County at 954-981-8332 and in Miami-Dade County at 305-937-0525.
Your Appeal process is a team effort with you. We implore the property owner to attend and take part in the testimony at the hearing.
