Did you know that buyers of residential real estate in Florida are required to have presented to them a property tax disclosure? The purpose of the disclosure is to inform prospective buyers that what the current property owner pays in taxes, may not be an accurate reflection of what will be paid by the new homeowner. And I’ve heard many homeowners complain about how the taxes went up incredibly after purchasing their home.
The important thing to remember here, as a home buyer, is to not rely on the seller’s tax amount as an indication of what you’ll be paying. Property taxes are based on an assessed value, and that new assessed value will be based on the purchase price of the property.
This is especially true when purchasing from a seller that has owned a homesteaded property for many years. That seller was most likely protected from big tax increases for those many years. And when the property changes hands that protection is wiped away, and the taxable value will be brought in line with the current market.
The disclosure is conveniently placed in all Florida Association of Realtor purchase contracts and reads:
BUYER SHOULD NOT RELY ON THE SELLER’S CURRENT PROPERTY TAXES AS THE AMOUNT OF PROPERTY TAXES THAT THE BUYER MAY BE OBLIGATED TO PAY IN THE YEAR SUBSEQUENT TO PURCHASE. A CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP OR PROPERTY IMPROVEMENTS TRIGGERS REASSESSMENTS OF THE PROPERTY THAT COULD RESULT IN HIGHER PROPERTY TAXES. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS CONCERNING VALUATION, CONTACT THE COUNTY PROPERTY APPRAISER’S OFFICE FOR INFORMATION.
So how does the Tampa home buyer estimate property taxes? The easiest way is to visit the property appraiser’s website and use the tax estimator. Using the purchase price and whether or not the property will be homesteaded, one can get a fairly accurate range of the property taxes after reassessment.
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