How are house taxes calculated? (Sarasota, Homestead: sale, real estate, condo)

[PaulaSue]

Sold our house in CT in 3 weeks! Will be looking for home in a few weeks. Someone told me taxes are based on the purchase price. I know you also have the homestead. When looking on line it looks like taxes seem to go up and down from year to year. Can someone explain this too me. Thanks!

[mr&mrssunshine]

i believe it is 1.25% of the assessed value (which can go up or down) . if you homestead (again I think) you reduce the value by $50000 then calculate it.

most counties property appraiser's web sites have the current tax bills for every address

[coastal chic]

Properties are valued every year by the appraiser's office, so yes they go up and down along with the market. Right now, taxes are very low. If you have homestead exemption you are protected from the ups and downs somewhat---the value cannot raise (or decline I believe) more than 3% annually.

As far as setting the original appraisal, I think they do take the purchase price into consideration as a "base" but then may adjust based on other factors. No one really knows the County's formula for appraisals. When you're looking at the County website, look at "market" and "cost" values, not assessed values, as they are different if you are trying to see what you can expect to pay for a certain house.

A blend of market & cost value is the beginning of their basis, and then they deduct any exemptions to come to the "assessed" value. Keep in mind, if someone has lived in the same home for 30 years, their assessed value will be very low due to the 3% cap....so don't think that's what you will be paying should you buy that house.

Congrats on the sale of your house! Have fun finding a new home here in Florida!

[Harbor Hopper]

Taxes are NOT based on purchase price. As the sunshine's said, taxes are calculated based on assessed value (which are way down right now so it's great on our wallets!). Each county has a different tax millage rate. Plus you have to consider the non-ad valorem taxes for services such as stormwater assessments, canal dredging, fire services, trash collection, etc....
Of course taxes have fluctuated year to year. They have pretty much everywhere. They were WAY up in 2005-2007 with the values. As values decreased, so do the taxes (except the non-ad valorem)

[Sunshine Rules]

Probably the best place to go to get information on assessments, including contact information to ask questions, is the Sarasota county property appraiser's web site at Sarasota Property Appraiser - Home

Once you get to the web site you can find lots of detailed information that may answer most of your questions. There is also a link button in the top right corner for Homestead Exemptions.

You can also look up any property in Sarasota county to see what it is currently assessed at, what the current owner paid for it, and some clues as to if rooms or bathrooms were added without permits by a previous owner (a home being sold as 4 bedrooms, 2 baths should not show up on the assessor's site as 3 bedrooms, 1 bath).

If you want to look up the current property taxes for any home (which are subject to reassessment each January 1st), the web site is
Sarasota County Tax Collector

Welcome to FL, PaulaSue.

[davery5872]

Originally Posted by PaulaSue

Sold our house in CT in 3 weeks! Will be looking for home in a few weeks. Someone told me taxes are based on the purchase price. I know you also have the homestead. When looking on line it looks like taxes seem to go up and down from year to year. Can someone explain this too me. Thanks!

I think they just roll the dice.

It took me a long time to figure this out and I am still not sure i understand it. One thing I can tell you, do not look at the taxes of the seller. They may or may not be what you will pay. You can go on the county tax website and that might give you an idea. You will have to take the assessed value and do the multiplication yourself. But even that may not be right. When we bought our condo the owner had lived there for years and paid very low taxes. No problem, I just went on the website and computed my own. At closing, they paid their share of that year, since taxes are paid at the end of the year. When the taxes were due in in November I noticed that taxes were alot more than what they were supposed to be. It seems the owner had not filed for their homestead for their exemptions and now I had to pay alot more. It cost me several hundred more dollars.

[Sunshine Rules]

Davery,

Did you purchase your condo in the past year? If so, you probably would have signed an agreement at closing that had a paragraph that stated something to the effect -- if the actual amount of taxes for the year of closing are substantially different from pro-rated at closing, the buyer and seller will adjust the difference between the two parties upon timely demand.

If you had such a clause in your Closing Agreement, then you may be able go back to the seller and ask for more money towards the taxes you paid.

It might be something to check into.

[davery5872]

Originally Posted by Sunshine Rules

Davery,

Did you purchase your condo in the past year? If so, you probably would have signed an agreement at closing that had a paragraph that stated something to the effect -- if the actual amount of taxes for the year of closing are substantially different from pro-rated at closing, the buyer and seller will adjust the difference between the two parties upon timely demand.

If you had such a clause in your Closing Agreement, then you may be able go back to the seller and ask for more money towards the taxes you paid.

It might be something to check into.

It was May of 2009.

[d4g4m]

Real estate taxes are paid on the assessed value as determined by the property appraisers office. As per the SOH amendment to the FL Constitution, the market value of the home has nothing to do with the taxes you pay. The market value, again determined by the property appraiser, is used if there is a difference between the home you purchase and the home you sell [a FL home] to determine if the assessed value of the home you purchase will have a reduced assessed value. The value of the SOH portion of the amendment is almost zero these days. But no matter what the market is doing, the property appraiser can increase the assessed value up to 3% a year, and that option has been excercised every year.
You pay a millage rate on the assessed value, minus a homestead exemption [$50,000 for general co. ops & $25,000 school] if you qualify which determines taxable value, as set by the County Commissioners and any additional millage rate if you live in the City limits of Sarasota, Venice, Northport. The current rate for unincorporated areas of Sarasota Co. is about 13.55 [5.65 general gov ops & 7.9 school]per $1000. [there is no limit on any millage increases] Add to this the non-ad valorem items, currently about $400-$425. And there are additional taxes/fees collected if you purchase in a CDD [about $1500-$2000]

[TamRE]

You can read more about how a property is appraised by going to the Sarasota County Property Appraisers web site at: Sarasota Property Appraiser - Home

You do get a discount if you are Homesteaded. You can read more about the homestead exemptions by going to the Florida Department of Revenue at:
FL Dept Rev - Property Tax Exemptions and Discounts