Florida homeowner tax bill

[muppets3d]

Although I don't necessarily disagree that this is unlikely to happen, we have to remember when reading internet posts here (and anywhere online) that basically everyone who doesn't own a homestead in Florida is going to be biased against this - especially if there is concern that tourism costs will be impacted.

And if I lived in FL and had a homestead exemption I'd be thinking it's the best idea a politician has had since the president of McDonald's decided to bring back the McRib.

 

[VGCgroupie]

And if I lived in FL and had a homestead exemption I'd be thinking it's the best idea a politician has had since the president of McDonald's decided to bring back the McRib.

Agree. I am tourist of FL I obviously dont want to pay more but a state should do whats best for its residents not whats best for tourists. If I knew this property tax elimination would pass and stick around after Desantis I would consider moving there just because of it. Im over paying property taxes especially when I do not use the school system but I have to give thousands to it.

 

[atthebeachclub]

Lots if good info here; thanks to those of you with tax backgrounds especially. I don’t mind paying taxes, especially where I live; it’s part of the social contract. I just am curious how this might affect my small slice of property in Florida.

 

[RivShore]

A favorite past time of politicians .

Past time, current time and forward time...

 

[RivShore]

For the last few years, Florida's budget was artificially inflated by billions in federal pandemic aid (ARP funds).
Federal law requires all that money to be fully spent by December 31, 2026. Florida has used these one-time funds for recurring expenses and massive infrastructure projects.

As far as I know, this is not unique to Florida, nearly every state has been living high on the Covid hog and all will soon have to deal with the end of that golden pot of money.

 

[atthebeachclub]

This end of Covid money that’s been used for recurring costs sounds like a potential state budget disaster that will affect those who visit or live in Florida in some way.

 

[RivShore]

Not to divert this thread into tax policy (but some of us do somehow enjoy doing that ) but I think the only fair way to tax a home if it is based on original purchase price plus any major improvements, completely ignoring market price. This would mean that the person who has been in their house for decades and now has no kids in school would pay the least, while the newcomers, probably younger with school age kids, would pay the most. It would incentive homeowners to put real roots into the community and move the burden to people who can better afford it.
Perfect example of this is some beach towns in NJ, 60 years ago, average blue collar workers bought tiny cape houses across the street from the ocean, for (no exaggeration) $5-20k. Today that home is worth $2M+, how can that retired blue collar couple ever be expected to keep up with the taxes on those gains?
These homestead exemption increases seem to be moving toward my ideal but someone has to explain what happens to the revenue holes it creates for towns and counties (who I'm sure will spend more on ads fighting this than the revenue they will lose ).

 

[J-Dog]

Not to divert this thread into tax policy (but some of us do somehow enjoy doing that ) but I think the only fair way to tax a home if it is based on original purchase price plus any major improvements, completely ignoring market price. This would mean that the person who has been in their house for decades and now has no kids in school would pay the least, while the newcomers, probably younger with school age kids, would pay the most. It would incentive homeowners to put real roots into the community and move the burden to people who can better afford it.
Perfect example of this is some beach towns in NJ, 60 years ago, average blue collar workers bought tiny cape houses across the street from the ocean, for (no exaggeration) $5-20k. Today that home is worth $2M+, how can that retired blue collar couple ever be expected to keep up with the taxes on those gains?
These homestead exemption increases seem to be moving toward my ideal but someone has to explain what happens to the revenue holes it creates for towns and counties (who I'm sure will spend more on ads fighting this than the revenue they will lose ).

This is the case also in my hometown in WA state. In the '90's it became a trendy vacation area for rich Seattle-ites. Very quickly the previous agricultural-based community dried up and left as property taxes became untenable for them, but were easily afforded as second homes for people with high-paying tech jobs. It was very sad.

Now, that I live in FL and my very non-mansion-size house is 14K/year in property taxes. I would not be sad to see that decreased in some way.

 

[atthebeachclub]

Not to divert this thread into tax policy (but some of us do somehow enjoy doing that ) but I think the only fair way to tax a home if it is based on original purchase price plus any major improvements, completely ignoring market price. This would mean that the person who has been in their house for decades and now has no kids in school would pay the least, while the newcomers, probably younger with school age kids, would pay the most. It would incentive homeowners to put real roots into the community and move the burden to people who can better afford it.
Perfect example of this is some beach towns in NJ, 60 years ago, average blue collar workers bought tiny cape houses across the street from the ocean, for (no exaggeration) $5-20k. Today that home is worth $2M+, how can that retired blue collar couple ever be expected to keep up with the taxes on those gains?
These homestead exemption increases seem to be moving toward my ideal but someone has to explain what happens to the revenue holes it creates for towns and counties (who I'm sure will spend more on ads fighting this than the revenue they will lose ).

Doesn’t California have a similar proposition for long term homeowners? I’ve also seen tax exemptions for retirees play a similar role in some places. I won’t delve into the positives and negatives of this as it’s outside the scope of this post.

There are so many ways to fund for community needs…income tax, etc. I’ve lived in places with no income taxes but then all the other taxes ended up being super high. Meh! If you can’t fund something one way, another way will always be found. Sometimes you’ll like it less.

 

[airjay75]

Not to divert this thread into tax policy (but some of us do somehow enjoy doing that ) but I think the only fair way to tax a home if it is based on original purchase price plus any major improvements, completely ignoring market price. This would mean that the person who has been in their house for decades and now has no kids in school would pay the least, while the newcomers, probably younger with school age kids, would pay the most. It would incentive homeowners to put real roots into the community and move the burden to people who can better afford it.
Perfect example of this is some beach towns in NJ, 60 years ago, average blue collar workers bought tiny cape houses across the street from the ocean, for (no exaggeration) $5-20k. Today that home is worth $2M+, how can that retired blue collar couple ever be expected to keep up with the taxes on those gains?
These homestead exemption increases seem to be moving toward my ideal but someone has to explain what happens to the revenue holes it creates for towns and counties (who I'm sure will spend more on ads fighting this than the revenue they will lose ).

California has actually had basically that system for decades. Houses do not undergo significant reassessments until they’re sold.

I think there are some pros and cons to that system. It does protect people who bought their home a long time ago from facing huge tax bills that could become very difficult as they age and move onto a fixed income. OTOH, you have houses that have become incredibly valuable over time - California, in particular, has had some areas just completely skyrocket in value. Is it fair that someone living in a large house on the ocean is paying less in property taxes than someone just starting a family buying a small 1950s bungalow further inland? Maybe it is, but is a system not without drawbacks and its own critics.

 

[airjay75]

There are so many ways to fund for community needs…income tax, etc. I’ve lived in places with no income taxes but then all the other taxes ended up being super high. Meh! If you can’t fund something one way, another way will always be found. Sometimes you’ll like it less.

This is very true in my experience as well. People tend to compare the big hitters like income, sales, and property taxes when comparing tax burdens from state to state. But once you factor in all taxes and fees you pay to live in a given state, the differences are often not as great as one might think.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Florida also has no state income tax. So no property tax and no state income tax would save us like 40k a year!

 

[VGCgroupie]

Florida also has no state income tax. So no property tax and no state income tax would save us like 40k a year!

DH has shut down my requests to move to FL though

 

[atthebeachclub]

I mean…do you want to deal with Florida weather when not perfect? When it’s good it’s very very good and when it’s bad, you have to rebuild your whole house!

 

[atthebeachclub]

Florida also has no state income tax. So no property tax and no state income tax would save us like 40k a year!

I promise the will find a way to suck some of that savings back out! lol. I lived in one state while young where half my cell phone bill was the tax. It’s little things like that which add up over time.

 

[greeneyedchick]

I promise the will find a way to suck some of that savings back out! lol. I lived in one state while young where half my cell phone bill was the tax. It’s little things like that which add up over time.

Actually, since the state has a surplus, Desantis wants to send state money to the counties that need it to make up the difference.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I mean…do you want to deal with Florida weather when not perfect? When it’s good it’s very very good and when it’s bad, you have to rebuild your whole house!

No but I have a Disney problem.

 

[VGCgroupie]

I promise the will find a way to suck some of that savings back out! lol. I lived in one state while young where half my cell phone bill was the tax. It’s little things like that which add up over time.

Where I live is extremely expensive. My state has tons of money but they are too cheap to spend it. Many reasons why I want to leave. So that paired with my Disney obsession and FL potential new laws I was like let's goooooo!

 

[airjay75]

Actually, since the state has a surplus, Desantis wants to send state money to the counties that need it to make up the difference.

But, for how long? To me, that would argue in favor of something like a tax rebate over making a change to the state’s constitution to prohibit one particular form of taxation.

 

[RivShore]

California has actually had basically that system for decades. Houses do not undergo significant reassessments until they’re sold.

I did not know that Taxifornia did that, good for them!

OTOH, you have houses that have become incredibly valuable over time - California, in particular, has had some areas just completely skyrocket in value. Is it fair that someone living in a large house on the ocean is paying less in property taxes than someone just starting a family buying a small 1950s bungalow further inland? Maybe it is, but is a system not without drawbacks and its own critics.

I still think it's fair - the person in that low purchase price house bought the house they could afford at that time, including taxes, and I'm sure their income did not keep up with the gigantic property value increases. And the new family bought the house they could afford (including property taxes).