Welcome to Florida - land of low taxes

[KW4MW]

BY Florida constitution we've a cap on property assessment of 3% per year. That means if you bought a house for $100,000 ten years ago and even though it's market value today is $250,000 the most the tax assessor can base his taxes on is $134,390 (100,000 X (1.03)^10).

But wait - there's more. Those of us that file for homestead exemption (must live in FL for a year and currently occupy the residence) get $25000 subtracted from the assessed value which brings the example cited above to $109,390 for property taxation purposes.

That was true until yesterday. Amendment 1 passed on the FL primary ballot. A 60% vote was required for it to pass, it passed by 64%

Now the exemption is $50,000

Wait - there's even more good news, the portability clause.

IN the example cited above, if the homeowner sells his house at the market price of $250,000 and buys a new home in state then his deduction from the previous home is applied to his new home. For example, if he buys a $350,000 home then its assessed value becomes (350,000 - (250,000 - 134,390) - 50,000) = $184,390.

The deductions only apply to ad valorum taxes, school taxes are based upon the assessed value - still quite a deal - about $1160 saved on property taxes assuming a rate of .007%.

And we don't have a state income tax either.

Welcome to Florida.

[N9XR]

Thanks for the kind welcome, pal. I have never been to Florida and need to correct that someday.

It was nice in Texas where we did not have state income tax when I lived there. But Illinois really is not as high as wonderful Kansas. Kansas has high income taxes, high personal property taxes on your vehicles (it pays to drive old clunkers) and property taxes were abnormally high as well. Pay a premium for being in the Jayhawker state. Oh and also food items and prescriptions are taxed at the full sales tax rate.

Looks like a sweet deal there in Fla. Do you have any homes on your street for sale?

[KW4MW]

Looks like a sweet deal there in Fla. Do you have any homes on your street for sale?

Jerry - there are homes all over the place for sale but this amendment is going to give the housing market a big boost.

[N9XR]

Let me see if I can get my car started in this sub zero weather and I'll be right there.



Danged it. I knew I should've bought American.

[nx6d]

And snakes and giant bugs, and hurricanes and sticky weather, and NE invaders and sprawl, and Mickey, and Miami, and drunken spring break, and rednecks, and alligators and the panhandle (eww!) and Pensacola (yuk)...

the list goes on. No thanks...

(C'mon, Mike, you toss up a softball like that and don't expect me to at least swing at it?:D:D:D)

Dave NX6D
Modoc County, CA
no bugs or snakes here...

[N2RJ]

Don't think that giving the housing market a big boost is necessarily a good thing.

All of the NE invaders when they retire are heading straight for Florida.

Additionally, the migrants from tropical countries who don't like the cold also head for Florida, which is why you need to know Spanish if you want to get a job in many places in FL.

A big boost in the housing market means more urban sprawl and more population. I don't think those are necessarily good things!

[N2RJ]

By the way, our taxes are high, but I get paid six figures, plus our schools are among the best in the nation. Florida would mean a pay cut, and worse schools for any kids that we plan on having.

[N9XR]

You mean there are places in this country where you don't need to know Spanish?

[N2RJ]

Florida is basically a "English as a Second Language" state.

Or rather, South Florida is pretty much that way.

It has been this way for a long time. I remember it being this way since the 1980s.

[WB2WIK]

Florida's not my favorite place but it beats the heck out of anyplace that gets cold or has snow/ice/sleet etc. The beaches are excellent and the water's warm but it's not a place to surf.

I actually like the panhandle. There are rednecks for sure, but that applies to anyplace in the Southeast outside the major cities. Most of it isn't crowded, there isn't much traffic, costs are low and the WX is just like the rest of FL most of the time. Anyplace in FL can get slammed by a hurricane, so I doubt one place is much safer than the next. Good insurance is best.

I'd like to think it will still be a cheap place to live when I retire, since we may well be headed there.:p

WB2WIK/6

[K0RGR]

Well, sometime between today and 4 years from now, I'm going to retire, and my wife could transfer to either Jacksonville, FL, or Scottsdale AZ. So, I've been looking at those possibilities, in case the retirement happens sooner than expected.

I was really getting excited about Jacksonville. It looks like there's some great potential radio locations there, available relatively cheaply. I'd love to have a pontoon or an airboat on the waterways there. And, my wife has relatives down in the Orlando area, so we could go for visits. Further, I found a couple great 4-land vanity calls I'd like to have.

Then, I saw a story on the news about how the homeowner's insurance rates have skyrocketed this year in Florida. A little more digging revealed that in many parts of the state, a typical insurance bill is now in the $7-8K per year range.

Sorry, but you're not going to sell any of those houses if they can't be insured! I know it's not as bad inland as it is near the coast, but I have to wonder what the rates will look like in the future, too.

I'm dreaming of cactus, now.

[al2n]

Move to Alaska.

Low taxes and they pay you to live here. Not much, but they do pay you.

No hurricanes, no snakes, no icky bugs other than the skeeters in the summer. More fish than you have ever seen and the air is clean and pure.

[KG4JYD]

I grew up in Orlando.

This is great but expect a HUGE surge in sales taxes. Remember all property taxes existed at the county level. Now with the counties inability to increase property taxes they will have to increase their sales taxes.


But a sales tax is ALWAYS better than a property tax because the government shouldn't be taxing people's property once they own it. If you own it and it is truly yours, then what right does the government have to tax you on it? It's like you are renting the property from the county.


Research allodial title sometime. It's fascinating how property owners are getting screwed.

[WB2WIK]

[QUOTE=K0RGR;1118840]
Then, I saw a story on the news about how the homeowner's insurance rates have skyrocketed this year in Florida. A little more digging revealed that in many parts of the state, a typical insurance bill is now in the $7-8K per year range.

Sorry, but you're not going to sell any of those houses if they can't be insured! I know it's not as bad inland as it is near the coast, but I have to wonder what the rates will look like in the future, too.

QUOTE]

::Well, honestly $7-8K per year isn't very much when you think about it. $8K a year is $667 a month. I currently pay that for water (my monthly water & sewage & trash collection, it's all together) here. In almost anyplace in FL, that bill will drop to less than $100 a month. With what I save on a single utility, I can pay the insurance! Further, auto insurance is lower in most of FL (cities like Miami might be higher, but on average, it's much lower than here in L.A.), as is electric power, and I'll be saving at least $2500 a year in sales tax.

The savings offset the insurance cost.

WB2WIK/6

[kf6rdn]

Wait? What's wrong with rednecks!??