Will Anyone Get a Tax Break?

The TRIM notices have been delivered in the Tampa Bay area and some homeowners are not happy.  The promise of a tax cut deflated by higher assessed values of their homes.  The increased assessments pretty much wiped out the promises by Amendment 1.  Homeowner’s state they do not understand how their home’s assessed value can go up when market prices are going down.  The answer is a little known provision in state law known as “recapture.”  This rule is meant to help governments recapture some of the market value that is shielded by the Save Our Homes Amendment.  This amendment caps the increases in taxable property values at 3 percent.  Since the market prices of homes were high the last four to five years, homeowners who have been homesteaded have not encountered the increase because the appraised value of their homes were capped.  Now that the market is dropping, they are actually seeing the 3 percent assessed value increases.  I know this is unwelcome in a time when inflation and gas are sky high and people are foreclosing on their homes, but the governments are only doing what is outlined in the Save Our Homes Amendment.

Looking for a new home?  Go to www.buytampafl.com for a list of all available homes in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area.

Tags: amendment 1, appraised value, foreclosure, homeowners, market prices of homes, Save Our Homes Amendment, Tampa Real Estate