IMPORTANT: The County Revenue Collection Division mailed the 2008 property tax bills on November 1. If you have questions about your tax bill or making tax payments, please visit the Revenue Collector's website, or contact Revenue by email at revenue@broward.org or by phone at 954.831.4000. The Property Appraiser does NOT set your tax rate or collect the taxes. The Property Appraiser is responsible for ensuring the fair assessment (value) of all properties and applying all exemptions. Your County Commission, School Board, City Commission, Water District, and other boards set your tax rates.

HAVE QUESTIONS FOR US? You can probably find the answer on our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page.

SHORT SALES, FORECLOSURES, ASSESSMENTS AND YOUR 2008 TAXES.

If you purchase a property in a foreclosure, your actual purchase price does not reflect the just (market) value used for determining your taxes. Florida law requires our office to use the reasonable market price of a sale of similar homes in your neighborhood (or a similar area) sold under normal financial conditions to determine the assessment -- and that disqualifies the use of foreclosure-related sales. As for short sales, Lori believes they now reflect the market and -- based upon an October 2008 advisory opinion from the Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) -- we are generally treating all 2008 short sales as qualified sales for 2009 assessment purposes. Regardless of your 2008 purchase price, assessments in Florida are done a year in arrears. This means your 2008 assessment is based on the sales in your neighborhood (excluding foreclosures, non-arm's length transactions and other "disqualified" transfers) between January 2, 2007 and January 1, 2008.

DID YOU MISS THE MARCH 3rd DEADLINE TO FILE FOR A 2008 HOMESTEAD?

Don't worry. Florida law allows for late filing with good cause for Tax Year-2008 through December 1, 2008. Our office accepts late Homestead applications and helps taxpayers prepare the required petitions to the Broward County Value Adjustment Board (VAB) for all eligible properties. To claim a 2008 Homestead, you must have purchased, be named on the title, and moved onto the property on or before January 1, 2008, and meet certain other residency qualifications of having a Florida driver's license/ID card and a voter card (or recorded Declaration of Domicile) showing the address. For a late application to be granted for 2008, you must file a late filing paperwork with the VAB accompanied by a $15 non-refundable filing fee. To learn more about filing for a valuable Homestead Exemption, please click here or use our online homestead filing system. And, FYI, if you purchased and moved into your home after January 1, 2008, you can pre-file online now for your 2009 homestead exemption.

Bring your children when you
file for Homestead ... we've even
got a place for them to
play when you visit
our Main Office!

PORTABILITY IS NOW AVAILABLE TO HOMESTEADED OWNERS.

Florida voters overwhelmingly approved a new constitutional amendment in January 2008 which grants added tax relief to property owners. The amendment gives homesteaded owners the "portability" right to move Save Our Homes benefits to a new homesteaded property. The Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) has drafted the forms, guidelines and administrative rules to implement the rest of these new benefits. Click here to visit the DOR website tracking these developments. You can also read the enabling legislation for the amendment by clicking here if you'd like to learn more. If you had homestead on one Florida property in 2007 (or later) and are now seeking to move your homestead to a new location for 2008 or 2009:

** Click here to download the portability application **

Please return the completed portability form to our office by mail (Property Appraiser's Office, 115 South Andrews Avenue, Room 111, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301); or (attach in PDF format); or by fax (954.357.8474).

BRINGING CUSTOMER SERVICE TO OUR CUSTOMERS.

Did you know we hold a community outreach session every Wednesday at 11:30 am in Representative Jack Seiler's office at Pompano Beach City Hall? Property Appraiser Lori Parrish is enhancing our office's community outreach efforts. We're constantly adding new customer service outreach events at condos, city halls, businesses, and other community locations throughout Broward to our online calendar of upcoming events. If you'd like to have someone from our office meet with taxpayers at an upcoming meeting of your condo/homeowners or civic association, please contact Community Outreach Coordinator Kelly Brown at 954.357.6035 or .

WE'RE VISITING NEIGHBORHOODS AROUND BROWARD!

By state law, we must personally view each property in Broward County at least once every five years. That is why our residential appraisers are busy these days inspecting, measuring and photographing the exteriors of properties throughout Broward. Our appraisers are easy to recognize: all of them wear official shirts and bright orange vests clearly identifying them as BCPA staff, and each carries a BCPA photo identification card and badge. Feel free to ask to see an ID if you have any concerns. Important Note: Our appraisers will NEVER ask to enter your home, and we will NEVER enter locked backyards. If you have questions about these inspections, please contact our office at 954.357.6831.

If you have any suggestions for improving our office, .

Sincerely,

LORI PARRISH, CFA
Broward County Property Appraiser