Truth in Millage (TRIM) Notices Arrive in Florida

In Pasco County and the rest of Florida we are receiving our Truth in Millage or TRIM notices in the mail. The main purpose of these notices is to let us know what our property taxes might be for the year 2007.

Three major items on the notices are:

What your property taxes were last year, broken down by each entity that receives funds, ie. schools, city taxes (if you live in an incorporated area), water management, voter approved debt payments, etc.

What your taxes will be for the current year (2007) if the proposed budget changes are made. Again, itemized.

What your 2007 taxes will be if no budget changes are made. Itemized again.

You will also see what the county has determined to be the market value of your property. Do not be confused. This value is seldom what your property would actually sell for. In my experience it is usually less. They will also show you the assessed value. If your home is a Homesteaded Property you will probably see that the assessed value is less than the market value. That is due to the effect of the Save Our Homes statute which only allows the value of your home to rise 3% or the cost of living percentage each year for tax purposes. If your property is not homesteaded, then the market value and the assessed value will be the same.

Then the county will subtract any exemptions you may qualify for. The Homestead Exemption is the best known, but there are others for widows, disabled citizens, and disabled veterans. You can read more about these by visiting your county property appraiser's website.

Finally you arrive at the Taxable Value. This is the amount that the county will use to calculate your property taxes for 2007.

Also noted on the TRIM notices are the dates, times and locations of public meetings where you can voice your opinions on the budget changes that are proposed for the current year.

If you feel that there is an error on your TRIM notice contact your county property appraiser. If you want to learn more about the property tax process you can visit your county property appraiser's website. For those counties near Pasco County, you can go to my webpage and click on the County Property Appraiser menu button at: http://jelwell.century21bnr.com

For more information or questions about this topic please call me at: 813-783-4444 or e-mail me at: jelwell1@tampabay.rr.com