Chapter 197 — Chapter 197

(1) As used in this chapter, the following definitions apply, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:(a) “Awarded” means the time when the tax collector or a designee determines and announces verbally or through the closing of the bid process in a live or an electronic auc…

Tax collectors may appoint deputies to act in their behalf in carrying out the duties prescribed by law.

(1) All taxes imposed pursuant to the State Constitution and laws of this state shall be a first lien, superior to all other liens, on any property against which the taxes have been assessed and shall continue in full force from January 1 of the year the taxes were levied until d…

If a tax collector has reason to believe that a taxpayer has filed an erroneous or incomplete statement of her or his personal property or has not disclosed all of her or his property subject to taxation, the collector must notify the property appraiser of the erroneous or incomp…

Any tax collector who discovers an erroneous assessment shall notify the property appraiser. If the error constitutes a double assessment, the tax collector shall collect only the tax justly due.

A tax collector who determines that a tangible personal property account is uncollectible may issue a certificate of correction for the current tax roll and any prior tax rolls. The tax collector shall notify the property appraiser that the account is invalid, and the assessment …

Unpaid or omitted taxes shall be collected upon the basis of the regular valuation placed by the property appraiser upon the land for the year for which taxes remain unpaid, and, when no valuation was so placed, then the last assessed valuation prior thereto shall be considered t…

(1) For all taxes assessed on the county tax rolls and collected by the county tax collector, discounts for payments made before delinquency shall be at the rate of 4 percent in the month of November or at any time within 30 days after the sending of the original tax notice; 3 pe…

(1) Real property taxes shall bear interest at the rate of 18 percent per year from the date of delinquency until a certificate is sold, except that the minimum charge for delinquent taxes paid prior to the sale of a tax certificate shall be 3 percent.(2) The maximum rate of inte…

(1)(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b), (c), and (d), the department shall pass upon and order refunds if payment of taxes assessed on the county tax rolls has been made voluntarily or involuntarily under any of the following circumstances:1. An overpayment has been made.2. …

No land shall be divided or subdivided and no drawing or plat of the division or subdivision of any land, or declaration of condominium of such land, shall be filed or recorded in the public records of any court until all taxes have been paid on the land.

On the recommendation of the county tax collector, the board of county commissioners may adopt a resolution instructing the collector not to mail tax notices to a taxpayer if the amount of taxes shown on the tax notice is less than an amount up to $30. The resolution shall also i…

All officers of the court selling property under process or court order shall pay all taxes that are due and unpaid against the property from the proceeds of the sale after the payment of the costs of the proceedings and any attorney’s fee allowed by the court when the court orde…

(1) Taxes collected pursuant to this chapter may be prepaid in installments as provided in this section. A taxpayer may elect to prepay by installments for each tax notice for taxes estimated to be more than $100. A taxpayer who elects to prepay shall make payments based upon an …

(1) It is the legislative intent to provide a method for voluntary payment of ad valorem taxes when the tax roll cannot be certified for collection of taxes in time to allow payment prior to January 1 of the current tax year. It is the legislative intent that all taxpayers shall …

(1) If a property owner applies for a property tax deferral and meets the criteria established in this chapter, the tax collector shall approve the deferral of the ad valorem taxes and non-ad valorem assessments.(2) Authorized property tax deferral programs are:(a) Homestead tax …

(1) A property owner is responsible for submitting an annual application for tax deferral with the county tax collector on or before March 31 following the year in which the taxes and non-ad valorem assessments are assessed.(2) Each applicant shall demonstrate compliance with the…

An appeal of a denied tax deferral must be made by the property owner to the value adjustment board on a form prescribed by the department and furnished by the tax collector. The appeal must be filed with the value adjustment board within 30 days after the mailing of the notice o…

(1) “Household” means a person or group of persons living together in a room or group of rooms as a housing unit, but the term does not include persons boarding in or renting a portion of the dwelling.(2) “Income” means the “adjusted gross income,” as defined in s. 62 of the Unit…

(1) Any person who is entitled to claim homestead tax exemption under s. 196.031(1) may apply to defer payment of a portion of the combined total of the ad valorem taxes, non-ad valorem assessments, and interest accumulated on a tax certificate. Any applicant who is entitled to r…

(1) This section applies to:(a) Recreational and commercial working waterfront properties if the owners are engaging in the operation, rehabilitation, or renovation of such properties in accordance with guidelines established in this section.(b) Affordable rental housing, if the …

The tax deferral authorized by s. 197.2524 applies only on a pro rata basis to the ad valorem taxes levied on residential units within a property which meet the following conditions:(1) Units for which the monthly rent along with taxes, insurance, and utilities does not exceed 30…

(1) The tax collector shall notify the taxpayer of each parcel appearing on the real property assessment roll of the right to defer payment of taxes and non-ad valorem assessments and interest on homestead property pursuant to s. 197.252.(2) On or before November 1 of each year, …

(1) At a tax certificate sale, the tax collector shall strike to the county each certificate on property for which taxes have been deferred. Certificates issued pursuant to this section are exempt from the public sale of tax certificates held pursuant to s. 197.432 or s. 197.4725…

(1) If there is a change in use or ownership of tax-deferred property such that the owner is no longer eligible for the tax deferral granted, or the owner fails to maintain the required fire and extended insurance coverage, the total amount of deferred taxes and interest for all …

All or part of the deferred taxes and accrued interest may at any time be paid to the tax collector. Any payment that is less than the total amount due must be equal to the amount of the deferred taxes, interest, and assessments, and the payment must be for 1 or more full years.

When any deferred taxes, assessments, or interest is collected, the tax collector shall maintain a record of the payment. The tax collector shall distribute payments received in accordance with the procedures for distribution of ad valorem taxes, non-ad valorem assessments, or re…

This chapter does not:(1) Prohibit the collection of personal property taxes that become a lien against tax-deferred property;(2) Defer payment of special assessments to benefited property other than those specifically allowed to be deferred; or(3) Affect any provision of any mor…

(1) The following penalties shall be imposed on any person who willfully files incorrect information for a tax deferral:(a) The person shall pay the total amount of deferred taxes and non-ad valorem assessments subject to collection pursuant to the uniform method of collection se…

If any mortgagee elects to pay the taxes when an applicant qualifies for tax deferral, such election does not give the mortgagee the right to foreclose.

(1) As used in this section, the term:(a) “Catastrophic event” means an event of misfortune or calamity that renders one or more residential improvements uninhabitable. The term does not include an event caused, directly or indirectly, by the property owner with the intent to dam…

(1) The property appraiser shall deliver to the tax collector the certified assessment roll along with his or her warrant and recapitulation sheet.(2) The tax collector shall on November 1, or as soon as the assessment roll is open for collection, publish a notice in a local news…

A taxpayer’s e-mail address held by a tax collector for any of the following purposes is exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution:(1) Sending a quarterly tax notice for prepayment of estimated taxes to the taxpayer pursuant to s. 197.222(3).(2) Obta…

(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 193.122, the board of county commissioners may, upon request by the tax collector and by majority vote, order the roll to be extended prior to completion of value adjustment board hearings, if completion thereof would otherwise be the only…

(1) The tax collector has the authority and obligation to collect all taxes as shown on the tax roll by the date of delinquency or to collect delinquent taxes, interest, and costs, by sale of tax certificates on real property and by seizure and sale of personal property. In exerc…

All taxes shall be due and payable on November 1 of each year or as soon thereafter as the certified tax roll is received by the tax collector. Taxes shall become delinquent on April 1 following the year in which they are assessed or immediately after 60 days have expired from th…

(1) Upon the receipt of a subsequent payment for the same annual tax assessment for a particular parcel of property, the tax collector must determine whether an adverse possession return has been submitted on the particular parcel. If an adverse possession return has been submitt…

(1) An additional tax notice shall be sent, electronically or by postal mail, by April 30 to each taxpayer whose payment has not been received. Electronic transmission of the additional tax notice may be used only with the express consent of the property owner. If the electronic …

(1) When requested in writing, a tax notice shall be sent according to the following procedures:(a) Upon request by any taxpayer who is 60 years old or older, the tax collector shall send the tax notice to a third party designated by the taxpayer. A duplicate copy of the notice s…

(1) At the option of the property appraiser, special assessments collected pursuant to this section prior to January 1, 1990, may be collected pursuant to this section after January 1, 1990. However, any local governing board collecting non-ad valorem assessments pursuant to this…

(1) Non-ad valorem assessments as defined in s. 197.3632 may be collected pursuant to the method provided for in ss. 197.3632 and 197.3635. Non-ad valorem assessments may also be collected pursuant to any alternative method which is authorized by law, but such alternative method …

(1) As used in this section:(a) “Levy” means the imposition of a non-ad valorem assessment, stated in terms of rates, against all appropriately located property by a governmental body authorized by law to impose non-ad valorem assessments.(b) “Local government” means a county, mu…

A form for the combined notice of ad valorem taxes and non-ad valorem assessments shall be produced and paid for by the tax collector. The form shall meet the requirements of this section and department rules and is subject to approval by the department. By rule, the department s…

(1) The tax collector of the county is authorized to allow the payment of a part of a tax notice when the part to be paid can be ascertained by legal description, such part is under a contract for sale or has been transferred to a new owner, and the request is made by the person …

(1) As used in this section, the term “partial payment” means a payment that is less than the full amount of taxes due. The term does not include payments made pursuant to s. 194.171, s. 196.295, s. 197.222, s. 197.252, or s. 197.2524.(2) At the discretion of the tax collector, t…

The tax collector shall distribute taxes collected to each taxing authority at least four times during the first 2 months after the tax roll comes into his or her possession for collection and at least one time in all other months. A different schedule may be used if the tax coll…

(1) If advertisements are required, the board of county commissioners shall make such notice as provided in chapter 50. The tax collector shall pay all charges, and the proportionate cost of the advertisements shall be added to the delinquent taxes collected.(2) Within 45 days af…

The newspaper publishing the notice of a tax sale shall furnish a copy of the paper containing each notice to the tax collector within 10 days after the last required publication. When the publication of the tax sale notice is completed, the publisher shall make an affidavit, whi…

The tax collector of each county shall have the power, in the same manner and under the rules of law governing attachments of debts in other cases, to attach for taxes any tangible personal property that has been assessed at any time before payment if he or she has reason to beli…

(1) Prior to May 1 of each year immediately following the year of assessment, the tax collector shall prepare a list of the unpaid personal property taxes containing the names and addresses of the taxpayers and the property subject to the tax as the same appear on the tax roll. P…