Disclaimer: The following article does not constitute legal advice, but is for informational purposes only. Every property tax appeal must be evaluated on its own facts and legal principles. Such evaluation is best undertaken by consulting a professional.
Some of the most frustrating experiences I have had as a property tax professional are the times when I have:
• Wanted to “jump in” at a property tax appeal hearing and help a taxpayer presenting his own case.
• Squirmed in sympathy when a taxpayer answered a question asked at hearing by the taxing authorities intended to elicit an answer to prejudice a taxpayer’s claim.
• Overheard a property appraisal employee at the public service counter ask a taxpayer for a document ostensibly to help the taxpayer establish an exemption claim, when the true purpose was to substantiate denial of the claim.
• Seen a taxpayer appear at hearing without reading the fine print on the 3-page notice of hearing and inadvertently failing to comply with Florida’s recently-adopted 15-day advance evidence filing requirement.
But I’ve managed to restrain myself (except on one notable occasion, when I insinuated myself into a hearing to act as an “amicus curiae,” a friend of the court, to inform the legal Special Magistrate of the status of the law regarding eligibility of certain ICE or immigration statuses eligible for permanent residency under Florida homestead exemption law).
Bottom line is, what was initially intended as an informal opportunity for an aggrieved taxpayer to appear before 3 members of the county commission and 2 members of the county school board has turned into a highly-technical, rule-intensive and fact-intensive evidentiary hearing before an appointed professional appraiser Special Magistrate or attorney Special Magistrate. The property tax assessment appeal hearing is governed by a slew of procedural rules and statutory and regulatory principles governing both the process and the substantive aspects of property tax assessment and appraisal, as well as exemption and classification issues.
The conclusion I have come to after 25 years of property tax practice on both sides of the fence—representing first the taxing authorities and later private, institutional and even public (e.g., municipal) taxpayers, is that there are two categories of property tax appeals. Some property tax appeal claims can be handled by taxpayers and some should be handed over to professionals, as briefly explained below.
Taxpayers should represent themselves only if:
1. there exists a provable factual error upon which the property tax assessment is based, such as incorrect legal description, erroneous measurement of land or improvements; or
2. the stakes are so low that no professional tax representative is willing to take on the job.
The taxpayer himself or herself may feel comfortable making an appointment to see the local government official responsible for your property tax assessment and review with her or him the following possible property tax assessment errors:
1. Inaccurate property description or dimensions.
2. Clerical errors.
3. Mathematical errors.
Other issues that the taxpayer may want to personally address to the property appraiser but may want to hire a professional for before proceeding to hearing, include:
4. Failure to consider needed repairs.
5. Failure to consider value-reducers like difficult ingress and egress, easements, drainage problems, heavy traffic areas, nearby railroad tracks, expressways, industry or noxious uses.
6. Lower assessments on similar properties in the neighborhood. Although market value is generally the controlling standard, by law, taxation must be fair and equitable.
7. Failure to depreciate for negative factors (deferred maintenance, age and quality of materials, poor workmanship, spalling, cracks or deterioration, defective or outmoded materials or construction, physical, functional or economic obsolescence of land or improvements).
In general, it is well to consider hiring a professional to prepare and advance the following property tax appeal claims:
8. Income producing property overassessed.
9. Failure to recognize decreased value due to downward trend in the real estate market.
10. Unlawful assessments, such as double assessment of common areas both to individual owners and to homeowners association.
11. Exemptions or exceptions to full value taxation (including agricultural classification) not applied or not properly applied to the property.
General rules governing the decision whether to employ a professional for your property tax appeals:
A. Commercial properties, including vacant as well as developed property, should be reviewed annually with a professional as soon as the notice of proposed taxes is issued in August. Most property tax professionals work on a contingency basis. This gives you some assurance that you are not investing in a tax appeal that is frivolous, since your agent gets no fee unless a reduction is obtained.
B. Taxpayers with unusual professional training or background, such as real estate investors, brokers, agents, accountants or attorneys, may obtain equal or better results than a “hired gun,” especially considering their enhanced familiarity with the negatives of the property, increased “investment” in the property, and net gain from not paying a professional fee.
Summary: as is true of many government processes, property tax appeals in Florida may best be handled by professionals. This is particularly true since most property tax agents work on a contingency fee basis. This means that no fee is earned unless an assessment reduction is achieved. Certain claims may be handled just as well by taxpayers themselves, particularly claims based on provable factual errors made by the county property appraiser, such as errors in measurement of the size of land or building which can be demonstrated through sealed survey or sketch or architectural renderings. If in doubt, review your property tax assessment with a professional. As in other contingency-fee industries, initial consultation is frequently free of charge.
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Daniel A. Weiss is a former Attorney Special Master for the Miami-Dade County Value Adjustment Board. Mr. Weiss now represents commercial, institutional charitable, commercial, high-end residential, agricultural and municipal taxpayers at VAB proceedings throughout the State of Florida. Mr. Weiss handles both valuation and legal claims.
Mr. Weiss has over 25 years property tax experience. Mr. Weiss represented the Miami-Dade County taxing authorities in litigation and appeals between 1981 and 1995 as a Miami-Dade Assistant County Attorney and has since represented taxpayers in property tax matters.
Mr. Weiss appears as one of Florida's Super Lawyers 2006 in the publication of the same name. He was named by his peers as one of the top 6 local government lawyers in South Florida.
In Florida Trend magazine™'s Legal Elite's issue, July 2004, Mr. Weiss was selected by his peers as one of the top 30 government lawyers in the State of Florida.
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