Dear Taxpayer:

Happy Spring!

My office continues to work on the 2024 tax roll and make preparations for the release of the estimated 2024 taxable property values to the Palm Beach County taxing authorities at the end of May.

These preliminary estimates assist the county, municipalities, and other taxing authorities in projecting their budgets and tax rates and also provide a benchmark as to what revenue they can expect to receive from property taxes in the coming year.

After the taxing authorities have determined their budgets and proposed tax rates based on the preliminary estimates, my office will mail the Notice of Proposed taxes to every property owner in August. The notice will detail the assessed value of your property, your proposed tax rates, and an estimate of your tax bill. Stay tuned.

Also, as “Snowbird Season” comes to a close, we’ve included important information on short-term rentals of a homesteaded property for those property owners who benefit from the homestead exemption and are considering renting all or a portion of their homesteaded property.

I hope you find this information beneficial and interesting.

Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s Office Service Centers 

While a vast array of services and information are available online 24/7 at pbcpao.gov, my office maintains five service centers, conveniently located throughout Palm Beach County and staffed by qualified professionals. They administer the homestead exemption, additional property tax exemptions, mailing address and ownership changes, portability applications, and more.

2023 customer service by the numbers: 

• Phone calls: 89,053, down 11% from 2022

• Counter visits: 28,256, nearly flat from 2022

• E files: 15,835, down 14 % from 2022

• Total new homestead exemptions: 24,649, down 21% from 2022

• Portability applications: 6,865, nearly flat from 2022

Short-Term Rental of a Homesteaded Property

A provision in state law allows you to rent your home for a short time without affecting your homestead exemption. 

Florida law allows the following:

• Rental for 30 days or less per calendar year.

• Rental for more than 30 days and less than six months in one year. If you rent again the following year for more than 30 days, you will lose your homestead exemption for that tax year.

• Rental on any day except January 1. If your home is rented on January 1, you will lose the homestead exemption for that year.

This statute does not apply to a member of the Armed Forces of the United States.

Be aware of the law before deciding to rent your property. For more information, visit pbcpao.gov.org or contact Exemption Services at 561.355.2866.

Florida Statute 196.061

Florida Statute 196.011 (9) (a)