Dear Taxpayer:

Hello May! 

My staff is busy completing preparations for the 2024 estimated taxable property values, which will be released to all Palm Beach County taxing authorities later this month. 

We provide an estimate to cities and other authorities who levy taxes because they need them to begin developing their budgets. They review the property values in their jurisdictions and decide on a proposed tax rate. The property values multiplied by the tax rate, or millage, determines your taxes.

The cities and other taxing authorities then share those proposed tax rates with my office, so that we can notify all property owners of both their home value and proposed tax rate. These are revealed in the Notice of Proposed Property Taxes mailed to all property owners in mid-August. 

While state law requires my office to value property based on the status of the market, your tax rate is set by taxing authorities who answer to you, the voter. If home values increase, tax bills do not necessarily have to increase as tax rates could be reduced. Every resident has the right to speak to the elected officials who levy taxes at the public meetings listed in your Notice.

If you feel that the market value of your property is inaccurate, you also have the right to file a petition for adjustment with the Value Adjustment Board through the Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller. For more information, visit pbcpao.gov or contact Residential Appraisal Services at 561.355.2883 or myhouse@pbcpao.gov.

In this month’s newsletter, we’re highlighting our Public Services Support team, who handles most public records requests for my office. From address labels to complex customized reports, my staff is helpful, knowledgeable, and ready to serve you.

Public Services Support Department 

The Public Services Support department receives and processes hundreds of public records requests annually. Data is derived from our Geographical Information System and appraisal/tax roll systems. We have several standard reports and are able to create customized, specialized reports and maps based on the taxpayer’s needs.

Last year, the Public Services Support team, a group of five, managed:

• 923 Data Run Requests/Variances – This includes address labels, maps, owners lists, and variances for when a taxpayer’s planned use of their property deviates from local zoning.
• 100 Archive Records (Down 34% from 2022) – This includes tax rolls and building cards. Some of our records date back to 1977, and homeowners request these records for income tax purposes. They usually want to know the value when the property last changed hands.
• 1,800 Impact Fee Records (Up 414% from 2022) – This is a request for a building card from builders or homeowners who are searching to see if a structure ever existed on a vacant lot, and if so, its square feet, number of bedrooms, baths, etc. If there was a structure, they can submit the building card to the Palm Beach County Planning, Zoning and Building Department for an impact fee credit.  
• 116 Custom/Specialized Reports – This could encompass any number of request, such as:
• Information from the tax roll by assessed value
• The number of homestead properties in certain cities
• The entire tax roll or appraisal database file for the current year
• Daily/Monthly sales updates
• Subdivision reports
• All vacant properties
• Spreadsheets listing information for certain cities
• All properties in an estate
• All single family homes or a list by property use code
• Certain properties by subdivision or labels for certain areas
• Vector and situs files

Our team loves to make our wealth of information more accessible to the public. While they are asked many different questions, they still get surprised by interesting queries. For example, one caller asked who owned a commercial property because they “really liked” the mannequin in store front window, and wanted to purchase it.

If you are interested in any special reports or maps, please contact Public Services Support at 561.355.2881 or pa-pubsvc@pbcpao.gov. Fees for reports and programming can be found at pbcpao.gov.

Rising Tax Bills in a Flattening Market

Florida’s property tax caps (up to 3% for homesteaded properties and 10% for non-homestead properties) can cause assessed values to increase even if market values do not. Florida law requires that the assessed value continue to increase by the maximum cap amount each year until the gap between the assessed value and market value is "recaptured" or the assessed value equals the market value.  

Office Closed in Honor of Memorial Day

The Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s Office (including all of our Service Centers) will be closed on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27, 2024.