Your May Property Appraiser eNewsletter

May 2025

This free monthly eNewsletter highlights the latest developments in the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser's Office. You may unsubscribe below, or give us your feedback by replying to this email. We hope you enjoy!

Dear Taxpayer:

Hello May!

My staff is busy completing preparations for the 2025 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 it 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 TRIM Notice, your notice of proposed property taxes that is 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 TRIM 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 the changes implemented by the passage of Amendment 5 last year, as well as our stellar Public Services Support team. Public Services Support 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.

Respectfully,

Dorothy Jacks, CFA, AAS

Palm Beach County Property Appraiser

Increases to the Additional Homestead Exemption

Last year, Florida voters approved Amendment 5, which increases the amount of the additional homestead exemption annually with the rate of inflation. As inflation increases, the additional homestead exemption will also rise, reducing the taxable value of a property and potentially decreasing the property tax bill.

The additional homestead exemption will be a maximum of $25,722 in 2025. This exemption will be applied if the homesteaded property’s assessed value is at least $50,000 and is not applied to school district taxes.

As before the passage of Amendment 5, those who qualify for a homestead exemption will receive a $25,000 exemption applied to the first $50,000 of a property’s assessed value. This exemption applies to all taxes, including school district taxes.

Those who qualify for the homestead exemption do not need to take action to benefit from this change - any applicable additional homestead exemption savings will be applied automatically.

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 six, managed:

915 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.
51 Archive Records (Down 49% from 2023) – 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.
1,500 Impact Fee Records (Down 17% from 2023) – 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.
139 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 maps, sales data, and mailing lists are all available on our website at pbcpao.gov, Public Services Support can help with any specialized reports or maps. They can be contacted at 561.355.2881 or pa-pubsvc@pbcpao.gov. Some reports and programming incur a fee.

Office Closed in Honor of Memorial Day

The Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s Office (including all of our Service Centers) will be closed Memorial Day, Monday, May 26, 2025. Let us gratefully remember the sacrifice of those who died in military service for our freedom and prosperity.