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Tax
Information
Quick Links
 2008
Tax Certificate Sale
Real Estate
Taxes
Delinquent Real Estate
Taxes
Tangible Personal Property
Tax
Central Assessed Taxes
Non-Ad Valorem Assessments
Tourist Tax
Florida
Tax Collectors Website
If your address is
incorrect on this Web Site, please call
941-743-1593 for a change of address.
I.
Real Estate Taxes
Ad Valorem Real
Estate Taxes are based on the value of real
property, and are paid in arrears. The tax year
runs from January 1st to December 31st. The
office of the Property Appraiser establishes the
value of the property and the Board of County
Commissioners, School Board, City Commissioners
and other levying bodies set the millage rates.
One mill equals $1.00 per $1,000.00 of property
value.
Using these values
and allowing for exemptions, the tax roll is
completed by the Property Appraiser and approved
by the Department of Revenue. The tax roll is
then certified by the Property Appraiser to the
Tax Collector who mails the tax notice/receipt
to the owner's last address of record as it
appears on the tax roll. (Note: The owner of
record is the owner as of January 1st of the tax
year.) It is the responsibility of each taxpayer
to see that the taxes are paid and that a tax
bill is received. F. S. 197.122 (1995) In cases
where the property owner pays their Real Estate
Taxes through an escrow account, the mortgage
company should request and be sent the tax bill,
and the owner will receive an Informational
Notice.
II.
Discount Periods
Tax statements are
mailed on or about November 1st of each year,
with the following discounts in effect for early
payment: A 4% discount is allowed for the first
30 days after the original mailing date.
Thereafter, a 3% discount is allowed in
December, a 2% discount in January, a 1%
discount in February, and there is no discount
allowed in March. Taxes become delinquent April
1st, at which time 3% interest plus advertising
costs are added to the gross amount of the tax.
(See section on Delinquent Property Taxes).
III. Changes of Ownership, Corrections,
Address Changes on Tax Bills
Questions regarding
exemptions, changes in ownership or address, or
property assessments are not legally handled by
the Tax Collector's Office and should be
directed to the Property Appraiser's Office at
(941)743-1498.
Alternative
(Installment) Payment Plan for Real Estate Taxes
Taxpayers may choose
to pay their real estate taxes quarterly by
participating in an installment payment plan. To
be eligible for the program, the taxpayer's
estimated taxes must be in excess of $100.00.
Those who qualify must fill out and return an
Installment Plan application form to the Tax
Collector's Office prior to May 1st (application
forms are available at all county tax offices).
The plan requires
that the first installment must be made no later
than June 30th. Failure to make this first
payment will automatically cancel the
participant from the plan and the taxpayer will
be required to pay the taxes due in full by
March 31st.
Upon meeting the
first installment deadline, the taxpayer is then
obligated to participate in the program for the
entire year. Discounts do not apply to
delinquent payments. Any amount remaining unpaid
on April 1st is treated as a delinquent tax
bill.
The following
payment schedule applies to the installment
plan:
- 1st installment:
1/4 the total of estimate taxes discounted
6%.
- Payment due by
June 30th.
- 2nd installment:
1/4 the total estimated taxes discounted
4.5%
- Payment due by
September 30th.
- 3rd installment:
1/4 the total estimated taxes plus 1/2 of
any adjustment made for actual tax
liability, discounted 3%.
- Payment due by
December 31st.
- 4th installment:
1/4 of the total estimated taxes plus the
remaining 1/2 of any adjustment for actual
tax liability. No discount applies.
- Payment due by
March 31st.
- Taxpayers
participating in the Installment Payment
plan are automatically re-enrolled each year
and do not have to fill out a new
application.
Delinquent
Real Estate Taxes
Real estate taxes
become delinquent on April 1st each year.
Florida Statutes require the Tax Collector to
advertise the delinquent parcels in a local
newspaper once a week for three consecutive
weeks following the payment deadline.
Advertising and collection fees are added to the
delinquent taxpayer's bill.
Beginning on or
before June 1st, the Tax Collector is required
by law to hold a Tax Certificate Sale. The
certificates represent liens on all unpaid real
estate properties. The sale allows citizens to
buy certificates by paying off the owed tax
debt. The sale is conducted in reverse auction
style with participants bidding downward on
interest rates starting at 18%. The certificate
is awarded to the lowest bidder.
A tax certificate,
when purchased, becomes an enforceable first
lien against the real estate. The certificate
holder is actually paying the taxes for a
property owner in exchange for a competitive bid
rate of return on his investment. In order to
remove the lien, the property owner must pay the
Tax Collector all delinquent taxes plus accrued
interest, penalties and advertising fees. The
Tax Collector then notifies the certificate
holder of any certificates redeemed and a refund
check is then issued to the certificate holder.
A tax certificate is
valid for seven years from the date of issuance.
The holder may apply for a tax deed when two or
more years have elapsed since the date of
delinquency. If the property owner fails to pay
the tax debt, the property tax deed is sold at
public auction.
Tax Certificate
Sale Brochure
Tax Deed Brochure
Tangible Personal
Property Tax
Tangible Personal Property Tax is an ad
valorem tax assessed against the furniture,
fixtures and equipment located in businesses and
rental property. It also applies to structural
additions to mobile homes.
The Property Appraiser's Office assesses
the value of tangible personal property and
presents a certified tax roll to the Tax
Collector. It is the job of the Tax Collector to
mail the tax notices and collect the monies due.
Tax bills for Tangible Personal Property
are mailed at the same time as the Real Estate
Tax Bills, and the same discounts apply. Taxes
become delinquent April 1st, at which time 1.5%
interest, plus a $2.00 late fee and advertising
costs are added to the gross amount of tax. (See
section on Delinquent Property Taxes).
Pursuant to Florida Statutes, Tax Warrants
are issued prior to April 30th of the next year
on all unpaid tangible personal property taxes.
Within 30 days after the warrants are prepared,
the Tax Collector applies to the Circuit Court
for an order directing levy and seizure of the
property for the amount of unpaid taxes and
costs.
Any changes to the tax roll (name,
address, location, assessed value) must be
processed through the Property Appraiser's
Office.
Central Assessed Taxes
Taxes assessed to railroads utilizing
portions of land in Charlotte County are billed
in the same manner as Personal Property Taxes,
and subject to the same delinquent collection
methods.
Non-Ad
Valorem Assessments
A Non-Ad Valorem Assessment is "a legal
financing mechanism or method wherein the County
establishes a special district to allow a group
of citizens to fund a desired improvement, such
as utilities or roads." The assessment
boundary is determined by those properties that
will derive a benefit from the improvements.
This boundary by definition is called the
"benefit unit."
This process allows the property owner to
finance the amount of the assessment over a
period of time, depending on the project cost
and type of improvements. The assessment
will appear annually on the property tax bill as
a non-ad valorem assessment.
Tourist Tax
Tourist development tax
is charged on revenue received from rentals of
six months or less. The explanation of this can
be found in the Florida Administrative Code. It
states that, unless otherwise exempt, “every
person is exercising a taxable privilege when
engaging in the business of renting, leasing,
letting, or granting licenses to others to use
transient accommodations, unless the rental
charges or room rates are specifically exempt.”
The actual rate differs between counties in
Florida. In Charlotte County, there is a 5%
rate, which is in addition to the 7% sales tax
that is charged by the state. The 5% tourist
development tax is sent to the Charlotte County
Tax Collector and the 7% state sales tax is sent
to the Florida Department of Revenue.
Collecting the tax
from tenants
In order to collect
tourist tax, a
registration form must be completed
and returned to the tax collectors office. This
form can be found on our
forms page. An application must also
be completed for the Florida Department of
Revenue. The Department of Revenue can be
contacted at 1-800-FLA-DOR1 or at
http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/.
Who has to pay?
Any individual who
leases or rents any accommodation for six months
or less must pay the 12% on the rent payment.
Remember that the 12% includes the state sales
tax and also the tourist development tax. This
tax applies to single or multi-family dwellings,
mobile home parks, condominiums, vessels,
apartment buildings, hotels, and motels.
Payment Schedule
Tourist development tax
is due to the Tax Collectors office by the 20th
day of the month following the collection.
Penalties and delinquent interest must be added
if the postmark is the 21st day of
the month of after. The reporting month is
classified as the month in which the rent is
collected.
Exemptions
Florida Law allows any
person who enters into a bona fide written
lease, for continuous residence of a transient
accommodation for longer than six months, to be
exempt from Florida sales tax and local tourist
development tax. What is a bona fide written
lease? A ‘bona fide written lease’ is a written
document that clearly demonstrates it is
intended for the renter to have exclusive use of
the rental property. In order to validate the
lease document, several elements listed below
will need to be considered by the Tax Collector
and the Department of Revenue.
- Length of lease,
including beginning and ending date
- A statement giving the
lessor the complete and exclusive use of the
property for the entire duration of the
lease
- Good faith executed,
without fraud or deceit
- A sufficient
description of the leased property
- A statement that the
lease contains the complete and sole
agreement
- A provision that the
lessee will pay an agreed amount of rent
- A statement containing
the due date, frequency and address for the
payment of the rent
- A statement specifying
what conditions will result in early
termination of the lease, the rights and
obligations of the parties at termination
and any penalties that will result from
early termination
- Signatures of the
named parties, lessee, and lessor.
Owner Compensation
Owners are entitled to
keep 2.5% of the tourist tax collected, maximum
of $30, as compensation for this service. This
allowance is subtracted from the tax on the
return form.
Delinquent Tourist
Tax
The return and payment
must be postmarked by the 20th of the
month following the reporting period, otherwise
the collection allowance is forfeited and a
penalty and interest are assessed. The
penalty is 10% of the tax due for each
delinquent month or fraction of a month.
The maximum penalty is
$50. The interest rate is variable. For
further instructions you will need to contact
our office at (941) 743-1911.
Record Keeping
Any business dealing in
guest/tenant/transient accommodations is
responsible for collecting and remitting this
tax and for maintaining records such as guest
checks, general ledgers, tax payments, and
federal income tax returns. All records
involving tourist development tax must be kept
for five years and made available to audit at
the place of business. All records must be
present at the audit site prior to an audit. |
