What Will Be My Tax?

The email read: "Could you explain how much would it cost me in taxes if I buy a condo in the Links? I heard that Florida has very high taxes."

You often hear that we have high property taxes in Florida. There is no simple answer here. First, your taxes and Seller’s taxes may be not the same. Taxes are being assessed every year, and they will be based on the purchase price and many other parameters, so I won’t be able to predict the exact amount of taxes.

But we sure can guess, and will be pretty close in our guess. Because the taxes are calculated not from the market value, but rather assessed value, and assessed value is the function of the budget, and not the reflection of the market values for these properties. 

The Links is part of Harbour Village, a gated residential community in Ponce Inlet, FL. To figure out the tax we will first find out the millage rate at which the tax is calculated. In Ponce Inlet it is 21.74620.  It means that the tax will be $21.7462 per each $1,000 of taxable value.

I checked the taxable value for a 2 bdr/2 bath condo on the 6^th floor in the South Tower in The Links. It is $164,300 so the tax will be $3,572.90. Of course this is if you keep it as a vacation condo. Tax will be significantly lower if it is your primary residence.

So, is it a high tax for a 1,500+ sf condo surrounded by an executive 9-hole golf course, with one indoor pool and one outdoor, 3 club houses, including one directly on the ocean,  tennis courts, main large pool which is heated, marina with 142 slips, etc?

I can’t give you the numbers by state, as property taxes are not set by States, but rather by local governments, school districts, county government, water management district or other local taxing authorities, so the figure is fluctuating between the counties, and Florida will be somewhere in the middle of the list of 793 counties in the US with population over 60,000.

If you think this is high, please, remember, that Florida does not have State or local income tax, and if you consider this, our tax is not bad. Not bad at all.

You may even consider moving here and enjoy not only the absence of State and Local Income Taxes, but also the absence of snow. Our weather is usually very good here in Florida, which is especially noticeable in winter. 

If you think it is a good idea, you got my number right here.