January 2024 Newsletter

Citrus County Property Appraiser

January 2024 | Issue No. 20 Newsletter

One of the many things I love about Citrus County is the ability for all our residents and

businesses to connect with each other and share information on many different platforms. Some of you read the Citrus County Chronicle each day, some of you watch the news on your television, or you may get it from the internet or social media. They are all great way to obtain pertinent local information. If you are like myself, you enjoy all of those various outlets.

The Citrus County Property Appraiser’s Office has many options for you to enjoy regarding the services we offer in our organization. Using many different platforms – website, various

social media platforms, informative videos, speaking engagements around the county, telephone support, in-person customer service, e-newsletter, print magazines, or the Citrus

County Chronicle – our office wants to assist you.

One of my goals as your Property Appraiser has always been to ensure that the public becomes fully educated about the objectives within our office, especially since this information may directly influence the decisions you make about your business or your personal property. I know I will sometimes fall short reaching everyone so we are constantly exploring new ways to get our information out to you. If you have any awesome ideas, I would enjoy hearing about them.

We are continually updating our website with current information. We are also always improving the availability, content, and accessibility of the services on our website. The

website includes many new features. One awesome and convenient feature is the live-chat function to instantly communicate with our customer service department from a computer or mobile device. This feature will allow customers to ask questions via the internet from anywhere in the world. Also, we have various brochures about various topics related to our

office along with all of the articles we have written over the last three years.

Our Citrus County Property Appraiser’s social media pages are regularly being updated with new content to notify citizens of information you may or may not know about what we do or

currently doing, property exemption information and their respective deadlines, updated or extended office hours, information about our staff, and the correct department to call for your property needs or questions.

Citizens will also be able to reach our social media pages from our updated website by clicking the appropriate link. As we move toward a more technologically advanced society, we want to reach our community in every way possible.

In the 2024, our office will be releasing explanatory videos on our website and social media platforms about various topics. For example, the videos will advise the public about the state

statutes associated with property exemptions and the necessary qualifications required to be eligible for specific property exemptions. We always want the public to be fully aware of

every exemption possible.

One thing that I know is that if you need anything from our office, we are here for you. It is our pledge to you in the coming year that we will continue to try our hardest to take care of you and your specific situation. It’s what we do. It’s the givers in us all. It’s my pledge to you. From me, my family, and the staff of the Citrus County Property Appraiser's office, we hope you have

a very Happy New Year!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Customer Service Department at (352)341-6600, or, during business hours, you can ask questions via our chat feature online at www.citruspa.org.

Sincerely,

Cregg E. Dalton, CFA

Citrus County Property Appraiser

Important Information

January Mailings:

Homestead Renewal Postcards
Agricultural Classification Renewal Postcards
Tangible Personal Property Tax Returns (return for continued eligibility)
Gross Income, Total & Permanent Disability Renewal Letters/Forms (return for continued eligibility)
Financially Independent Renewal Affidavits (return for continued eligibility)
Commercial Income and Expense

Office Closures:

Closed:

Monday, January 1st

Monday, January 15th

Tax Bill Payments: As of November 1st you can pay your property tax bill. If you pay during the month of January, you will receive a 2% discount. To pay your bill click here.

2024 Homestead Exemption: The E-filing service is currently available for homestead exemption applications. You may also qualify for additional exemptions; select from the list of available options. A customer service representative will contact you if additional documentation is required. For more information, please contact our office: Email or (352) 341-6600.

Buyer Beware: Property taxes may be affected with change in ownership. When buying real estate property, you should not assume that property taxes will remain the same. Whenever there is a change in ownership, the assessed value of the property may reset to full market value, which could result in higher property taxes. Please use our tax estimator to approximate your new property taxes. Homestead exemptions and agricultural classifications are not transferable to the new owner. You must apply for your own exemptions and agricultural classifications.

Happy Birthday

Brian, Stephen, Joe, Sharon, Penny, & Rhonda!

January 1st - Date of Assessment

Per Florida Statute 192.042 - Date of assessment. All property shall be assessed according to its just value as follows: (1) Real property, on January 1 of each year. Improvements or portions not substantially completed on January 1 shall have no value placed thereon. “Substantially completed” shall mean that the improvement or some self-sufficient unit within it can be used for the purpose for which it was constructed.

If your property is new construction and built in 2023, then the 2023 tax bill may have been based on land value. 2024 will be the first tax year that the value of the new construction is added to the tax roll, since properties are assessed annually on January 1st. You may see a significantly higher property tax bill for 2024 with the additional value from the new construction.

Agricultural Classification

Pursuant to Florida Statutes 193.461(3) (b), “Subject to the restrictions specified in this section, only lands that are used primarily for bona fide agricultural purposes shall be classified agricultural. The term “bona fide agricultural purposes” means good faith commercial agricultural use of the land. In determining whether the use of the land for agricultural purposes is bona fide, the following factors may be taken into consideration:

The length of time the land has been so used,
Whether the use has been continuous,
The purchase price paid,
Size, as it relates to specific agricultural use, but a minimum acreage may not be required for agricultural assessment,
Whether an indicated effort has been made to care sufficiently and adequately for the land in accordance with accepted commercial agricultural practices, including, without limitation, fertilizing, liming, tilling, mowing, reforesting, and other accepted agricultural practices.
Whether the land is under lease and, if so, the effective length, terms, and conditions of the lease,
Such other factors as may become applicable.

Only those parts used in the commercial agricultural endeavor are included in the Agricultural Classification. A home, surrounding land and the outbuildings are not included. If the home is the owner’s primary residence, the owner may apply for a Homestead Exemption.

January 1st is the statutory assessment date for all property, therefore, to qualify for agricultural classification a property must be in bona fide agricultural use on or before that date or otherwise a reasonable effort must have been made to place the property in bona fide agricultural use by January 1st.

The annual filing period for agricultural classification is between January 1st and March 1st.

How are you starting off 2024?

In 2023 did you...

Get married
Buy a new home
Turn 65 and have a combat related disability
Enter your property into a trust
Get divorced
Record a new deed for your property

Any of these life altering changes could effect the exemptions or cap on your property for the 2024 tax year. We welcome you contact our office at (352)341-6600 to speak with a customer service staff member.

Employee Recognition

We have two new "Employees of the Quarter" to recognize. Angie Mack from our Inverness office and Colton Cade from our Crystal River office. They go above and beyond for our organization each day. We appreciate all they do!

Angie Mack - Inverness

Colton Cade - Crystal River

Community Outreach

Forest Ridge Elementary School: On December 6th, Cregg was able to hit the track running with the Forest Ridge Fitness Owls Runners Club. It was an amazing sight watching all of these young athletes in action! They could have slept in but they all arrived with smiles on their face and ready to run. The Citrus County Property Appraiser's office staff was very happy to help financially support Jessica Barnes the Forest Ridge Fitness Owls! Profits from our office snack bar, donations from wearing jeans on Fridays, or special dress up days all go right back to the community.

Citizen Training Session: On Thursday, December 7th, our office held our second Citizen's Training Session. We had another great turnout, and all the attendees learned a multitude of different things regarding the Property Appraiser's office. (Pictured below, Ric Fritz, Director of Land Records, Cathy Brusko, Parcel Records Manager, Dan Robbins, Assistant Property Appraiser, Kelly Carpenter, Director of Customer Service, and Cregg Dalton, Citrus County Property Appraiser.)

Habitat for Humanity of Citrus County: We would like to welcome the Scordato and Cunningham families to Habitat at Citrus Springs. The Habitat for Humanity celebrated their dedications with the help of many sponsors and several dignitaries from Citrus County Chamber of Commerce, Citrus County Property Appraiser, United Way of Citrus County, representatives from Blaise Ingoglia's office as well as Congressman Gus Bilirakis. The congressman's aide, David Halbstein, presented both family's with a special gift, an American flag that has flown over the nation's capital.

Additional Exemptions

Want to save money on your tax bill? Below are additional exemptions that you might be eligible for:

$5,000 off your assessed value.

Widowed, Blind, Veteran disabled 10% or more, or Totally and Permanently disabled (FL Permanent Handicap Parking Placard/SSI disability).

Disabled (Total & Permanent):

Hemiplegic, Paraplegic, Wheelchair required, or Legally Blind. (Gross Income Based)
Quadriplegic

Disabled Veteran or First Responder Exemptions/Discounts:

Disabled veteran confined to wheelchair, service-connected.
Disabled veteran discount, 65 or older which carries over to the surviving spouse.
Service-connected totally and permanently disabled veteran or veteran’s surviving spouse.
Surviving spouse of veteran who died while on active duty.
First responder totally and permanently disabled in the line of duty or surviving spouse.
Surviving spouse of first responder who died in the line of duty.

Stay Connected

Using your mobile device's camera, scan this QR code to E-file for homestead, apply for a job, visit us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, access our website, and much, much, more!

Make sure to read our monthly articles that are featured in the Hometown Citrus magazine (15th of each month).

Stronger Together - 2023 Family Photo