Florida Senate - 2011 SB 270
By Senator Bennett
21-00367-11 2011270__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to property tax discounts for early
3 payment; amending s. 197.162, F.S.; increasing the
4 discount rates for early payment of property taxes;
5 amending s. 200.065, F.S.; lowering the percentage of
6 certified taxable value to be used by taxing
7 authorities in preparing tentative budgets; amending
8 s. 197.222, F.S.; increasing the discount rates for
9 prepayment of property tax by the installment method;
10 providing an effective date.
11
12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
13
14 Section 1. Section 197.162, Florida Statutes, is amended to
15 read:
16 197.162 Discounts; amount and time.—On all taxes assessed
17 on the county tax rolls and collected by the county tax
18 collector, discounts for early payment thereof shall be at the
19 rate of 8 4 percent in the month of November or at any time
20 within 30 days after the mailing of the original tax notice; 6 3
21 percent in the month of December; 4 2 percent in the following
22 month of January; 2 1 percent in the following month of
23 February; and zero percent in the following month of March or
24 within 30 days prior to the date of delinquency if the date of
25 delinquency is after April 1. When a taxpayer makes a request to
26 have the original tax notice corrected, the discount rate for
27 early payment applicable at the time the request for correction
28 is made shall apply for 30 days after the mailing of the
29 corrected tax notice. A discount shall apply at the rate of 8 4
30 percent for 30 days after the mailing of a tax notice resulting
31 from the action of a value adjustment board. Thereafter, the
32 regular discount periods shall apply. For the purposes of this
33 section, when a discount period ends on a Saturday, Sunday, or
34 legal holiday, the discount period shall be extended to the next
35 working day, if payment is delivered to a designated collection
36 office of the tax collector.
37 Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
38 200.065, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
39 200.065 Method of fixing millage.—
40 (2) No millage shall be levied until a resolution or
41 ordinance has been approved by the governing board of the taxing
42 authority which resolution or ordinance must be approved by the
43 taxing authority according to the following procedure:
44 (a)1. Upon preparation of a tentative budget, but prior to
45 adoption thereof, each taxing authority shall compute a proposed
46 millage rate necessary to fund the tentative budget other than
47 the portion of the budget to be funded from sources other than
48 ad valorem taxes. In computing proposed or final millage rates,
49 each taxing authority shall use utilize not less than 91 95
50 percent of the taxable value certified pursuant to subsection
51 (1).
52 2. The tentative budget of the county commission shall be
53 prepared and submitted in accordance with s. 129.03.
54 3. The tentative budget of the school district shall be
55 prepared and submitted in accordance with chapter 1011, provided
56 that the date of submission shall not be later than 24 days
57 after certification of value pursuant to subsection (1).
58 4. Taxing authorities other than the county and school
59 district shall prepare and consider tentative and final budgets
60 in accordance with this section and applicable provisions of
61 law, including budget procedures applicable to the taxing
62 authority, provided such procedures do not conflict with general
63 law.
64 Section 3. Subsection (1) of section 197.222, Florida
65 Statutes, is amended to read:
66 197.222 Prepayment of estimated tax by installment method.—
67 (1) Taxes collected pursuant to this chapter may be prepaid
68 in installments as provided in this section. A taxpayer may
69 elect to prepay by installments for each tax notice with taxes
70 estimated to be more than $100. A taxpayer who elects to prepay
71 taxes shall make payments based upon an estimated tax equal to
72 the actual taxes levied upon the subject property in the prior
73 year. Such taxpayer shall complete and file an application for
74 each tax notice to prepay such taxes by installment with the tax
75 collector prior to May 1 of the year in which the taxpayer
76 elects to prepay taxes in installments pursuant to this section.
77 The application shall be made on forms supplied by the
78 department and provided to the taxpayer by the tax collector.
79 After submission of an initial application, a taxpayer shall not
80 be required to submit additional annual applications as long as
81 he or she continues to elect to prepay taxes in installments
82 pursuant to this section. However, if in any year the taxpayer
83 does not so elect, reapplication shall be required for a
84 subsequent election to do so. Installment payments shall be made
85 according to the following schedule:
86 (a) The first payment of one-quarter of the total amount of
87 estimated taxes due shall be made not later than June 30 of the
88 year in which the taxes are assessed. A 12 percent 6-percent
89 discount applied against the amount of the installment shall be
90 granted for such payment. The tax collector may accept a late
91 payment of the first installment under this paragraph within 30
92 days after June 30; such late payment must be accompanied by a
93 penalty of 10 5 percent of the amount of the installment due.
94 (b) The second payment of one-quarter of the total amount
95 of estimated taxes due shall be made not later than September 30
96 of the year in which the taxes are assessed. A 9 percent 4.5
97 percent discount applied against the amount of the installment
98 shall be granted for such payment.
99 (c) The third payment of one-quarter of the total amount of
100 estimated taxes due, plus one-half of any adjustment made
101 pursuant to a determination of actual tax liability, shall be
102 made not later than December 31 of the year in which taxes are
103 assessed. A 6 percent 3-percent discount applied against the
104 amount of the installment shall be granted for such payment.
105 (d) The fourth payment of one-quarter of the total amount
106 of estimated taxes due, plus one-half of any adjustment made
107 pursuant to a determination of actual tax liability, shall be
108 made not later than March 31 following the year in which taxes
109 are assessed. No discount shall be granted for such payment.
110 (e) For purposes of this section, when an installment due
111 date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the due date
112 for the installment shall be the next working day, if the
113 installment payment is delivered to a designated collection
114 office of the tax collector. Taxpayers making such payment shall
115 be entitled to the applicable discount rate authorized in this
116 section.
117 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.