Palm Beach County Tax Collector Anne Gannon has kicked off her annual quest for cash.
She announced that the 2012 property tax season started Nov. 1. “We mailed 705,964 property tax bills, representing total tax revenue of $2.97 billion. This is down $38 million in ad valorem taxes from last year,” said Gannon.
“The ad valorem tax, calculated by the property appraiser, represents $2.64 billion in property values and the non-ad valorem tax makes up the balance, or $3.26 million.”
The five cities in Palm Beach County that pay the most in property taxes are West Palm Beach (assessed value: $11 billion, total taxes: $69.7 million), Boca Raton (assessed value: $19.5 billion, total taxes: $61.9 million), Delray Beach (assessed value: $7.4 billion, total taxes: $48.5 million), Palm Beach Gardens (assessed value: $9.3 billion, total taxes: $38.8 million) and the town of Palm Beach (assessed value: $12.4 billion, total taxes: $38.8 million).
Palm Beach County’s top 2012 taxpayers by the amount of taxes billed are:
Florida Power & Light $75,124,056.73
BellSouth Telecommunications $7,250,377.39
TownCenteratBoca RatonTrust $ 6,956,090.53
US Sugar Corporation $5,162,481.25
Garden Venture $4,584,592.87
Breakers Palm Beach $4,391,085.39
Panthers BRHC $3,448,827.66
Okeelanta Corp $3,428,665.66
Comcast ofFlorida $3,283,730.94
Phillips Point II $ 2,966,932.90
“Some 80 percent of taxpayers pay in November. That means they receive the maximum discount of 4 percent for early payment,” said Gannon. “This tax savings can make a difference for families in these difficult economic times.”
Some financially struggling families may qualify for some support. The State ofFloridahas a tax deferral option for those with yearly incomes of $10,000 or less who are 65 years or older. The program only postpones the tax payment. It provides some short term relief. It does not remove the obligation.
Florida Statutes provide discounts for early payments as follows:
4% in November
3% in December
2% in January
1% in February
March payments receive no discount
All payments are due by close of business April 1. Any payment made after April 1is considered delinquent.
Gannon offers advice for taxpayers to help save time: Pay property taxes online at www.taxcollectorpbc.com to avoid waiting at busy service centers. The agency’s website has a “Property Tax Help” feature for additional information on payments, deadlines, and discounts.
Taxpayers may pay by mail. They must include the Property Control Number(s) on the payment and return with the stub. Taxpayers are asked to send without staples or clips because the agency’s high speed mail processing will reject them. Rejected returns must be processed by hand and take much longer.
Taxpayers who prefer visiting a service center are welcome to use drop boxes for payments. There is a drop box in the lobby at each Constitutional Tax Collector Service Center.