Miami-Dade’s tax notices are coming in the mail. See if your city plans to cut rates

More than 40% of Miami-Dade County’s local governments plan lower rates for property taxes on notices going out this month, far more than last year as inflation and spikes in real estate prices increased political pressure for tax relief.

At this time last year, only three of the county’s 35 local municipal governments had proposed lower rates for property taxes. This year 15 took preliminary votes for lower property-tax rates, known as “millages,” according to figures released Friday by the county’s Office of the Property Appraiser. The 15 municipal governments with lower proposed rates include Miami-Dade County itself, which collects a tax for local government services provided outside of city limits.

Pedro Garcia, the county’s elected Property Appraiser, is urging more governments to reduce rates before final budget votes this fall as a way to lessen or eliminate increases in tax bills for many homeowners caused by how inflation affects a state formula on property values.

Local governments can set final rates lower than the ones proposed over the summer, but not higher ones without significant cost and delay under Florida rules governing municipal budget approvals.

“I continue to urge cities unwilling to reduce their millage rates to do what they can to provide property tax relief for all property owners in Miami-Dade County,” Garcia said in a statement.

READ MORE: Tax squeeze: What inflation and a real estate boom mean for property taxes this year

The rates released by Garcia’s office show Medley on track for the steepest property-tax rate drop, with a proposed 18% reduction in 2023. The highest potential increase comes from Cutler Bay, which voted to cap tax rates at 4% above where they are now.

Cutler Bay Mayor Tim Meerbott said Friday he expects the town council to approve flat tax rates this fall, with members already agreeing in budget workshops that a higher rate is not an option. “We’re not going to go with the increase,” he said.

Garcia’s office uses the proposed rates to calculate what a property owner would pay in taxes if taxing authorities made no changes ahead of final budget votes in September. Those calculations will be sent out later this month in mailers known as TRIM notices.

Only two other municipalities joined Cutler Bay in setting higher maximum rates. Biscayne Park set a proposed rate at 2% higher, and Key Biscayne at 3% higher.

The remaining 17 municipalities proposed flat rates for the 2023 tax bills that will go out this fall.

Soaring real estate values and a construction boom are set to deliver to local governments windfalls in property-tax revenue. Taxable values are up 12% this year across Miami-Dade, far more than the 3% growth predicted in county budget forecasts.

Last month, county commissioners accepted Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s recommendation for a 1% reduction in the county’s four property-tax rates, including one that provides local services for properties outside of city limits — a taxing district called the Unincorporated Municipal Services Area (UMSA).

Florida law insulates existing homeowners from spikes in their tax bills when real estate values soar.

READ MORE: What does high inflation mean for property-tax bills in your city? Take a look

For primary residences, the assessed value is tied to the national inflation rate, with a cap of 3%.

Last year’s modest inflation rate meant a cap of 1.4% on taxed values. With 2022 starting off at a 7% inflation rate, homeowners will see the maximum 3% value increase on the TRIM notices that Garcia’s office plans to mail by Aug. 24.

With the higher valuations, modest decreases in property-tax rates won’t mean lower bills for the average homeowner. For a primary residence worth $200,000 in 2021, a flat tax rate results in a 4% higher bill, according to a July 14 analysis by the Miami-Dade County Commission’s Office of Policy and Budgetary Affairs.

This story was originally published August 5, 2022 at 6:09 PM.