Florida Opens Rule Work on Property Tax Appeals, Including Remote Hearings
The Department of Revenue is developing amendments to the value adjustment board rules that would require boards to hear timeliness appeals and let petitioners request remote hearings on a new form.
Florida property owners who challenge their tax assessments could see changes to how those appeals are heard. The Florida Department of Revenue has issued a notice of rule development proposing amendments to the rules that govern value adjustment boards, the county boards that hear property tax appeals.
The proposal would amend Rules 12D-9.005, 12D-9.015 and 12D-9.024 concerning value adjustment board procedures for property tax purposes, according to the notice published in the Oct. 29 Florida Administrative Register. Among the changes described in the notice, the amendments would require value adjustment boards to hear appeals concerning the timeliness of filed tax returns.
The proposal also incorporates Form DR-486RMT, which would allow petitioners to request remote hearings. For homeowners and businesses appealing an assessment, a remote-hearing option can decide whether an appeal is practical at all, particularly for owners who live outside the county where the property sits.
A notice of rule development is the first step in Florida rulemaking, not an adopted rule. The department says a rule development workshop will be held on Nov. 12 if one is requested in writing and deemed necessary. Any final rule would still go through the state's proposal, comment and adoption process before it takes effect.
