HOW YOUR TAXES ARE CALCULATED

Have you ever wondered how your property taxes are calculated? It can be a complicated process, but we are here to help make it simple!

Step 1. Assessment
Let’s look at an example — Fred lives in a single-family home in West
Palm Beach. His home is assessed by the Palm Beach County Property
Appraiser at $200,000.

Step 2. Exemption
Fred has a Homestead exemption which reduces the taxable value of his home by $50,000, resulting in a total taxable value
of $150,000. Remember, a Homestead exemption limits the tax rate increase to 3% per year.

Step 3. Ad Valorem Taxes
The $150,000 taxable value is multiplied by the millage rate set by each ad valorem taxing authority for properties within
their boundaries. Since Fred lives in West Palm Beach, the millage rate in 2022 was 21.0796 for every $1,000 of taxable
value. His $150,000 taxable value is then divided by $1,000, which equals 150 and then multiplied by the 21.0796 millage
rate, resulting in Fred’s Ad Valorem taxes totaling $3,161.94.

Step 4. Annual Taxes
Next, non-ad valorem assessments are added and determined by the levying authority using a unit measure to calculate the
cost of services. For example, Solid Waste Authority fees are based on the type of property producing the waste. In 2022,
Fred’s fee was $200, which is added to $3,161.94 totaling his annual property taxes at $3,361.94.

In Fiscal Year 2021/2022, our office collected $4,476,481,220 in property taxes and distributed those monies to the local
taxing authorities to provide essential services to the residents of Palm Beach County. 

READY TO RENEW… HERE’S WHAT TO DO

You’ve received the notice in the mail it’s time to renew your driver license, what now? If your license is REAL ID compliant
(look for the gold star in the upper right corner), and you have not used your one-time online convenience renewal, and
you have no stops, holds or other violations on your license, then an online renewal is your easiest and fastest option. Visit
www.pbctax.com/driver-license to renew!

If you are not REAL ID compliant or have a stop, hold or violation on
your driver license, you will need to make a reservation and visit one
of our service centers. Reservations fill up quickly so don’t delay!
Visit www.pbctax.com/reservations to make reservations.
Before you visit, perform a free driver license check-up at
www.flhsmv.gov/driver-licenses-id-cards/ to see if you have any
stops, holds or violations. Clearances can be processed at our office if you bring the required documentation.

If English is not your first language, you have the option of bringing a person with you to your scheduled reservation to assist you with translating.

Please note, while they may assist with translation, they
may not assist while you take any required tests, such as the driver license written exam. State regulations require that
these tests only be completed by the applicant.

FINANCE TEAM HONORED WITH AWARDS

I am especially proud of my Finance & Budget team for being
awarded the Certificate of Merit for Audit by the Florida Tax
Collectors Association. This award recognizes our office’s
achievement for a 2021-22 audit, clear of any findings – in other
words, a perfect audit!

In addition, the team was recently awarded the 2023 Legacy Award
for Financial Operations by the Florida Tax Collector’s Association.
This award, recognizes the innovation and automation the team
developed for a new process to regularly post outstanding or
uncashed checks on the tax collector’s website so that clients can
visit the website 24/7 to see if they potentially have any unclaimed
funds with our office. This new process lists roughly 2,300-3,000
outstanding checks on the website at any given time, which negates
the need to mail notices to individuals thus reducing our monthly
postage costs by more than $1,300!

To find out if you may have unclaimed funds with our office, visit https://www.pbctax.com/unclaimed-funds/.

Congratulations to my Chief Financial Officer, Carmen C. Richardson, and her innovation and dedicated team for the
tremendous work they do to ensure we are fiscally responsible and delivering exceptional service to our clients. 

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