| Frequently
Asked Questions
File Petition Online New!
View Petition Information Online
Late
Application for Exemption Petition
The
Value Adjustment Board (the "VAB") is an independent
governmental agency created by Chapter 194, of the Florida Statutes,
to accept and process taxpayers' petitions contesting the value
of real estate and personal property as assessed by the Property
Appraiser's Office.
Hearings are conducted by "Special Magistrates" appointed
by the VAB to determine whether or not property is properly
assessed. If not, then the VAB has the authority to make any
necessary adjustment.
The VAB is composed of five officials, specifically two County Commissioners, one School Board member, one citizen member appointed by the county commission and one citizen member appointed by the school board. One of the Commissioners is required to serve as the VAB Chairperson. At least three members must be present at the meeting in order to have a quorum, one of whom must be a Commissioner, a School Board member, and one Citizen member.
Every
year, the VAB receives applications from candidates wishing
to serve as Special Magistrates, who preside as administrative
judges at the hearings. Based on their qualifications, the Board
appoints the number of Special Magistrates needed to serve during
the particular tax year. Two categories of Special Magistrates
are selected each year as follows:
Appraiser
Special Magistrate:
For real estate and personal property valuation hearings.
Attorney
Special Magistrate:
For tax exemptions, agricultural classifications, and other
legal issues requiring hearings.
The
Clerk of the Courts provides the clerical support required by
the VAB.
VAB PETITION PROCESS:
In
August of each year, Miami-Dade County property owners receive
a "Notice of Proposed Property Taxes"
showing, as to each property, the prior year’s taxes,
the current year’s taxes, with and without budget changes,
and the "market" and "assessed" values for
the prior and current year. Based on the current year information,
property owners may file petitions with the VAB within 25 days
following the mailing of the notice, if they feel that the Property
Appraiser's proposed "assessed" value is incorrect
(e.g. does not properly reflect the property's actual fair market
value as of January 1 of the current tax year). With certain
exceptions, a $15.00 filing fee is required
to be paid at the time a petition is filed. Prior to filing
a VAB petition, a taxpayer may review the proposed assessment
with the Property Appraiser's Office at an informal conference.
However, this informal conference is not a necessary prerequisite
to the filing of a VAB petition.
If the property owner does
in fact meet with the Property Appraiser and is dissatisfied
with the results, the taxpayer or his agent, may file a "VALUE"
petition (white form)
with the VAB after the meeting.
Please see the FAQ’s for options to file a petition.
In addition to the VALUE petition, property owners may also file two other types of petitions
(having different filing requirements and/or deadlines), as
follows:
Legal Petitions (yellow
forms):
To review the denial of tax exemptions or agricultural classifications
by the Property Appraiser's Office, or other legal issues related
to an assessment; and Late
Petitions (pink forms):
To review applications for exemptions and agricultural
classifications filed late with the Property Appraiser's Office.
Approximately
100,000 petitions are filed each year with the VAB.
After
the petitions are filed, hearings before the VAB's Special Magistrates
are scheduled and the petitioners are notified of the date,
time and place of their respective hearings via first class
mail. The hearing notices are generally mailed no later than
30 days prior to the date of the scheduled hearing.
Petitioners
(i.e. taxpayers) contesting the value of their property present
their cases to Appraiser Special Magistrates, while those seeking
tax exemptions, agricultural classifications, or the resolution
of other legal issues (e.g. dispensation for filing late petitions)
present their cases to Attorney Special Magistrates. At the
hearing, since the Property Appraiser's assessment is supported
by a "presumption of correctness" under Florida law,
the burden of proving that the assessment is excessive or otherwise
illegal falls on the petitioner. After
the hearing, if the petitioner disagrees with the Special Magistrate's
recommendation to the VAB, a further appeal of the VAB decision
may be initiated by the taxpayer filing suit in the Circuit
Court. Any such suit (i.e. other than homestead exemption denials)
must be filed no later than 60 days from the mailing of the
VAB's record of decision notice to the taxpayer. Any suit involving
the denial of a homestead exemption must be filed in the Circuit
Court within 15 days from the date of mailing of the VAB’s
record of decision notice. The VAB's record of decision notices
are mailed to petitioners after all hearings have been completed
for the particular tax appeal year. Petitioners
who are successful in obtaining a VAB adjustment to their assessments
receive a refund of any over-paid taxes made to the county or
a new adjusted tax bill if the original tax bill has not been
paid. |