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Dear Palm Beach County Taxpayer:
Your Property Appraiser's Office carefully verifies all information at the time an application for Homestead Exemption is filed. If an application is incomplete, or if we find that the applicant has a residency-based benefit on another property either in Florida or another state, the application is denied. This verification process has been in practice in our office for many years. While it may take extra time at the front end, the policy helps prevent homestead fraud beforehand, which eliminates the need for teams of costly investigators.
A person is entitled to homestead status when they declare the property to be their permanent residence. They do not have to reside on the property year round, but they cannot receive a residency-based benefit on another property anywhere else.
As good as we are in preventing fraud, circumstances sometimes change for a homeowner. A homestead recipient who initially qualified for the exemption might fail to report a change in residency to our office and improperly retain the original homestead exemption.
Homestead fraud costs all taxpayers. If someone is not paying their fair share it means everyone else has to make up the difference.
Anyone who receives a homestead exemption they are not entitled to is committing fraud and will be subject to back assessments, penalties and possible prosecution.
You can help stop homestead fraud. If you suspect someone is improperly receiving a homestead exemption, we want to hear from you. Simply click the CONTACT US link below. You can remain anonymous if you wish but we will not be able to communicate our finding back to you. If you want to know the result of our investigation, please provide your name and your e-mail address.
GARY R. NIKOLITS, CFA
PROPERTY APPRAISER
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