CHAPTER 195

195.0011

Short title.

History. — s. 1, ch. 73-172.

195.0012 Legislative intent.

History. — s. 47, ch. 70-243; s. 2, ch. 73-172.

195.002 Supervision by Department of Revenue.

(1) The Department of Revenue shall have general supervision of the assessment and valuation of property so that all property will be placed on the tax rolls and shall be valued according to its just valuation, as required by the constitution. It shall also have supervision over tax collection and all other aspects of the administration of such taxes. The supervision of the department shall consist primarily of aiding and assisting county officers in the assessing and collection functions, with particular emphasis on the more technical aspects. In this regard, the department shall conduct schools to upgrade assessment skills of both state and local assessment personnel.

History. — s. 35, ch. 70-243; s. 7, ch. 74-234; s. 5, ch. 86-300; s. 25, ch. 90-203; s. 1, ch. 2008-138; s. 8, ch. 2008-197.

195.022 Forms to be prescribed by Department of Revenue.

History. — s. 37, ch. 70-243; s. 4, ch. 73-172; s. 7, ch. 74-234; s. 10, ch. 76-133; s. 2, ch. 78-185; s. 1, ch. 78-193; s. 153, ch. 91-112; s. 8, ch. 93-132; ss. 70, 71, ch. 2003-399; s. 1, ch. 2004-22; s. 2, ch. 2008-138; s. 1, ch. 2009-67.

195.027 Rules and regulations.

(1) The Department of Revenue shall prescribe reasonable rules and regulations for the assessing and collecting of taxes, and such rules and regulations shall be followed by the property appraisers, tax collectors, clerks of the circuit court, and value adjustment boards. It is hereby declared to be the legislative intent that the department shall formulate such rules and regulations that property will be assessed, taxes will be collected, and the administration will be uniform, just, and otherwise in compliance with the requirements of the general law and the constitution.

(2) It is the legislative intent that all counties operate on computer programs that are substantially similar and produce data which are directly comparable. The rules and regulations shall prescribe uniform standards and procedures for computer programs and operations for all programs installed in any property appraiser’s office. It is the legislative intent that the department shall require a high degree of uniformity so that data will be comparable among counties and that a single audit procedure will be practical for all property appraisers’ offices.

(3) The rules and regulations shall provide procedures whereby the property appraiser, the Department of Revenue, and the Auditor General shall be able to obtain access, where necessary, to financial records relating to nonhomestead property which records are required to make a determination of the proper assessment as to the particular property in question. Access to a taxpayer’s records shall be provided only in those instances in which it is determined that such records are necessary to determine either the classification or the value of the taxable nonhomestead property.

Access shall be provided only to those records which pertain to the property physically located in the taxing county as of January 1 of each year and to the income from such property generated in the taxing county for the year in which a proper assessment is made.

All records produced by the taxpayer under this subsection shall be deemed to be confidential in the hands of the property appraiser, the department, the tax collector, and the Auditor General and shall not be divulged to any person, firm, or corporation, except upon court order or order of an administrative body having quasi-judicial powers in ad valorem tax matters, and such records are exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1).

(4)(

a) The rules and regulations prescribed by the department shall require a return of tangible personal property which shall include:

(5) The rules and regulations shall require that the property appraiser deliver copies of all pleadings in court proceedings in which his or her office is involved to the Department of Revenue.

(6) The fees and costs of the sale or purchase and terms of financing shall be presumed to be usual unless the buyer or seller or agent thereof files a form which discloses the unusual fees, costs, and terms of financing. Such form shall be filed with the clerk of the circuit court at the time of recording. The rules and regulations shall prescribe an information form to be used for this purpose. Either the buyer or the seller or the agent of either shall complete the information form and certify that the form is accurate to the best of his or her knowledge and belief.

The information form shall be confidential in the hands of all persons after delivery to the clerk, except that the Department of Revenue and the Auditor General shall have access to it in the execution of their official duties, and such form is exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1). The information form may be used in any judicial proceeding, upon a motion to produce duly made by any party to such proceedings. Failure of the clerk to obtain an information form with the recording shall not impair the validity of the recording or the conveyance.

The form shall provide for a notation by the clerk indicating the book and page number of the conveyance in the official record books of the county. The clerk shall promptly deliver all information forms received to the property appraiser for his or her custody and use.

History. — s. 39, ch. 70-243; s. 2, ch. 73-172; ss. 8, 22, 23, ch. 74-234; s. 11, ch. 76-133; s. 16, ch. 76-234; s. 14, ch. 79-334; s. 10, ch. 80-77; s. 23, ch. 80-274; s. 6, ch. 81-308; s. 22, ch. 88-119; s. 64, ch. 89-356; s. 39, ch. 90-360; s. 154, ch. 91-112; s. 985, ch. 95-147; s. 5, ch. 96-397; s. 51, ch. 96-406.

195.032 Establishment of standards of value.

History. — s. 38, ch. 70-243; s. 12, ch. 76-133; s. 9, ch. 76-234; s. 62, ch. 82-226.

195.052 Research and tabulation of data.

History. — s. 40, ch. 70-243; s. 3, ch. 82-388; s. 6, ch. 83-204; s. 9, ch. 2008-197.

195.062 Manual of instructions.

(1) The department shall prepare and maintain a current manual of instructions for property appraisers and other officials connected with the administration of property taxes. This manual shall contain all:

(2) The department may also include in such manual any other information which it deems pertinent or helpful in the administration of taxes. Such manual shall instruct that the mere recordation of a plat on previously unplatted acreage shall not be construed as evidence of sufficient change in the character of the land to require reassessment until such time as development is begun on the platted acreage. Such manual shall be made available for distribution to the public at a nominal cost, to include cost of printing and circulation.

History. — s. 41, ch. 70-243; s. 1, ch. 71-367; s. 2, ch. 73-172; s. 9, ch. 74-234; s. 1, ch. 75-12; s. 10, ch. 76-234; s. 1, ch. 77-174; s. 5, ch. 2002-18; s. 3, ch. 2004-349.

195.072 Cooperation with other state agencies.

(1) State agencies are authorized and directed to render such necessary aid and assistance to the Department of Revenue as is required to enable the department to carry out its functions of ensuring just valuation and equitable administration of property taxes in this state.

(2) The Department of Revenue shall render such aid and assistance as may be required in an active investigation of a property appraiser by a state agency by providing procedural and valuation assistance as it relates to the property appraiser’s property tax administrative duties.

History. — s. 42, ch. 70-243; s. 13, ch. 2012-193.

195.073 Classification of property.

(1) Real property must be classified according to the assessment basis of the land into the following classes:

(2) Personal property shall be classified as:

(3) When the tax roll is submitted to the department for approval, there shall also be appended a statement indicating the total assessed valuation of structures added to and deleted from the assessment roll for that year in each taxing jurisdiction.

(4)(

a) Rules adopted pursuant to this

section shall provide for the separate identification of property as prior existing property of an expanded or rebuilt business, as expansion-related property of an expanded or rebuilt business, and as property of a new business, in the event the business qualifies for an enterprise zone property tax credit pursuant to s. 220.182, in addition to classification according to use.

(5) Rules adopted pursuant to this

section shall provide for the separate identification of property granted an economic development ad valorem tax exemption, in addition to classification according to use.

(6) To the greatest extent practicable and based on existing information, all publicly owned real property required to be listed on the assessment roll shall also be separately classified according to ownership by federal, state, or local government; water management district; or other public entity.

History. — s. 3, ch. 73-172; ss. 8, 23, ch. 74-234; s. 15, ch. 79-334; s. 11, ch. 80-77; ss. 6, 10, ch. 80-248; s. 3, ch. 80-347; s. 9, ch. 81-308; ss. 56, 74, ch. 82-226; s. 1, ch. 83-223; s. 27, ch. 84-356; s. 65, ch. 94-136; s. 64, ch. 94-353; s. 7, ch. 96-204; s. 6, ch. 97-117; s. 24, ch. 2000-210; s. 16, ch. 2005-287; s. 4, ch. 2009-157; s. 5, ch. 2020-10.

195.084 Information exchange.

(1) The department shall promulgate rules and regulations for the exchange of information among the department, the property appraisers’ offices, the tax collector, the Auditor General, and the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability. All records and returns of the department useful to the property appraiser or the tax collector shall be made available upon request but subject to the reasonable conditions imposed by the department. This

section shall supersede statutes prohibiting disclosure only with respect to the property appraiser, the tax collector, the Auditor General, and the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, but the department may establish regulations setting reasonable conditions upon the access to and custody of such information. The Auditor General, the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, the tax collectors, and the property appraisers shall be bound by the same requirements of confidentiality as the Department of Revenue. Breach of confidentiality shall be a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided by ss. 775.082 and 775.083.

(2) All of the records of property appraisers and collectors, including, but not limited to, worksheets and property record cards, shall be made available to the Department of Revenue, the Auditor General, and the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability. Property appraisers and collectors are hereby directed to cooperate fully with representatives of the Department of Revenue, the Auditor General, and the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability in realizing the objectives stated in s. 195.0012.

History. — s. 5, ch. 73-172; s. 1, ch. 77-102; s. 23, ch. 88-119; s. 40, ch. 90-360; s. 52, ch. 96-406; s. 48, ch. 2001-266.

195.087 Property appraisers and tax collectors to submit budgets to Department of Revenue.

(1)(

a) On or before June 1 of each year, every property appraiser, regardless of the form of county government, shall submit to the Department of Revenue a budget for the operation of the property appraiser’s office for the ensuing fiscal year beginning October 1. The property appraiser shall submit his or her budget in the manner and form required by the department. A copy of such budget shall be furnished at the same time to the board of county commissioners.

The department shall, upon proper notice to the county commission and property appraiser, review the budget request and may amend or change the budget request as it deems necessary, in order that the budget be neither inadequate nor excessive. On or before July 15, the department shall notify the property appraiser and the board of county commissioners of its tentative budget amendments and changes. Before August 15, the property appraiser and the board of county commissioners may submit additional information or testimony to the department respecting the budget.

On or before August 15, the department shall make its final budget amendments or changes to the budget and shall provide notice thereof to the property appraiser and board of county commissioners. Once the department makes its final budget amendments, the budget is final and shall be funded by the county commission pursuant to s. 192.091.

(2) On or before August 1 of each year, each tax collector, regardless of the form of county government, shall submit to the Department of Revenue a budget for the operation of the tax collector’s office for the ensuing fiscal year, in the manner and form prescribed by the department. A copy of such budget shall be furnished at the same time to the board of county commissioners. The department shall examine the budget and, if it is found adequate to carry on the work of the tax collector, shall approve the budget and certify it back to the tax collector.

If the department finds the budget inadequate or excessive, it shall return such budget to the tax collector, together with its ruling thereon. The tax collector shall revise the budget as required and resubmit it to the department. After the final approval of the budget by the department, there shall be no reduction or increase by any officer, board, or commission without the approval of the department. However, all moneys received by tax collectors in complying with

chapter 119 shall be accounted for in the same manner as provided for in s. 218.36, for moneys received as county fees and commissions, and any such moneys may be used and expended in the same manner and to the same extent as funds budgeted for the office and no budget amendment shall be required. This subsection does not apply in a county in which the office of tax collector has been abolished and the duties of that office have been transferred to another office pursuant to s. 1(d), Art.

VIII of the State Constitution or in a county in which a resolution is in effect pursuant to s. 145.022 or in any charter county where the charter specifically provides for a different method for the submission of the tax collector’s budget.

(3) Any check received by the office of the collector which is returned by the bank upon which the check is drawn shall be the personal liability of the tax collector unless the collector, after due diligence to collect the returned check, forwards the returned check for prosecution to the state attorney of the circuit where the check was drawn. This subsection does not apply to ad valorem taxes, in which case the collector shall proceed under

chapter 197.

(4) The property appraisers and tax collectors of this state are hereby authorized to pay any fee established by the department for attendance by an employee at a school established and conducted by the department pursuant to s. 195.002. Further, the travel and per diem expenses of such employee may be paid as set forth in s. 112.061. Property appraisers are authorized to pay a fee established by the department for the costs of aerial photographs and nonproperty ownership maps provided by the department pursuant to s. 195.022.

(5) Any property appraiser or tax collector whose budget is approved by the Department of Revenue who has not been reelected to office or is not seeking reelection shall be prohibited from making any budget amendments, transferring funds between itemized appropriations, or expending in a single month more than one-twelfth of any itemized approved appropriation following the date he or she is eliminated as a candidate or October 1, whichever comes later, without the approval of the Department of Revenue.

(6) Each property appraiser and tax collector must post their final approved budget on their official website within 30 days after adoption. Each county’s official website must have a link to the websites of the property appraiser or tax collector where the final approved budget is posted. If the property appraiser or tax collector does not have an official website, the final approved budget must be posted on the county’s official website.

History. — s. 56, ch. 20722, 1941; ss. 1, 2, ch. 69-55; ss. 21, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 36, ch. 70-243; s. 6, ch. 73-172; s. 10, ch. 74-234; s. 1, ch. 77-102; s. 93, ch. 79-190; s. 16, ch. 79-334; s. 29, ch. 80-274; s. 84, ch. 81-259; s. 3, ch. 82-33; s. 6, ch. 86-300; s. 3, ch. 88-85; s. 3, ch. 88-158; s. 26, ch. 90-203; s. 2, ch. 90-343; s. 986, ch. 95-147; ss. 4, 18, ch. 95-272; s. 4, ch. 97-287; s. 3, ch. 2008-138; s. 17, ch. 2011-144; s. 1, ch. 2015-87.

195.092 Authority to bring and maintain suits.

(1) The Department of Revenue shall have authority to bring and maintain such actions at law or in equity by mandamus or injunction, or otherwise, to enforce the performance of any duties of any officer or official performing duties with relation to the execution of the tax laws of the state, or to enforce obedience to any lawful order, rule, regulation, or decision of the Department of Revenue lawfully made under the authority of these tax laws. Venue for such actions shall be in the county in which the official duties of the property appraiser are to be performed.

(2) The property appraiser or any taxing authority shall have the authority to bring and maintain such actions as may be necessary to contest the validity of any rule, regulation, order, directive, or determination of any agency of the state, including, but not limited to, disapproval of all or any part of an assessment roll or a determination of assessment levels. The defendant in such actions shall be the agency head, and service of process shall be on such person or, when the head of the agency is a collegial body, its executive director, if there be one.

Such action shall be brought within 60 days of the date the rule, regulation, order, directive, or determination becomes effective. Venue for such actions shall be in Leon County. The circuit court judge, upon proper motion, may agree to hear the case in the county where the property is located if trial in Leon County would result in substantial expense and inconvenience to the necessary participants. Appeal shall be to the First District Court of Appeal.

(3) No action shall be instituted to compel reappraisal of property or adjustment of the tax rolls unless the executive director has first met or in good faith has attempted to meet in conference with the affected property appraiser and has been unable to resolve differences or obtain acceptable written assurance of the implementation of a plan to ensure compliance with general law and the constitutional requirement of just value.

(4) In any action instituted against a property appraiser to compel the performance of his or her official duties, the court may order the implementation of a plan of reappraisal to be completed within a prescribed period of time. To implement its decision, the court shall have the power to:

(5) Chapter 120 shall not apply to this section.

History. — s. 55, ch. 20722, 1941; ss. 1, 2, ch. 69-55; ss. 21, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 44, ch. 70-243; s. 6, ch. 80-274; s. 987, ch. 95-147.

195.096 Review of assessment rolls.

(1) The assessment rolls of each county shall be subject to review by the Department of Revenue.

(2) The department shall conduct, no less frequently than once every 2 years, an in-depth review of the real property assessment roll of each county. The department need not individually study every use-class of property set forth in s. 195.073, but shall at a minimum study the level of assessment in relation to just value of each classification specified in subsection (3). Such in-depth review may include proceedings of the value adjustment board and the audit or review of procedures used by the counties to appraise property.

(3)(

a) Upon completion of review pursuant to paragraph (2)(f), the department shall publish the results of reviews conducted under this section. The results must include all statistical and analytical measures computed under this

section for the real property assessment roll and independently for the following real property classes if the classes constituted 5 percent or more of the total assessed value of real property in a county on the previous tax roll:

(4) It is declared to be the legislative intent that approval of the rolls by the department pursuant to s. 193.1142 and certification by the value adjustment board pursuant to s. 193.122(1) shall not be deemed to impugn the use of postcertification reviews to require adjustments in the preparation of succeeding assessment rolls to ensure that such succeeding assessment rolls do meet the constitutional mandates of just value.

(5) It is the legislative intent that the department utilize to the fullest extent practicable objective measures of market value in the conduct of reviews pursuant to this section.

(6) Reviews conducted under this

section must include an evaluation of whether nonhomestead exempt values determined by the appraiser under applicable provisions of

chapter 196 are correct and whether agricultural and high-water recharge classifications and classifications of historic property used for commercial and certain nonprofit purposes were granted in accordance with law.

(7) When a roll is prepared as an interim roll pursuant to s. 193.1145, the department shall compute assessment levels for both the interim roll and the final approved roll.

(8) Chapter 120 shall not apply to this section.

History. — s. 7, ch. 73-172; ss. 11, 21, ch. 74-234; s. 2, ch. 75-211; s. 13, ch. 76-133; ss. 7, 10, ch. 80-248; s. 18, ch. 80-274; ss. 1, 3, 10, ch. 82-208; ss. 3, 27, 29, 80, ch. 82-226; s. 61, ch. 89-356; s. 134, ch. 91-112; s. 3, ch. 92-32; s. 7, ch. 93-132; ss. 5, 19, ch. 95-272; s. 8, ch. 96-204; s. 7, ch. 96-397; ss. 53, 54, ch. 96-406; s. 7, ch. 97-117; s. 5, ch. 97-287; s. 13, ch. 99-333; ss. 1, 2, ch. 2001-137; s. 49, ch. 2001-266; s. 906, ch. 2002-387; s. 2, ch. 2005-185; s. 1, ch. 2006-42; s. 13, ch. 2007-5; s. 4, ch. 2011-52; s. 14, ch. 2012-193; s. 3, ch. 2019-42; s. 6, ch. 2020-10.

195.097 Postaudit notification of defects; supervision by the department.

(1)(

a) Upon evaluation of any reviews, studies, or findings of the Department of Revenue, the executive director of the department shall issue a notice to any property appraiser who the executive director has determined has one or more classes or other strata of property listed on the assessment rolls in a manner inconsistent with the requirements of law, or is otherwise not assessing in accordance with law.

The executive director shall specify in his or her notice the classes or strata of property that have been improperly assessed on the prior year’s roll, the nature of the defect or defects, and the requirements of the department to obtain approval of the current year’s assessment roll. Such notice shall be provided to the property appraiser no later than November 15.

(2) Within 15 days after receipt of a notice, but no later than December 1, the property appraiser shall either notify the executive director in writing of his or her intention to comply or request an immediate conference with the executive director for the purpose of attempting to resolve differences between the property appraiser and the executive director. Such conference shall be held no later than December 15.

At the conclusion of the conference, but no later than January 1, the executive director shall issue an administrative order, which order shall incorporate the remedial steps, if any, to be taken by the property appraiser to ensure that all property on his or her rolls is assessed at just value. An administrative order shall also be issued in the case of a property appraiser who has stated his or her intention to comply.

(3) Upon receipt of an administrative order issued pursuant to this section, but not later than January 15, the property appraiser shall notify the department of his or her intent to comply with the order or of the basis for intended noncompliance. Upon receipt of a notice of intended noncompliance, the department shall take such action as it deems necessary pursuant to s. 195.092.

(4) Upon the issuance of the administrative order, the department shall commence continuing supervision of the preparation of the current rolls to ensure that every reasonable effort is being taken by the property appraiser to comply with the order. Supervision may include, but shall not be limited to, the conduct of ratio or other mass-data studies on the roll being prepared, onsite inspection of the property appraiser’s office or field operations, and interviews with the property appraiser’s personnel or consultants.

The executive director may require the property appraiser to certify in writing the specific steps taken to comply with the administrative order. During such supervision, the executive director may seek any judicial remedy available to him or her under law to force compliance with the order, and may request removal of the property appraiser by the Governor when he or she deems such action necessary. No later than May 1, the executive director shall notify the property appraiser, in writing, as to whether he or she is in substantial compliance with the order.

In the event that the executive director determines that the property appraiser is not in substantial compliance at that time, he or she shall send to the property appraiser and the governing body of each tax-levying agency in the county a notice of intent to disapprove the tax roll in whole or in part.

(5) The dates specified in this

section shall be extended if the date for completion of the current or prior year’s roll was extended pursuant to s. 193.023(1), or records or data requested in writing pursuant to s. 195.096(2)(

e) were not submitted within the time allowed by law. The length of extension of dates specified in this

section shall be equal to:

(6) Chapter 120 does not apply to this section.

History. — s. 7, ch. 73-172; ss. 14, 21, ch. 74-234; s. 3, ch. 75-211; s. 1, ch. 77-102; s. 19, ch. 80-274; s. 4, ch. 80-347; s. 3, ch. 82-208; ss. 29, 80, ch. 82-226; s. 41, ch. 83-204; s. 989, ch. 95-147; ss. 6, 20, ch. 95-272; s. 6, ch. 97-287.

195.099 Periodic review.

(1)(

a) The department may review the assessments of new, rebuilt, and expanded business reported according to s. 193.077(3), to ensure parity of level of assessment with other classifications of property.

(2) The department may review the assessments of new and expanded businesses granted an exemption pursuant to s. 196.1995 to ensure parity of level of assessment with other classifications of property.

History. — ss. 7, 10, ch. 80-248; s. 4, ch. 80-347; s. 3, ch. 82-208; ss. 29, 80, ch. 82-226; s. 57, ch. 83-217; s. 28, ch. 84-356; s. 25, ch. 85-80; s. 66, ch. 94-136; s. 1, ch. 2006-113; s. 16, ch. 2012-193.

195.0995 Use of sales transactions data; qualification; review.

(1) For each sales transaction disqualified by a property appraiser, the property appraiser shall document the reason for disqualification of the sale in a manner prescribed by the department.

(2) The department shall randomly sample all sales in the county to determine whether those sales were properly qualified or disqualified. If the department finds that more than 10 percent of sales qualification decisions do not fall within the applicable criteria, the department shall issue a postaudit notification of defects and shall follow the procedures set forth in s. 195.097.

(3) Chapter 120 shall not apply to this section.

History. — s. 4, ch. 93-132; s. 1, ch. 2005-185.

195.101 Withholding of state funds.

(1) The Department of Revenue is hereby directed to determine each year whether the several counties of this state are assessing the real and tangible personal property within their jurisdiction in accordance with law. If the Department of Revenue determines that any county is assessing property at less than that prescribed by law, the Chief Financial Officer shall withhold from such county a portion of any state funds to which the county may be entitled equal to the difference of the amount assessed and the amount required to be assessed by law.

(2) The Department of Revenue is hereby directed to determine each year whether the several municipalities of this state are assessing the real and tangible personal property within their jurisdiction in accordance with law. If the Department of Revenue determines that any municipality is assessing property at less than that prescribed by law, the Chief Financial Officer shall withhold from such municipality a portion of any state funds to which that municipality may be entitled equal to the difference of the amount assessed and the amount required to be assessed by law.

History. — s. 6, ch. 67-395; s. 5, ch. 67-396; ss. 1, 2, ch. 69-55; ss. 21, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 45, ch. 70-243; s. 175, ch. 2003-261.

195.207 Effect on levy of municipal taxes.

History. — s. 2, ch. 72-360; s. 3, ch. 73-129.