My house is sold. We are closing on September 30.
Will the tax bill issued in November be based upon me as the owner or be based upon the new owner?
I attached an article about this.
In Florida, property taxes are paid in arrears. Property taxes are not assessed until November of the year in which they are due. This means that if your closing takes place anywhere between January and the first week of November, the amount of the current years property taxes will not be known. For this reason, property taxes are based on the previous year’s tax amount. Tax proration divides the property taxes between buyer and seller, with the buyer responsible for taxes up until the property is sold to the seller. Since the property taxes are based on the prior year, when the tax bill finally arrives, all parties involved should re-prorate the taxes to determine who owes what. During the closing process, all parties typically sign a re-proration agreement stating that property taxes will be re-calculated when the tax bill arrives. It is typical at closing to use the maximum discount allowed when prorating taxes.
The most important thing to keep in mind about real property taxes during the buying/selling process is that the person holding legal title to the property at the time the tax bill is due is the person who will be ultimately responsible for payment. If the taxes aren’t paid, they (the taxing authority,) will hold the property hostage until they are satisfied.
The arrangements as to who owes what taxes are between the Buyer and the Seller. That includes requiring the Seller to deposit into an escrow account the appropriate estimated taxes during their ownership. Settlement upon payment of the amount billed may be optional. All of these items need to be a condition of the original offer. Caveat emptor!
As a Buyer or a Seller of real property you should know what you are doing or have a fiduciary who does. That’s especially true for Buyers.