Sample TRIM Notice (.pdf 13k)
The Truth in Millage (TRIM) Notice, also known as Notice of Proposed Assessment, is a very important notice. It tells you last year's market value, this year's market value as of January 1, and this year's assessed value. The market value column is our office's opinion of what a willing buyer would have paid a willing seller for the property as of last January 1 based on market sales.
If the property shown on the TRIM notice is not your Homestead, then the columns for "market value" and "assessed value" will be the same. If the property has a classified use value, such as for agriculture, the assessed value column is its classified use value. (Even when the market value shown is higher than your estimate of your property's market value as of January 1, the tax bill for Homestead property will still be based on the CPI increase over last year's assessed value. See Important note below*.) The mailing of the TRIM Notice begins the 25 day appeal period. If no changes are made, your November tax bill will be based on the figure shown in the assessed value box.
All the exemptions granted to your property are shown in the box marked "Exemptions". If you bought this property during the current calendar year, and your seller qualified for exemptions, the exemptions shown are those that your seller was granted. These exemptions and homestead cap, if applicable, will be removed for the next year. You must apply for your own exemptions! If you bought this property during the previous calendar year and you applied for exemptions for the current tax year and none are shown in the "Exemptions" box, you should contact the Property Appraiser's Office immediately to find out whether there is a problem with your exemption(s).
Duval County has several taxing bodies. All taxing bodies must hold public hearings before setting their rates. The dates, times and places of these hearings are shown in the fourth column of your TRIM notice, along with the telephone numbers.
*Important: By the 1992 Amendment to the Florida Constitution, passed by the voters, known as Amendment 10-Save Our Homes, the assessed value of your Homestead property can increase no more than 3%, (or the consumer price index (CPI) - whichever is less), over last year's assessed value. The Department of Revenue certifies a consumer price index, then notifies the assessor's office of the official rate.
To give you an example: If your Homestead property was assessed at $100,000 last year and it's market value has increased to $125,000 this year, your maximum current year assessed value can only increase by the official CPI rate, (as listed above, 3% or less). The market value indicates a higher rate of increase in value, but the Homestead property's assessed value increase rate is capped. The increase can be no more than 3% over the previous year's assessed value.
There are only a few ways in which a homestead property assessment can increase more than the 3% (or the CPI). One of these is when there are improvements to your property which were not reflected in the previous year's assessment. (Contact our office if you have a specific question.)
Remember! When there is a change in ownership, the assessed value will be brought up to the market value.
2005 Consumer Price Index (CPI) - To figure the 2005 Assessed Value of a homesteaded property, multiply the 2004 Assessed Value by the 2005 rate of 3.0%.
The official CPI for 2005, used for calculating the Amendment 10 CAP, is 3.0%
2004 CPI - 1.9%
2003 CPI - 2.4%
2002 CPI - 1.6%
2001 CPI - 3.0%
THE PROPERTY APPRAISER'S OFFICE IS RESPONSIBLE ONLY FOR THE MARKET VALUE OF YOUR PROPERTY. By the Florida Constitution and Statutes, this is the amount a willing buyer, (one who did not have to buy the property) would pay a willing seller (one who did not have to sell) as of last January 1. The Property Appraiser does not set the tax rate nor collect the taxes.