Property Tax Relief for Hurricane Ian or Hurricane Nicole

JOHN HARRELL

Tax Law Specialist, Property Tax Oversight, Department of Revenue

In 2022, two major storms, Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole, hit Florida with severe inland flooding and coastal damage. Hurricane Ian made landfall on Florida’s west coast on September 28. Hurricane Nicole made landfall on Florida’s east coast on November 10. In the wake of these storms, Gov. DeSantis, the Department of Revenue (Department) and the Florida Legislature initiated measures to provide property tax relief for property owners affected by the storms.

In December 2022, a special legislative session enacted chapter 2022-272, Laws of Florida (L.O.F.), creating sections 197.3181 and 197.3182, Florida Statutes (F.S.). Section 197.3182, F.S. suspends specific tax deadlines for real property destroyed or rendered uninhabitable by Hurricane Ian or Hurricane Nicole. The statute extends the delinquency date for unpaid property taxes and non-ad valorem assessments levied in 2022 from April 1, 2023, to June 1, 2023, for these properties. Based on this extended delinquency date, the statute further extends all dates, time periods and associated provisions relative to the collection of delinquent taxes and non-ad valorem assessments, including but not limited to the sale of tax certificates.

Section 197.3182, F.S. also extended deadlines governing discounts for payment of all taxes assessed on the county tax rolls and collected by the tax collector. The statute provided a discount to property owners depending on when they paid their property taxes.

„ Property owners received a 4% discount when they paid in November 2022, December 2022 or January 2023.

„ They received a 3% discount in February 2023.

„ Those who paid their taxes in March 2023 and April 2023 received a 2% discount and a 1% discount, respectively.

„ There is no discount for payment in May 2023.

The statute provided additional deadlines governing property taxes prepaid in installments. The discounts applied to those payments are suspended and extended for 60 days. Section 197.3182, F.S., operates retroactively to Jan. 1, 2022, and will expire Jan. 1, 2024. Property owners submit property tax payments to their county tax collectors.

Section 197.3181, F.S., authorized property tax refunds for residential improvements rendered uninhabitable for at least 30 days by Hurricane Ian or Hurricane Nicole and provided procedures and requirements to receive a refund. Eligible property owners must have filed an application for refund with their county property appraiser on Form DR-5001, Application for Hurricane Ian or Hurricane Nicole Tax Refund, no sooner than Jan. 1, 2023, and no later than April 3, 2023. Section 197.3181, F.S., applies retroactively to Jan. 1, 2022, and will expire Jan. 1, 2024.