12D-9.001. Taxpayer Rights in Value Adjustment Board Proceedings

(1) Taxpayers are granted specific rights by Florida law concerning value adjustment board procedures.

(2) These rights include:

(a) The right to be notified of the assessment of each taxable item of property in accordance with the notice provisions set out in Florida Statutes for notices of proposed property taxes;

(b) The right to request an informal conference with the property appraiser regarding the correctness of the assessment or to petition for administrative or judicial review of property assessments. An informal conference with the property appraiser is not a prerequisite to filing a petition for administrative review or an action for judicial review;

(c) The right to file a petition on a form provided by the county that is substantially the same as the form prescribed by the department or to file a petition on the form provided by the department for this purpose;

(d) The right to state on the petition the approximate time anticipated by the taxpayer to present and argue his or her petition before the board;

(e) The right to authorize another person to file a board petition on the taxpayer’s property assessment;

(f) The right, regardless of whether the petitioner initiates the evidence exchange, to receive from the property appraiser a copy of the current property record card containing information relevant to the computation of the current assessment, with confidential information redacted. This includes the right to receive such property record card when the property appraiser receives the petition from the board clerk, at which time the property appraiser will either send the property record card to the petitioner or notify the petitioner how to obtain it online;

(g) The right to be sent prior notice of the date for the hearing of the taxpayer’s petition by the value adjustment board and the right to the hearing within a reasonable time of the scheduled hearing;

(h) The right to reschedule a hearing a single time for good cause, as described in this chapter;

(i) The right to be notified of the date of certification of the county’s tax rolls;

(j) The right to represent himself or herself or to be represented by another person who is authorized by the taxpayer to represent the taxpayer before the board;

(k) The right, in counties that use special magistrates, to a hearing conducted by a qualified special magistrate appointed and scheduled for hearings in a manner in which the board, board attorney, and board clerk do not consider any assessment reductions recommended by any special magistrate in the current year or in any previous year;

(l) The right to have evidence presented and considered at a public hearing or at a time when the petitioner has been given reasonable notice;

(m) The right to have witnesses sworn and to cross-examine the witnesses;

(n) The right to be issued a timely written decision within 20 calendar days of the last day the board is in session pursuant to Section 194.034, F.S., by the value adjustment board containing findings of fact and conclusions of law and reasons for upholding or overturning the determination of the property appraiser or tax collector;

(o) The right to advertised notice of all board actions, including appropriate narrative and column descriptions, in brief and nontechnical language;

(p) The right to bring an action in circuit court to appeal a value adjustment board valuation decision or decision to disapprove a classification, exemption, portability assessment difference transfer, or to deny a tax deferral or to impose a tax penalty;

(q) The right to have federal tax information, ad valorem tax returns, social security numbers, all financial records produced by the taxpayer and other confidential taxpayer information, kept confidential; and,

(r) The right to limiting the property appraiser’s access to a taxpayer’s records to only those instances in which it is determined that such records are necessary to determine either the classification or the value of taxable non-homestead property.

Rulemaking Authority 194.011(5), 194.034(1), 195.027(1), 213.06(1) FS. Law Implemented 192.0105, 193.074, 194.011, 194.013, 194.015, 194.032, 194.034, 194.035, 194.036, 194.301, 195.002, 195.027, 195.084, 196.151, 196.193, 196.194 FS. History–New 3-30-10, Amended 9-19-17.