Ask Lori Parrish

“Ask Lori…Parrish on Appraisal”

Broward County Property Appraiser Lori Parrish Answers Your Questions…

“Report Homestead Exemption Fraud”

Dear Lori:

I was watching a Local 10 television news report about your office’s crack down on Hollywood homeowners who are fraudulently claiming Homestead Exemption on second homes and investment properties. I live in Hollywood and want to help. How can I report these abuses without causing a problem with the neighbor?

S.B., Hollywood, FL (via email)

Property owners who file false applications to obtain a Homestead Exemption are breaking the law and causing you to pay more in property taxes each year. Why? Because your various taxing authorities, such as the County, City and School Board, must equitably divide the tax burden among all property owners within their jurisdictions in order to provide services such as police, fire, and schools. If someone lies to lower his taxes, someone else must pay more to make up the difference.

Our office aggressively seeks to stop homestead fraud and catch homeowners in Broward who are fraudulently claiming a Homestead Exemption on their properties. We work with local governments, homeowner and civic associations to help identify exemption fraud. We recently teamed-up with the City of Hollywood and for the past eight months, a Hollywood Police Detective has been coordinating with theBroward County Property Appraiser’s Office. So far, this collaborative effort has resulted in the discovery of over 1,187 instances of homestead fraud in Hollywood. We have restored over $69 million in taxable property value and recouped $750,000 in back taxes and revenue.

If you know of anyone claiming Homestead Exemption on a property which is rented, vacant or merely a vacation home, we urge you to contact the investigators in our Department of Professional Standards and Compliance at 954.357.6900 orhttp://www.bcpa.net/fraudform.asp and we’ll check it out. You are free to provide your contact information or remain completely anonymous when reporting potentially fraudulent activity to our office.

Once potential fraud is reported, our office will fully investigate each tip. Property owners who intentionally cheat on Homestead Exemption can be back taxed for as many as ten years, plus be required to pay substantial penalty and annual interest (50% of the unpaid taxes for each year and pay interest at a rate of 15% per year).

Sincerely,

Lori Parrish, CFA

If you have a question for Lori, please email her at lori@bcpa.net or write to her at the Broward County Property Appraiser’s Office, 115 South Andrews Avenue, Room 111, and Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301. (4/11)

Robert L. Wolfe, Jr. CFE
Community Outreach Specialist II
954.357.6871 – office
954.357.8474 – fax
954.445.5732 – cell

rwolfe@bcpa.net

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