By: Phil Rarick, Miami Trust Attorney You will miss this deadline if you do not read carefully – and you may need a magnifying glass to find it. Around the last weeks of August, you should have received in the mail a “Notice of Proposed Property Taxes” or “TRIM Notice” from your county property tax appraiser. This is NOT a bill but a notice. Buried at the bottom of your Notice in small print is an important deadline for appealing your tax assessment.

Clearly, the county does not want to encourage you to appeal your property taxes, exemptions, or right to claim homestead for your primary residence that you live in. Note these deadlines:

• Miami-Dade: The deadline for you is at the bottom of your Notice according to the Property Appraiser’s website. This is the deadline that is binding on you. The deadline on the TRIM notice I received for the property in Miami Lakes said September 17, 2024. Note, however, that your deadline is the one listed on the notice that you received. For more information click: Miami-Dade Trim Notice.
• Broward: September 18, 2024. For more information click: Broward Trim Notice.

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Should You Appeal? If your taxes have significantly increased, you may wish to consider an appeal of your assessment. Approximately 40% of appellants are able to successfully challenge their property tax assessments. The cost to appeal is only $15.

What To Do: If your property taxes have significantly increased, we recommend you have the valuation screened by a professional who is experienced in challenging assessments before the Value Adjustment Board. Many professional appraisers will take your case on a contingency fee; you simply need to pay the $15 filing fee. You need to make your own independent assessment of a professional to do this work.

Note: Our Firm does not do this appeal work and makes no recommendations of professionals who do; this notice is strictly a public service reminder courtesy of the Firm.

Homestead: Make sure you check your TRIM notice for your primary residence to confirm that you are receiving the Homestead tax exemption. Miami-Dade Appraiser cautions: Do Not Jeopardize Your Homestead Exemption by renting your homestead. When renting your home periodically for more than 30 days in two consecutive years, you will be ineligible for the Homestead Exemption or the SOH Cap.

Remember: It is not necessary to have all your evidence before you file. If in doubt, pay the $15 and file your appeal. The most important goal at this point is to get your appeal filed on a timely basis if you want to appeal. After the deadline, it is exceptionally difficult to file.

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Special Note

The information on this blog is of a general nature and is not intended to answer any individual’s legal questions. Do not rely on the information presented herein to address your individual legal concerns. If you have a legal question about your individual facts and circumstances, you should consult an experienced Miami probate attorney or Miami Trust attorney. Your receipt of information from this website or blog does not create an attorney-client relationship and the legal privileges inherent therein.

Here is an updated calculator from Turbotax: Stimulus Check Calculator When Will Checks Arrive?

If you signed up for direct deposit on either your 2018 or 2019 tax return, the IRS reportedly will start issuing electronic deposits on April 9 and they should show up in your bank account by April 14. However, remember, this program is fluid and these target dates are subject to change.

If you receive Social Security Benefits and usually don’t file a tax return, the IRS will use the information from your Social Security benefits statement to calculate the stimulus check amount. They will send the check electronically if that is how you typically receive your Social Security payments.

Note: For persons who don’t file a tax return, the IRS plans to create an on-line portal where you can file a “simple return” to provide your bank account information. This portal should go live within the next few weeks.

If the IRS has to send you a paper check, priority will be given to lower income persons; higher income persons will wait longer to get their checks.

Quick Tip: If you want to try to get your check sooner, then file your 2019 tax return as soon as possible and sign up for direct deposit.

In these challenging times, we are here to help you, your family and small business successfully navigate this massive but temporary storm. We will get through this together! Look for our future alerts.

– Purchase or Sale of Residential or Commercial real estate. We will represent you on your sale or purchase. It is often difficult to find reliable, cost efficient title companies. We work in close collaboration with local, experienced attorneys who provide excellent title services. We can help you close virtually any real estate transaction at a cost often below other title companies.

– Commercial Leases. A good commercial lease is essential to protecting the value of your property by insuring that good tenants stay, and bad tenants can be quickly and economically removed. A strong, modern lease can help insure that you keep all your properties fully rented and tenants current in their payments. My partner Jay Beskin is experienced with commercial leases and is available to help make sure that your new lease protects your interests. An old lease may not be doing a good job of protecting you in 2015. If you have an old lease, Jay is available to review it.

3 Important Tips

1. Do Not Title Real Estate In An S Corporation

As my colleague, attorney Alan Gassman, says, “Don’t put real estate into darned S Corporations.” S corporations may have been the best choice 15 years ago, but today the entity of choice is a Florida or Delaware LLC (limited liability company), and in some cases the LLLP (limited liability limited partnership).

There are multiple reasons for this. First, the LLC is a higher quality of asset protection. Second, an LLC is easier to administer. Third, the LLC offers more flexibility for tax planning than an S corporation. For example, S corporations can only be owned by individuals and certain types of trusts. They cannot be owned by non-residents, corporations, or family limited partnerships. On death, the tax basis inside an S corporation does not change, but with an LLC it can increase to the fair market value of the ownership interest on date of death – potentially saving significant capital gain taxes for the surviving spouse or children.

2. Consider Conversion To LLC If You Have Real Estate In An S Corporation

If you have some properties in S corporations, there is a clear remedy: convert the corporation to an LLC.

3. Get It Right – At The Time Of Purchase

I recently purchased a new car for my wife. The car dealership, without asking me, began to prepare all the paperwork to title the car in my name. When I told them they had to redo the paperwork to put it in my wife’s name I heard a few moans, but they did as requested.

Title to your car should only be in one person’s name and it should be in the name of the person who drives the car the most. Otherwise, a good personal injury attorney would have two persons to sue: the driver and the owner. For real estate, it is equally important to make sure the property is titled to maximize protection.

The point here is get it right at the beginning – before you put any name on a real estate contract. Therefore, before you purchase real estate – before you sign anything – give us a call. We do not charge for short telephone conversations with our clients. We will help you determine the best way to hold title and if needed, assist with the sale or purchase.

For more information, contact Phil Rarick or Jay Beskin at (305) 709-2858 or info@raricklaw.com. Special Note

The information on this blog is of a general nature and is not intended to answer any individual’s legal questions. Do not rely on information presented herein to address your individual legal concerns. If you have a legal question about your individual facts and circumstances, you should consult an experienced Miami trust attorney. Your receipt of information from this website or blog does not create an attorney-client relationship and the legal privileges inherent therein.

As outlined in Florida Statue §201.02, this stealth tax must be considered in virtually all transfers of interests between or within Florida corporate entities, and all transfers of real estate, including real property gifts between family members. Evaluating this tax can be tricky!

Here are some examples:

1. Hank transfers a Florida beach house valued at $1 million with a $750,000 mortgage balance to a LLC that is 100% owned by him. Documentary stamps are $5,250 calculated on the mortgage balance amount. (Note: the doc stamp rate is $.70 per $100 for all Florida counties except Miami-Dade where the rate is $.60 per $100. The following rates noted are for counties other than Miami-Dade.)

2. Husband and wife own a $2 million apartment complex as tenants by the entirety with a $1.5 million mortgage; they transfer this property to their LLC, owned by them as tenants by the entirety. Documentary stamps are $10,500 calculated on the mortgage balance.

Examples #1 and #2 will surprise many people because there is no change in beneficial interest. However, evaluating documentary stamps is a two-pronged test: Prong #1: Has there been a change in beneficial interest? No. Prong #2: Has there been consideration for the exchange of the property? Yes – the mortgages are the consideration for the exchange of property. The new owner, the LLC, takes the property subject to the mortgage balance. If the properties in Examples #1 and #2 had been free of mortgages the transfers would have been free of documentary stamp taxes.

Here is another common example:

3. Dad gifts son a Florida vacation home valued at $500,000 with no mortgage. In Example #3 the transfer failed Prong #1. There is a change in beneficial interest in the transfer from father to son. This example also fails Prong #2: Has there been consideration for the exchange of the property? No- the vacation home is a gift from father to son. Unencumbered real property conveyed as a gift is not taxable since there is no consideration and there is no mortgage on the property. However, if no consideration is given but the deed recites “$10 and other valuable consideration” only the minimum tax is due.

Finally, it is important to evaluate documentary stamp taxes when transferring interests in a LLC that holds Florida real property. In the past transfers of interests in a LLC did not trigger payment of documentary stamp taxes, but recent legislation has attempted to close this loophole. It is advisable to contact a Florida attorney to assess the documentary stamp taxes on transfers of LLC interests.

In conclusion, it is important to analyze the impact of documentary stamp taxes in virtually all transfers of Florida real estate and all transfers between or within Florida entities.

We welcome your questions or comments.