DAMAGES — This home on West Minnesota Avenue in DeLand suffered serious damages from Hurricane Ian, which hit Volusia County with tropical storm force winds.
The Volusia County Property Appraiser’s Office has released the final tax roll for 2022.
Without taking into account the property losses resulting from Hurricane Ian, the county has posted record-high values of all real estate and taxable property.
The damages in Volusia County from the superstorm now stand at $293 million and counting, noted Deputy Property Appraiser Jan Cornelius on Oct. 12. The homes along the St. Johns River, including Lake Monroe, may be especially vulnerable to the rising water, she said.
“We’re planning to send a team to Stone Island [near Deltona] tomorrow,” Cornelius told The Beacon, adding a group of appraisers may also pay another visit to Astor to check on possible damage.
“That’s the problem with flooding. You may not know the damage until the waters recede. We have to wait and see,” she said.
The just value, meaning the estimated market value of all properties, including government-owned lands and buildings, as well as other tax-exempt private properties such as churches and nonprofit organizations, amounts to $84.9 billion. That is 23.7 percent higher than Volusia County’s just value for 2021, which was $68.6 billion.
The total property-tax base within the county for 2022 is some $48.8 billion. That is up 14.2 percent from last year’s tax roll of $42.8 billion. The total tax base is the taxable value of properties without including exemptions, such as homestead exemptions.
The 2022 tax roll takes into account values of property based on their condition on Jan. 1 of this year. Property losses as a result of storm damage — such as Hurricane Ian — or fires after that date are not taken into account.
On a related note, Volusia County’s property-tax bills will be mailed Nov. 1. The tax bills not only include the ad valorem levies of the county government, the cities, the School Board, hospital districts and state agencies such as the St. Johns River Water Management District, but also special assessments for stormwater control and solid-waste collection and disposal.
The tax bills are payable through March 31, 2023. Property owners who pay their bills before March 1 receive discounts of declining percentages. That is, those who pay their taxes in November receive a 4-percent discount. The discounts decline to 3 percent for payment during December, 2 percent for payment during January and 1 percent for payment during February.
By contrast, those who pay their tax bills after March 31 may be subject to late fees and interest.
