JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – City inspectors were out in full force Friday, continuing a $17 million crackdown on people who might be cheating on their property taxes by filing false homestead exemption claims.
Jacksonville's new property appraiser, Jerry Holland, said there are nearly 3,500 people in Jacksonville who might be breaking the law by not paying their fair share. The crackdown aims to catch homeowners who claim a false homestead credit for their property. To receive the credit, homeowners must live in the home, claim it as their main home and not rent the house.
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After a News4Jax report Thursday on the crackdown, a city tip line to report possible tax fraud received some tips.
One tip called in Friday claimed that a property had been rented for six to seven years, and the caller didn't know where the homeowner actually resided. If that homeowner is claiming a homestead exemption on the rental property, he or she could be facing a lien and fines.
A similar tip took inspectors to a home on the Northside, where they learned that an owner did not live, despite filing homestead exemptions claiming that he did.
The investigators learned that the homeowner had moved with his wife into a gated community in Fort Caroline, a home for which they also filed for homestead exemption. Inspectors placed an $11,000 lien on the Northside property. The homeowners have not responded to requests for comment.
Sara Machado, who heads up the investigation team for the property appraiser's office, has even been deputized and will be able use her law enforcement powers to help uncover cases where people have lied about homestead exemptions.
"We got a lot of people calling and saying, 'Hey, my neighbor is renting, and I know so-and-so is renting a room out. They're renting an entire house.' And they're all coming into our hotline, which is great," Machado said.
Machado will be getting more help, too. The office will hire an outside firm that will track down offenders using public records from around the county. The investigators will give that information to local inspectors to follow up in person.
"We will take a look at each case and investigate more thoroughly, and they can determine if we either want to deny their exemption or impose a lien," Machado said.
The crackdown is citywide, but a lot of attention is being paid to property at the beaches, including two beachfront condos in one building that are owned by people who claim that they are their main homes.
Investigators said they found those families are also claiming property out of state as their main homes and taking a tax break on those as well.
One of the homeowners, calling from Georgia, said it was a mistake and that he didn't know homestead credits were claimed for both.
It's an expensive mistake, as there is now a $22,000 lien on their property in Jacksonville.
"Part of this is to really make sure that all taxpayers are doing what they properly should," Holland said.
He said the city is now looking at hiring a company to help with the fraud investigation and will be checking to see that the 184,000 or more homes in Duval County are in compliance.
"Our goal is to make sure everybody is in compliance and that everything is fair and balanced," Machado said.
They estimate that $17 million will be collected within the next four years and that once the liens are paid, an additional $4 million will be added to the tax rolls each year.
Holland also pointed out that if a homeowner rents out a room in a house and still lives there, he or she still can't claim a full tax credit.
"If you rent out a room, there's partial exemption on the part of your house that is rented out, so you can still get a partial exemption. But again, if you're renting that property out and not living there, that may be a problem," Holland said.
The number for the city hotline to report suspected tax fraud is 904-630-7112.