Palm Beach County taxpayers have until Sept. 15 to challenge their property’s market value, classification or an exemption by petitioning the Value Adjustment Board, or VAB.
Hearings on petitions filed in 2014 will begin Oct. 14. Last year, Palm Beach County property owners filed 4,909 VAB petitions, down 23.2 percent from 6,390 VAB petitions filed in 2012.
Taxpayers have three options to file VAB petitions: online at www.mypalmbeachclerk.com using myVAB; in person at Palm Beach County Clerk Sharon Bock’s main office or branch locations; or by mail to 301 N. Olive Avenue, Room 203, West Palm Beach, FL 33401.
More than 30 percent of petitioners used the myVAB system to file their VAB petitions last year. The myVAB system gives real-time access to petitions, allows petitioners to view scheduled hearings and submit supporting materials electronically.
“As property values begin to rise again in Palm Beach County, more people may want to contest those appraisals through the VAB process,” Bock said. “Our myVAB makes it easy and convenient to file a petition and get updates throughout the VAB process.”
Petition forms for those who choose not to use the online my VAB option are available from Bock’s office, the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser’s Office or the Florida Department of Revenue’s web site. All VAB petitions — whether submitted in person, online or by mail — must include a $15 filing fee.
Palm Beach County Property Appraiser Gary Nikolits notified taxpayers of their property’s assessed and market values in a Truth in Millage (TRIM) notice that began arriving in mailboxes on Aug. 22. The VAB, which consists of two county commissioners, one school board member and two citizen members, approves and hires special magistrates to settle any disputes between a property owner and the property appraiser. It is an independent entity that is not affiliated with the property appraiser or the tax collector.
Bock’s office receives and processes petitions, schedules and coordinates hearings, records the hearings and more.
For more information on my VAB, the Value Adjustment Board or other services offered by Bock’s office, visit www.mypalmbeachclerk.com or call (561) 355-6289.
