With all of the focus in the media regarding real estate prices, one never seems to hear about the ever-so-exciting discussion of property taxes.
Property taxes are annual fees that you, as a homeowner, will be responsible for paying to the county in which your home is located in.
Each county here in the state of Florida has its own property tax percentage they are entitled to collect on each home within the county. Many times this percentage is predetermined by the county and will be based on the assessed value of the home that is physically located in that county.
Throughout Florida, the average is around 1% of your total home value. So to give you an example, if your home is worth, say $100,000 and you live in a county where the property taxes are 1%, then you, as the property owner, would be responsible for paying an additional $1,000 per year to the county for essentially the usage of the property that you own.
These taxes many times are used for county upkeep and improvements such as the roads, keeping up with the landscaping that you see around town and in some cases, those funds go to county employees such as first responders like police officers and firefighters as well as the local school district that your home is within.
So with that understanding, what is the property tax owed on a mobile home on leased land?
It would have to be the same because it is a house, right?
Well, actually, no!
Property taxes are totally different as there are no property taxes that are paid on mobile homes that are located on leased land.
What are you serious about, Mark?
Yes, that’s a fact!
The reason is that when you own a mobile home on leased land, you are technically owning personal property and not real property in the state of Florida. What this means is that the mobile home that is located on lease land is viewed as an automobile in the state of Florida and has a title associated with the home and not a deed.
Since you did not technically own the land, you do not owe property taxes when you are leasing the land but owning the actual home. As I am sure you can see, this adds to huge savings annually, as you are not responsible for the property taxes associated with the usage of the mobile home when it is located within a leased land mobile home park.
When owning a mobile home on leased land, you are required to register the home each and every year with the Department of motor vehicles, which is a fee that is not need to be paid if you own, say, a regular stick and brick home. The cost of the yearly registration for that mobile home with the Department of motor vehicles will be based on the length of the home and multiplied by the width of your mobile home.
To give you another example, let’s say the length of your mobile home will cost you $50 to register, and your home is a double-wide mobile home. This means that you will be paying a total of $100 annually to register your home, as you will be paying $50 for each side of the home to be registered.
Florida Mobile Home
The following Q and A from the Florida Department of Revenue can help you understand more about mobile home tax in Florida.
Mobile Homes Taxed as Tangible Personal Property
Q. If the owner of a mobile home that does not qualify as real property receives an
assessment for tangible personal property tax, can he or she cancel the
assessment by paying the previous year’s annual license tax and purchasing the
MH series sticker?
A. No. Paying the license tax after the property appraiser makes an assessment does not
cancel the assessment. Any mobile home that does not bear a current MH decal on
January 1 is tangible personal property and is taxed as such for that year.
Q. What if the mobile home owner bought the MH decal but did not have it properly
affixed on January 1?
A. The mobile home owner may request relief from the tangible personal property tax when
the owner can provide documentation that the MH decal was purchased before January 1
of the current tax year.
Q. Does the occasional or isolated sales tax exemption apply to mobile homes
classified as tangible personal property?
A. No. Any transfer of ownership of a mobile home classified as tangible personal property
or that has an MH decal is subject to sales and use tax.
Q. Does sales tax apply to the repair of mobile homes classified as tangible personal
Property?
A. Yes. Repairs and improvements to mobile homes are classified as tangible personal property
or that have an MH decal are subject to sales tax and applicable discretionary sales surtax
on the total charge for the repairs and improvements, including materials and labor.
Q. How does sales tax apply to appurtenances?
Appurtenances include items such as carports, sunrooms, utility sheds, furniture, freezers,
refrigerators, drapes, air conditioner compressors,s or condenser units located outside the
mobile home.
A. Appurtenances that are sold by registered sales tax dealers, or by any person required to
be a registered dealer, in conjunction with the mobile home, are subject to sales tax and
applicable discretionary sales surtax.
When looking at purchasing a mobile home on leased land, another huge cost savings is the lack of property taxes that are needing to be paid and one that we feel you should certainly take into consideration when determining the affordability of a mobile home for your next home purchase!
This is Mark Kaiser with a mobile home dealer and we help mobile home Buyers and Sellers get to a better place in life.
See Also:
- Does Park Approval Even Matter In A Sarasota Mobile Home Park?
- What Does Buying A Sarasota Mobile Home In “As Is” Condition Really Mean?
- How Are Property Taxes Determined On A Sarasota Mobile Home?
- How Is Sales Tax Determined On A Florida Mobile Home?
- How To Best Secure The Sale Of Your Sarasota Mobile Home!