NEW CONSTRUCTION IN CITRUS COUNTY ADDING TO THE TAX BASE
February Guest Column
By: Cregg Dalton, Citrus County Property Appraiser

The first month as your Citrus County Property Appraiser has been rewarding and exhilarating. I am honored to work alongside the highly experienced professionals within our office as we serve our citizens and businesses while diligently preparing the annual tax roll. Our employees take great pride in their proficiency and expertise while upholding our mission statement: To produce fair and equitable property assessment rolls while delivering outstanding service.

My main areas of focus for the last thirty days have been developing prosperous relationships with our employees, creating a positive and thriving working environment, and concentrating on improvements within the office which will ultimately serve our citizens more efficiently and effectively.

Since growth within our county is inevitable, our property appraiser’s office will also continue to develop. We are transforming our website to give visitors valuable and adequate content, improving our social media sites to inform the public, increasing our educational networking around the county to educate our citizens on the responsibilities of the property appraiser’s office, and building solid relationships with our fellow city and county constituents.

As of February 1, 2021, the most current projections to be added to the 2021 tax roll are:

• 922 residential homes
• 28 commercial buildings

To date, these estimated 950 new structures will be added to the tax roll. Though these numbers are subject to change, this new construction has never been taxed before and will add value to the 2021 tax roll. New construction contributes to a tax base while also sharing the tax burden.

If you are a new homeowner or recently purchased a new home, you must apply for homestead exemption. Once the ownership has been updated in our records you may then file online for your 2021 homestead exemption. You may then file online for your 2021 homestead exemption. The filing deadline is March 1, 2021. You can save approximately $400.00 to $600.00 in property.