Is property tax based off of the market value or the purchase price of the house?

I live in Florida and my boyfriend and I want to buy a house in Lee county but we are confused about the property taxes. We know that it can only go up no more than 3% from the previous year but my question is; 3% of what? Is it 3% of the amount that we purchased the home for or is it 3% of the value based on what the property appraiser declares the home is worth? Please help us to understand the details of this situation. Thank you!|||There are three approaches to value stipulated in the Florida Statutes: 1.) "Direct Sales Comparison", 2.) "Replacement Cost", and 3.) "Capitalization of Income". In Lee County, we use a computer assisted mass appraisal system that incorporates elements of all three approaches to value. Please keep in mind, however, that the best evidence of the fair market value is when several properties similar to yours sell.





The property鈥檚 fair market value can be determined employing one or more of three different methods.





The first method is to find properties like yours which have recently sold. However, their selling prices must be analyzed very carefully to get the true picture. One property may have sold for more than it was really worth because the buyer was in a hurry to occupy it and would pay any price to get in. Another may have sold for less than it was really worth because the owner needed cash right away, so was willing to sell to the first buyer making an offer. The Property Appraiser must always consider such over or under sales price to arrive at a fair valuation of your property.





The second method is based on how much money it would take, at current material and labor costs, to replace your property with one just like it. If any improvements are not new, the amount of depreciation must also be determined.





The final method is used in addition to the other two if you own property which does, or could, provide an income, such as an apartment complex, retail store space, or office building. In that case, the Property Appraiser must consider such dollar facts as your revenues, operating expenses, insurance, maintenance costs, degree of financial risk incurred by owning the property, and finally, the return most people would expect to receive on that kind of|||First, this is a general answer, so talk to the tax clerk in the county for exact and specific information.





Most jurisdictions base the tax on a formal assessment performed by the county/state/town tax assessor. This is NOT the sales price nor the market value as appraised by a real estate agent. Assessors tend to have a formal methodology for determining the assessment - based on recent comparable sales, square footage, etc.





Most jurisdictions re-assess all properties every 2 or 3 years (this is where the 3% comes in) - if the assessment goes up, the tax charged goes up (in your case, the tax could go up even if the assessment goes down due to the limits placed on prior years' increases).|||It is based on the amount the city determines your home and property is worth.





The city employed a person who will come out and appraise the property.. they do not even go inside the home.. they just look at the map of your home.. the amount of land you have and give an estimated appraisal value.. The 3% is based off of the amount the city appraiser says your home is worth.





- We live in a new home and our taxes were not appraised until a year after we moved in .. we had an appraisal by the bank that said our home appraised for $189,000 (he walked both inside and outside our home) that was for the loan from the bank.. then a year later a city appraiser came out and appraised the property for $179,000 (he just had a plot plan and a layout of our home on file.. he never spoke to us or entered our home) and our property taxes were determined by the amount the city appraised the home at - $179,000