Property Owners Hammered By Property Tax Assessments

LABELLE, FL. -- Hendry county property owners, and especially owners of vacant land and non-homestead properties are at the head of the line in funding the Hendry School Board through higher property tax assessments this year. 

Vacant quarter-acre lot tax assessments in Port LaBelle rose dramatically in 2022 by three to four times that of 2021. Taxes paid to the School Board rose accordingly, on property with no homes or children, funding the School Board. 

State law limits taxes on property assessments to no more than 10% of property values from the previous year for calculating property taxes paid to the county on non-school taxes. But no such limit is made on taxes for the School Board. The taxes are calculated on the full tax assessment value of the property.

As an example, Port LaBelle lots were generally assessed at around $6,200 in 2021 but rose to a tax assessment of $17,700 in 2022. Taxes for 2021 on one quarter-acre lot were $199.70 and rose to $316.92 for 2022, a rise of 58% over last year.