GROSS, J.
Gary R. Nikolits, as Property Appraiser of Palm Beach County, Florida, petitions for a writ of prohibition to prevent the trial court from further hearing respondent Sarah B. Neff's declaratory judgment action. We agree with the Property Appraiser that the circuit court lacks jurisdiction to grant the relief requested because Neff's action is, at its heart, an untimely challenge to the 2012 assessment of her former homestead. Section 194.171(2), Florida Statutes (2012), is a jurisdictional statute of non-claim that precludes any challenge or adjustment to the 2012 assessment at this time. Accordingly, we grant the petition and direct that Neff's action be dismissed.
This case involves the portability of a benefit under the Save Our Homes (SOH) Amendment. Passed by the voters in 1992, the SOH Amendment caps annual increases in the assessed value of a homestead to three percent of the assessment for the prior year or the percent change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. See Art. VII, § 4(d)(1), Fla. Const.
In 2008, voters approved a separate constitutional amendment that permits a homeowner to transfer the benefit accrued under the SOH Amendment to a new homestead established within two years of abandonment of the prior homestead. See Art. VII, § 4(d)(8), Fla. Const. The 2008 portability amendment allows a homeowner to transfer some or all of an SOH benefit to reduce the assessed value of a qualifying new homestead. The SOH benefit is the difference between the market value (known as just value) and assessed value (as capped by the SOH amendment) of the former homestead as of January 1 of the year the former homestead is abandoned. § 193.155(8), Fla. Stat. (2012).
In sum, the SOH benefit thus depends on the difference between the just value and the assessed value in the year that the homeowner abandons the former homestead. For calculating the portability benefit, the amendment uses the former homestead's just value as of January 1 of the year in which the homestead is abandoned.
Neff owned a home (the "former homestead") in Lost Tree Village in North Palm Beach. On January 24, 2012, she sold her former homestead for $5.1 million. For 2012, however, the just value and assessed value of the former homestead were the same—$2,325,295.
In 2013, Neff applied for and obtained a homestead exemption for her new home. She then filed a Transfer of Homestead Assessment Difference application, seeking to transfer an SOH benefit to the new homestead. The Property Appraiser advised Neff by letter that, although the application was approved, there was zero
Upon receiving Notice of Proposed Property Taxes for her new homestead for 2013, she filed a declaratory judgment action in circuit court, which sought review of the Property Appraiser's determination that she had no SOH benefit to transfer. She explained that she sold her former homestead in 2012 for $5.1 million, but for the 2012 tax year, the Property Appraiser assessed a just value of only $2,325,295. She claimed that she did not receive a tax notice for her former homestead for 2012 and sought a declaration that she was entitled to the maximum $500,000 portability benefit toward the assessed value of her new homestead. With the benefit of hindsight, Neff was taking a unique position for a taxpayer-that her 2012 just value was too low.
The Property Appraiser moved to dismiss Neff's action arguing, in relevant part, that any challenge to the 2012 just value assessment of the former homestead was time barred by section 194.171(2), Florida Statutes (2012). The trial court denied the motion. After some discovery, the Property Appraiser moved for summary judgment arguing, among other things, that Neff's action was time barred by section 194.171(2), and that Neff lacked standing to challenge the 2012 assessment of her former property. The trial court denied summary judgment, and this petition followed.
A writ of prohibition "may issue where a trial court exceeds its jurisdiction by failing to dismiss a cause of action contesting a tax assessment where the jurisdiction requirements of section 194.171 are not met." Markham v. Moriarty, 575 So.2d 1307, 1308 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991).
The time for challenging a tax assessment is strictly proscribed by statute:
§ 194.171(2), Fla. Stat. (2012). Neff did not file an administrative challenge to the 2012 assessment with the value adjustment board. The 2012 assessment was certified for collection on October 10, 2012. The 60-day time for filing a circuit court action challenging an assessment, therefore, expired on or about December 10, 2012. Neff filed her declaratory judgment complaint on October 24, 2013. While this action was timely-filed within 60 days of the 2013 assessment of her new homestead, it was filed well outside the time for challenging the 2012 assessment.
Section 194.171(2) is a jurisdictional statute of non-claim. See § 194.171(6), Fla. Stat. (2012) ("The requirements of subsections (2), (3), and (5) are jurisdictional. No court shall have jurisdiction in such cases until after the requirements of both subsections (2) and (3) have been met.").
The Florida Supreme Court has strictly construed this jurisdictional statute. See Ward v. Brown, 894 So.2d 811, 814 (Fla. 2004) (explaining that this statute has been strictly construed and "compliance with its provisions is mandatory regardless of the nature of the taxpayer's claim"); Markham v. Neptune Hollywood Beach Club, 527 So.2d 814, 815 (Fla.1988) (recognizing that this jurisdictional statute of non-claim bars untimely challenges); see also Taylor
In addition, the statute providing for the transfer of an SOH benefit expressly prohibits any retroactive adjustment of a prior assessment. § 193.155(8)(i)8., Fla. Stat. (2012) ("This subsection does not authorize the consideration or adjustment of the just, assessed, or taxable value of the previous homestead property.").
Under the circumstances of this case, Neff's challenge is actually to the 2012 assessment. The strict jurisdictional time limit of section 194.171(2) cannot be circumvented by embedding a challenge to a prior year's assessment in the form of a challenge to the current year's assessment. Neff's action relies on the $5.1 million actual sale price of the former homestead in 2012 to suggest that the $2,325,295 just value assessed in 2012 was an undervaluation. As noted by the Property Appraiser, Neff benefited from the lower valuation, as it resulted in lower taxes during the time Neff owned the property.
Although the circuit court generally has jurisdiction to consider a declaratory judgment action under section 86.011, Florida Statutes, the action in this case would necessarily involve an untimely and barred challenge or adjustment to the 2012 assessment of the former homestead. Accordingly, we conclude that the circuit court lacks jurisdiction as a matter of law to grant the relief requested in Neff's action. We grant the petition for writ of prohibition and direct that Neff's action be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
CIKLIN, C.J., and MAY, J., concur.
Art. VII, § 4(d)(8)a.1, Fla. Const. (emphasis supplied); see also § 193.155(8)(a), Fla. Stat. (2012).