Appraisal Definitions

AC: AC denotes whether or not the building has air conditioning and what kind it is.

Actual Year Built: The year that a building on the property was originally constructed. The year 1900 is used when no year of construction is on file.

Appraisal Date: The Appraisal Date is the date the completed permit work was appraised by a property appraiser.

Area/Neighborhood: A Neighborhood or Area is an appraiser-defined group of parcels with common characteristics. A neighborhood may or may not be related to a subdivision.

Area Type: Area Type denotes the different types of a building structure such as the Base or main structure and any other sub structures, such as porches, garages, canopies, patios, etc.

Assessed Value: The Assessed Value is the combined assessed values of the land and all improvements minus any Save Our Homes Deferred Value. There are currently two different Assessed Values which apply to all properties, one is the County Amount and the second is the School Amount. These two values will most of time be equal to each other but in certain circumstances due to state laws, there will be a difference.

Bathrooms: The number of bathrooms of the existing structure on the property. Bathrooms may be defined as full or half baths. For Commercial properties, this figure usually indicates the number of bathroom fixtures, not actual bathrooms.

Bedrooms: The number of bedrooms of the existing structure on the property.

Building Use: The Building Use Code denotes the primary use of a building on a particular property.

Building Quality: The Building Quality denotes the overall Quality of a building on a particular property.

Building Style: The Building Style indicates the general category of a particular property, such as Single Family, Multi Family, Vacant and Commercial.

Building Value: The Building Value is the value of the major structures on the property.

Deferred Value: The Deferred Value is the value of the property that is deferred from taxation because of Amendment 10, Save Our Homes or Amendment 1 for Non-Homestead Cap 10, which restricts increases in homesteaded property values to the Consumer Price Index or a maximum or 3% per year and restricts increases in Non-Homestead property to a maximum of 10%. Once this property is sold and the homestead is removed, the Deferred Value will become part of the assessed value. When the value of a property drops, the Deferred Value, if any, will also drop as a result.

Effective Year Built: Part of the cost approach used to measure depreciation, determined by the utility and condition of the building.

Exempt Amount: The Exempt Amount is the total amount of exemptions granted to the property or the homeowner. Since all exemptions do not apply equally to the School and other Taxing Authorities, there is now a County Exempt Amount and a School Exempt Amount to show the differences.

Exterior Wall Type: The Exterior Wall Type denotes the type of the exterior wall.

Final Date: The Final Date is the date the permit was signed off on or inspected by the local Codes agency.

Filing Penalty Amount: The Filing Penalty Amount is a late or non-filing penalty calculated on the total tax levied against the tangible property. The penalty is calculated as 5% of the total tax for each month, or portion of a month, that a return is filed after the due date for the return, not to exceed 25% of the total tax.

Floor Cover: The Floor Cover denotes the type of flooring in the building.

Heated Square Footage: Heated Square Footage is the number of square feet for all buildings on the property that is considered to be enclosed and subject to heating or cooling.

Heating: Heating Type and Heating System denotes the type of heating system and what kind it is.

Instrument: The Instrument is the method used to record the type of sales transaction with the Clerk’s Official Records office. Clicking on the OR Link (Clerk), will direct your browser to the scanned document on the Clerk’s web site, if it exists.

Interior Wall Type: The Interior Wall Type denotes the type of the interior wall.

Issue Date: The Issue Date is the date the permit was issued by either the county or the local codes agency.

Land Use: The Land Use denotes the primary use of all or part of the land for a particular property.

Land Value: This Land Assessed Value is the Assessed Value of the land if the property does NOT have a Classified Use, such as agricultural. If the Land DOES have a Classified Use, such as Agricultural, this value will be the Classified Use Value of the land, which will be a lesser value than the Assessed. If there is no Classified Value, this value will be the same as the Just Value.

Location: The Location is the physical address of the property. The Location or Physical Address is managed by the County’s E911 office.

Land Just Value: The Land Just Value is the Total Value of the land regardless of any Classified Value. If there is no Classified Use designation, this value will be the same as the Land Assessed Value.

Miscellaneous Use: The Miscellaneous Use denotes the primary use of Other Buildings and Extra Features with value for a particular property.

Miscellaneous Value: The Miscellaneous Value is the value of the Miscellaneous improvements on the property.

Number of Acres: Acres are self-explanatory. An acreage figure is usually not maintained for parcels coded as lots or units.

Omitted Property Penalty: The Omitted Property Penalty Amount penalty is calculated as 15% of the tax attributed to property not listed on the tangible return.

OR Book/OR Page: The OR Book and Page specifies the Official Records book and page number where the sales transaction has been recorded. This data is essentially the key to looking up a specific transaction as recorded in the Clerk’s office. Clicking on the OR Link (Clerk) will direct your browser to the actual scanned document, if it exists.

Parcel Number: The Parcel Number is the primary identification for a specific piece of Real Estate property in Alachua County. The default setting of “Any Parcel” causes every parcel number on file to be included in the search.
Parcel Number is ALSO known as: Account Number, PIN and Tax Parcel.
To narrow a search for property by parcel number, locate the parcel number on a trim notice, tax bill, homestead notice, or Ag exemption notification. The number will have the format: 99999-999-999
After locating the number enter it into the From: Parcel Number field. The leading zeros do not need to be entered, but a separator (blank or -) must be entered between the 3 parts of the parcel number.

For example, Parcel Number 00034-050-001, could be entered any of the following ways:
34 50 1
34-50-1
00034 050 001
00034-050-001
If a specific parcel number is not known, then a parcel range can be entered and the search will return a list of parcels within the range.

Permit Number: The Permit Number is assigned by the local Codes Agency who issues the permit for the property.

Permit Type: The Permit Type describes the type of work for which the permit is issued.

Property Use: The Property Use denotes the primary use of a property as a whole.

Qualified: Sales are determined to be qualified if the sale price reflects an accurate dollar amount relative to the actual Market Value of the property. Sales are unqualified if the sale price is not reflective of the Market Value. Sales such as those between family members, for instance, are often unqualified because the sale amount is far less than the Market Value.

Roof Cover: The Roof Cover denotes the type of roof cover on the building.

Roof Structure: The Roof Structure denotes the type of roof structure on the building.

Sale Amount: The Price or Sale Amount is the dollar figure for which the property was sold or the Sale Price. A standard amount of $100 is normally used if the sales transaction is considered unqualified.

Sale Month/Year: The Sale Date is the date of the recorded sale.

Section-Township-Range: The Section, Township and Range denotes the physical location of the property based on the 1 square mile Sections within the Range and Township. Properties within land grants are coded as Section 00.

Square Feet Total/Heated: Total/Heated Square Feet is the number of square feet for any area or subarea of a building structure. Usually the Base or main structure is considered heated and certain types of subareas may be heated in full or in part.

Stories: The number of stories of the existing structure on the property. Stories may be defined as full or half story.

Subdivision: A Subdivision is the legally recorded name of a developed area.

Taxable Value: The Taxable Value is the difference between the Total Assessed Value minus SOH Value minus any Exempt Amount. This is the value that will be multiplied by the millage rates to determine the tax liability. Since certain exemptions do NOT apply to the School Board, there may be two different values, one for the County portion and the other for the School portion.

Taxes: The Total Taxes is the property tax liability amount due to be paid. It is computed by multiplying the Taxable Value of the property by the Millage Rates of each of the applicable Taxing Authorities and adding all of these together. The Total Taxes amount displayed is the amount due if paid in March. Discounts may be given for paying in November thru February and penalties and fees may apply if paying later than March.

Tax Jurisdiction: The Tax Jurisdiction denotes the primary Taxing Authority where a property is located.

Tax Roll Year: The Year or Taxroll Year denotes the year of the Certified Tax Roll information. The initial Tax Roll Certification happens each year in mid to late October for that year. Therefore, the 2015 Tax Roll is certified in October 2015, and is considered the Current Tax Roll until October of 2016.

Total Adjusted Just Value: The Total Adjusted Just Value is the combined values of the all the adjusted land values and all improvements.

Vacant/Improved: Whether the property was Vacant (no building) or Improved (had a building) at the time of this sales transaction.

Zoning: Zoning is how the property use has been defined by local planners.