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Value Adjustment Board
 (386) 740-5164
jsjones@co.volusia.fl.us

Petition information
Petitions to the VAB
Appeals to the VAB
Petition contents
Deadlines for petition filing
Petition filing fees 
Waiver of filing fees
Where to file
VAB hearing information/procedures
 Print the petition

Petition information
The Value Adjustment Board (VAB) accepts petitions submitted by any taxpayer who objects to the valuation placed on their taxable real or personal property. Petitions are heard by impartial Special Magistrates in a quasi-judicial forum. Hearings are tentatively scheduled during October and November each year. Complete instructions for completing a petition for property located in the County of Volusia are below. A copy of the petition can be downloaded at the bottom of this page and is available at any Property Appraiser's office in the state of Florida. Petitions are accepted at the property tax offices in Daytona Beach, DeLand, Orange City, and New Smyrna Beach.

Petitions to the VAB
A taxpayer who objects to the Property Appraiser’s assessment of the taxpayer’s real or personal property may file a petition with the VAB.

Appeals to the VAB
A taxpayer may file a petition with the VAB if the Property Appraiser has denied the taxpayer’s application for any of the following exemptions or special use classifications: 1) homestead exemption; 2) any other tax exemption as provided by Chapter 196, Florida Statutes; or 3) any special use classification as provided by Chapter 193, Florida Statutes. A taxpayer whose application for homestead tax deferral has been denied by the county tax collector may also file an appeal (petition) to the VAB.

Petition contents
Information furnished in the petition is essential to the VAB’s decision in each case. The VAB will rely on the petitioner’s estimate of fair market value as stated in the petition in addition to any evidence submitted at the hearing in deciding the merits of the petition. Each petition must include the following in order to be considered complete:

  1. All information requested in the petition must be included. In the event that the information requested is not pertinent to a particular petition or if it is unknown or unavailable to the petitioner, the petitioner should indicate that such is the case on the line provided.
  2. Petitioners name and current MAILING address should be put on the front of the petition. All information, including hearing notices and Records of Decision, will be mailed to the address appearing on the petition unless we are notified of a change in writing. If an attorney is representing you please put their information on the petition in order for the VAB to inform them of all hearing dates.
  3. Parcel Number.
  4. Owner of Record.
  5. Authorization Form (required if an agent or tax consultant is representing the owner of record) with notarized signature of owner.
  6. Notarized signatures of the owner or designated agent, as appropriate.
  7. Time limit estimate (a presentation should not exceed 20 minutes.)
  8. Exhibits or attachments must be submitted to the Deputy Clerk in DUPLICATE and identified with the property’s parcel/alternate key number and owner of record.

Note: A petition which is not fully completed, signed and notarized, accompanied by a properly completed authorization form (if applicable) and filed with the appropriate filing fee (if applicable) will be returned to the petitioner and will not be considered timely. DO NOT SEPARATE THE PETITION PAGES. A copy of the petition will be returned to you after processing by the Deputy Clerk.

Deadlines for petition filing
All petitions must be filed before the deadlines established by law. The filing date is the date on which the petition is actually received by the VAB. It is not the date when the petition was deposited in the US mail for delivery to the VAB. Filing deadlines are as follows

  • Assessment petitions must be filed on or before the 25th day following the mailing date of the Notice of Proposed Taxes (commonly called the TRIM Notice) by the Property Appraiser.
  • Appeals of denials of homestead or other tax exemptions and special use classifications must be filed on or before the 30th day following the mailing date of the notice of denial by the Property Appraiser. (Please include copy of denial with Petition.)
  • Appeals of denials based on untimely filing for homestead exemption must be filed on or before the 25th day following the mailing date of the notice of proposed taxes by the Property Appraiser. (Please include copy of denial with Petition.)
  • Appeals of denials based on untimely filing for agricultural classification must be filed on or before the 25th day following the mailing date of the notice of proposed taxes by the Property Appraiser. (Please include copy of denial with Petition.)
  • Appeals of denials of homestead tax deferrals must be filed within 30 days after the taxpayer’s receipt of the county tax collector’s notice of disapproval. (Please include copy of denial with Petition.)

Petition filing fees
(Effective January 1, 2001 all filing fees are non-refundable.)
Assessment Petitions - $15 for each separate parcel.
Joint Parcels - $5 per parcel for each contiguous undeveloped (adjoining) parcel of equal value in the petition ($15 minimum fee per petition). A single joint petition may be filed by a condominium association, cooperative association, homeowners association or timeshare/interval ownership type entity with the approval of its Board of Directors or Administration.

  • Homestead or Homestead Tax Deferral Appeals - No filing fee.
  • Other exemption or Special Use (Agricultural) Classification Appeals - $15 per parcel.
  • Untimely filing for Homestead or other Exemption or Agricultural Classifications. Denial of homestead or other exemption or agricultural classification due to taxpayer’s failure to file prior to March 1 of the applicable tax year - $15 per parcel.

The required filing fee must be paid when the VAB petition is filed or the petition will be considered invalid and rejected. Checks or money orders should be made payable to: County of Volusia, VAB.

Waiver of filing fees
The applicable filing fee will be waived if, at the time of filing, the petitioner presents a certificate or other document issued by the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services demonstrating that the taxpayer is an eligible recipient of public assistance payments under Section 490.185, Florida Statutes

Where to file
Petitions may be mailed to Deputy Clerk, Value Adjustment Board, 123 W. Indiana Avenue, DeLand, FL 32720-4284, 386/740-5164. Petitions may be hand delivered to any County of Volusia Finance Department office located in DeLand, Orange City, Daytona Beach, or New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

VAB Hearing Information/Procedures
Florida law gives the Property Appraiser’s determinations a presumption of correctness. Consequently, the Property Appraiser’s decisions regarding assessments, exemptions and special use classifications are considered correct unless the petitioner rebuts this presumption of correctness. The presumption of correctness can be rebutted by the presentation of credible, relevant evidence that the Property Appraiser failed to follow the requirements of Florida law in developing the assessment and the Property Appraiser’s value is in excess of just value.

In order to demonstrate that the Property Appraiser failed to follow the requirements of Florida law, a petitioner must present a preponderance of the evidence which demonstrates that: 1) the Property Appraiser has failed to consider the eight (8) criteria set out in Section 193.011, Florida State Statutes, for determining just value; or 2) the Property Appraiser’s assessment is arbitrarily based on appraisal practices which are different from the appraisal practices generally applied by the Property Appraiser to comparable property within the same class and within the same county. (See Section 194.301, Florida Statutes)

If the petitioner rebuts the presumption of correctness, the petitioner still has the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the Property Appraiser’s assessment is in excess of just value. If the presumption of correctness is not overcome, then the petitioner must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the assessment is in excess of just value. Just value is synonymous with fair market value and is defined as the "price at which a property, if offered for sale in the open market, with a reasonable time for the seller to find a purchaser, would transfer for cash or its equivalent, under prevailing market conditions between parties who have knowledge of the uses to which the property may be put, both seeking to maximize their gains and neither being in a position to take advantage of the exigencies of the other. " Chapter 12-D-1.002(2), Florida Administrative Code.

The quality of the evidence that a petitioner presents during the VAB hearing will have a direct bearing upon the VAB’s decision. If a petitioner is contesting an ad valorem assessment, the petitioner must present evidence of the fair market value of the petitioned property as of January 1. In proving fair market value, relevant evidence would include, but not be limited to, an appraisal of the property dated prior to January 1, or sales of comparable properties which occurred prior to January 1, or zoning or other restrictions affecting the property that have not been considered by the Property Appraiser. The VAB has no legal authority to lower an assessment or grant an exemption or special use classification based on a petitioner’s financial hardship or the amount of taxes that a petitioner would be required to pay.

Petitioners are encouraged to submit two (2) copies of all supporting evidence with their petition. All submitted documents should be marked with the appropriate parcel number. The VAB will provide the duplicate copy of the supporting documents to the Property Appraiser. Copies of these documents must be provided to the VAB no later than ten (15) working days prior to their scheduled hearing.

The VAB hearings will be conducted by Special Magistrates who are appointed by the VAB and who are qualified to hear the issues involved in these cases because of their training and professional credentials. After hearing the evidence presented by the petitioner (which should not exceed 20 minutes) and the Property Appraiser, the Special Magistrate will make a recommendation to the VAB. You will be mailed a written copy of the Board's final decision within 20 days of the final board meeting, which should be sometime in December unless there are mitigating circumstances which prevent this. The Board will act upon the Special Magistrate’s recommendation without further notice or hearing. A petitioner who is aggrieved by the Board’s final decision may file a complaint in the circuit court within sixty- (60) days of the date a final decision is rendered by the Board. Failure to file a complaint within the sixty- (60) day time frame may result in the circuit court dismissing the complaint for lack of jurisdiction. See Sections 194.171(2) and (6), Florida Statutes.

Print the petition
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Petition to Value Adjustment Board(pdf format)

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Volusia County, Florida