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TAMPA — There's a small house in Ybor Heights with a homestead exemption. But property appraisal officials suspect the taxpayer lied to get it.
They say it's vacant. Heather Spence, 35, says she lives there.
One of the documents she provided as proof is a May 2010 water bill. The problem? A city utility staffer told the agency the bill "has been altered." The last time services were hooked up there was February 2006.
An official with Tampa Electric Co. said the house hasn't had electricity since then, either.
After initially being denied the tax break, Spence barely won the exemption in October from a special judge. But on Monday, the Hillsborough County Property Appraiser's Office successfully argued for a new hearing.
"Each year, that exemption is becoming more valuable," said Will Shepherd, general counsel for the Appraiser's Office.
"We certainly get more folks fighting for their exemption" since voters approved nearly doubling the tax break three years ago. But, he said, "this seems a step too far."
The Property Appraiser's Office says Pence's case is unusual. The office rejected about 3,000 homestead applications last year, mostly because homeowners didn't know all of the homestead regulations. For example, when a man gets married and moves in with his wife, he is not allowed to keep the homestead exemption on his old home.
But the office still is concerned about fraud. It encourages people to report abuse, such as when someone has a tax exemption on a property that is a rental.
Applications for new homestead exemptions are due March 1. In most cases, the exemption reduces the taxable value of a home by $50,000 and caps yearly assessment increases at 3 percent. If the office later revokes the exemption, the homeowner is on the hook for back taxes, a 50 percent penalty and interest.
Spence was not at Monday's hearing and could not be reached for comment.
Her version of events is explained in two letters to tax officials and a summary of October's hearing.
The deed on Spence's home is held by a land trust, and she says she is the full beneficiary.
Her mailing address is an office in Miami — she says there is a history of stolen mail at the Tampa home. Her mail, she says, is forwarded to her here once a month.
Regarding the questionable water bill, she says the trustee's name was not properly linked in the city's billing system. When this was corrected, she wrote, "the old account information was apparently deleted."
Spence grew up in St. Petersburg, and her mother was the city clerk in Gulfport. Her 2010 voter registration information lists a St. Petersburg address.
She said she submitted 25 pieces of evidence, including her driver's license, car registration, pay stubs and tax returns, to show she lives in the house.
"It is in the best interest of all parties involved to grant the homestead exemption without further re-hashing the issue," she wrote.
According to the judge's summary of October's hearing, the evidence "was very close" and Spence proved her case "ever so slightly."
Shepherd says his office has granted several tax exemptions in strange circumstances. He noted a man in his 20s who bought a house dirt cheap in a short sale and lives in a tent he pitched inside while making repairs. He's patched the roof and now has water hooked up.
"But this one, it's just not ringing true," he said. "This just doesn't seem like anyone's there."
The 726-square-foot home at 2906 N 16th St. is assessed at just more than $19,000.
That's not enough to incur any property taxes if Spence keeps the homestead exemption.
If she loses it, the tax bill would be about $425.
Lee Logan can be reached at (813) 226-3383 or llogan@sptimes.com.
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