Ad Valorem taxes were under-estimated for most Disney Vacation Club resorts in 2023, which will result in a balance due for many owners in early 2024.
Owners of Disney's Beach Club Villas will see the largest adjustment
There are three components to the annual dues charged to Disney Vacation Club owners: the operating budget, capital reserves and ad valorem taxes. Two of those components--operating budget and capital reserves--are essentially guaranteed not to change. The amount billed to owners represents their full obligation for the year.
However, the ad valorem taxes, or property taxes, are represented as an estimate only. Final bills are not received from the respective counties until midway through the year. Owners are responsible for paying based upon the final assessments. As such, the start of each year always brings an adjustment for the prior year's taxes. If the previous year's taxes were over-estimated, members will receive a credit toward their dues obligation for the new year. If taxes were under-estimated, owners are charged for the additional amount.
For the resorts located at Walt Disney World, most saw their taxes under-estimated for the 2023 calendar year. Following is a summary of the estimated and actual taxes, expressed on a per-point basis:
| 2023 Ad Valorem Tax Reconciliation | |||
|
2023 Estimate |
2023 Actual | Over (Under) | |
| Disney's Old Key West Resort | 1.3087 | 1.3229 | (.0142) |
| Disney's BoardWalk Villas | 1.5858 | 1.6384 | (.0526) |
| Boulder Ridge Villas | 1.4723 | 1.4729 | (.0006) |
| Disney's Beach Club Villas | 1.5184 | 1.7156 | (.1972) |
| Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort | 1.3576 | 1.3585 | (.0009) |
| Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas | 1.5890 | 1.5520 | .0370 |
| Bay Lake Tower | 1.7648 | 1.8008 | (.0360) |
| Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort | 1.8353 | TBD | TBD |
| Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows | 1.6939 | 1.7589 | (.0650) |
| Copper Creek Villas & Cabins | 1.7462 | 1.7111 | .0351 |
| Disney's Riviera Resort | 1.8922 | TBD | TBD |
Of the eleven Disney Vacation Club resorts at Walt Disney World, two saw their taxes over-estimated. Owners of Animal Kingdom and Copper Creek points should see a credit on their 2024 dues for the over-billing. Two other resorts, Grand Floridian and Riviera, were still in active sales in 2023. Therefore, it is difficult to predict exactly how DVC will adjust the numbers relative to points being held by owners vs points held by Disney Vacation Development.
Owners of the other seven resorts were under-billed in their 2023 dues, and will see an additional charge in January 2024 to make up the difference. Dollars listed above are expressed on a per-point basis. An owner of 200 Boulder Ridge points should see an added charge of just $.12 for the year. (200 points x .0006 per point.) On the other end of the spectrum, Beach Club taxes were under-estimated by nearly twenty cents per point. An owner of 200 points should see an additiona one-time charge of about $39.44 as their adjustment for 2023 taxes.
Property valuations are made by officials representing Orange County and Osceola County. Tax millages are determined by a variety of municipalities including the State of Florida, Orange and Osceola Counties, the City of Bay Lake, the City of Lake Buena Vista and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.
Note that these adjustments are estimates only. Final calculations will be made by Disney Vacation Club. Ad valorem tax adjustments are in addition to the higher annual dues for the 2024 calendar year, which were have also been released.
Thanks to Chris from dvc.market for details used in this story.
