Increases in property appraisals and millage rates by Orange County, Florida taxing authorities are expected to result in shortfalls in the ad valorem tax amounts collected for 2024 for all but two of the Disney Vacation Club resorts located at Walt Disney World.
(This article has been updated to reflect the official property tax amounts that were released on November 1, 2024 by the Orange County (FL) Tax Collector.)
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Each DVC resort’s property taxes are based on two factors: the appraisal value set by the Orange County Property Appraiser and the millage rates set by the taxing authorities in whose jurisdiction the resort resides.
Property Assessments
Florida uses a two-tiered method in determining the taxable value of a non-homestead property, such as a timeshare. School related taxing authorities at the local and state levels assess property at market value and are not subject to a cap in the amount the assessment can increase from year to year. DVC resorts are subject to two school related authorities, one at the State level and another at the Local Orange County level.
Non-school taxing authorities also base their assessments on market value but yearly increases cannot exceed 10% over the previous year’s assessment. DVC resorts are subject to the following non-school taxing authorities: Orange County taxes, city taxes (either City of Bay Lake or City of Lake Buena Vista), Library taxes, South Florida Water Management District taxes, and Central Florida Tourist Oversight District taxes, the successor to the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
The chart below shows each resort’s appraisal values for 2023 and 2024.
For example, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas has a 2024 assessed value of $515,911,341, which is 12.3% more than its 2023 assessed value. This is the assessment that is used to compute the school related taxes. However, when computing the property taxes for the five non-school taxing authorities Animal Kingdom Villas will be assessed only $498,820,741 because this assessment cannot increase more than 10% over the 2023 value.
Disney’s Riviera Resort is not yet fully declared and had more inventory added since the 2023 appraisal was made. Thus, its non-school assessment value is not limited to a 10% cap as other fully declared resorts. Data for The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort is limited, and therefore the resort is not included in this analysis.
Tax Rates
In addition to its property appraisal value, a resort’s tax bill is dependent on the millage rates set by the taxing authorities. Each DVC resort is subject to taxes levied by seven taxing authorities, including a city property tax. Disney's Old Key West Resort and Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa are taxed by the City of Lake Buena Vista, while the other nine resorts are subject to taxation by the City of Bay Lake.
In 2024, five of the seven taxing authorities for each DVC resort — School-Local level, Orange County, Library, South Florida Water Management District, and each of the City governments — are keeping their millage rates at the same level as in 2023. The two other authorities are raising their rates. School State is increasing its rate $0.043 per $1,000 assessed value to $3.2160. Central Florida Tourist Oversight District, which accounts for half of the total millage rate for the DVC resorts, is raising its rate $0.1330 from $12.9500 to $13.083 per $1,000 assessed value.
Because of these increases, the total millage rate for the DVC resorts at Walt Disney World is 0.7% higher than last year.
Property Tax Credits and Shortfalls By Resort
In December of each year the DVC Board of Directors approves the annual budgets for the DVC resorts. When the budgets are approved, the Board can only estimate what the property taxes may be for the upcoming year. This is because the actual tax amount charged against a resort in Florida is not finalized until September or October of the following year.
In some years, the estimated taxes are higher than the actual tax amount. When that happens a credit is applied to the maintenance fees that will be billed in the following year. If the actual tax amount is higher than the estimated amount, then an additional debit is assessed and added to the Annual Dues billed in the following year to recover the shortfall.
In December 2023, the Board estimated the 2024 property taxes for Saratoga Springs would be $1.3853 a point. This amount was included in the 2024 Annual Dues for resort owners.
The final 2024 tax bills released by the Orange County Tax Collector show Saratoga Springs is charged $21,307,283.71 in property taxes, which equates to about $1.5188 per point. This amount reflects a 4% discount offered by the State of Florida on the tax bill if paid before December 1. Since Saratoga Springs’ actual tax amount is more than the estimated amount, owners of that resort should see a shortfall of roughly $0.1335 per point. If a DVC member owns 100 points, they should expect an additional debit of about $13.35 on their 2025 Annual Dues statement.
Most Walt Disney World DVC resorts appear to have underestimated their property taxes and will have the shortfall added to their 2025 Annual Dues statements. Two resorts — Disney’s Riviera Resort and the The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa — appear to have their taxes overestimated and will receive a credit for the overage on their 2025 Annual Dues statements.
The chart below shows the amount of shortfall and credit that the DVC resorts at Walt Disney World should receive due to under- or overpayment of 2024 property taxes. The Fort Wilderness cabins are not included because property tax information is not fully available.
These credits and debits will be given to the DVC member who owns the deed when the Annual Dues are billed in December 2024. The 2025 Annual Dues statements should be available on the DVC member website about a week or two after the 2024 Condominium Association Meeting on December 12.
Please note that these estimates of tax credits are based on publicly available information on property appraisals and tax rates. DVC members should rely on official information released by Disney to determine what, if any, credits or debits apply to their account.
Wil Lovato is a contributor to DVCNews.com and has been a Disney Vacation Club owner since 2009. His DVC Home Resorts include Copper Creek Villas, Bay Lake Tower, Animal Kingdom Villas, and Aulani. He can be found posting on many Disney discussion forums under the username of “wdrl.”
