Taxes have jumped about 8.5% over last year for the multiple properties linked to President Donald Trump in Palm Beach County, including The Mar-a-Lago Club, according to new bills from the local tax collector’s office.
The latest tax bills for 10 Trump-linked properties in the county total about $2.22 million, compared to the $2 million he was charged last year. That’s according to an analysis of his bills by the Palm Beach Daily News, the first media outlet to report the president’s 2025 tax obligations in the county.
In addition to the Mar-a-Lago Club, Trump-related entities own three adjacent houses and an adjoining beachfront parcel in Palm Beach. Trump-linked tax bills also cover the clubhouse at the Trump International Golf Club near West Palm Beach, and the Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter.
Like thousands of other county taxpayers, Trump watched his property values — and tax bills — rise over the past several years, thanks in part to the real estate boom that began shortly after the coronavirus pandemic first made local headlines in early 2020.
The latest bills were figured on values set for properties on Jan. 1 by county Property Appraiser Dorothy Jacks’ staff. New tax bills were mailed to all eligible property owners in the county on Oct. 31, said county Tax Collector Anne M. Gannon, who quipped that the bills were “a Halloween prize” in an interview with the Palm Beach Daily News.
Combined, the tax bills sent to Trump’s property-ownership companies are about $180,000 higher than last year’s.
The Trump tax bills — and those of every other county taxpayer — were mailed in time to meet the state-imposed deadline of Nov. 1.
Gannon described the billing process as “very smooth.”
The Trump-linked bills were among about 620,972 that were mailed to property owners across the county, according to Gannon’s office. She expects all those bills to generate more than $6.197 billion, which will be divided up among county and municipal taxing authorities. The estimate is similar to last year’s $6.2 billion, although the total number of bills was lower in 2024, at 617,860.
“We’ve had a number of people move to our county from other states, and new houses have been built. They have to be assessed,” Gannon said. “That’s a lot of money.”
The Mar-a-Lago Club’s tax bill jumped from $703,364 last year to $802,220 this year, thanks to a $3.67 million increase in its taxable value, which stands at $40.4 million.
Mar-a-Lago’s value in the county tax rolls is not based on a traditional comparison of nearby real estate values. Instead, it is figured by Jacks’ staff based on an “income approach” formula that converts the club’s annual revenue to a property value though a standard practice known as “capitalization.” The formula is used to determine tax-related values for several private clubs in the county.
The formula also takes into account long-standing deed restrictions that prevent Mar-a-Lago from being used for any purpose other than a private club. By law, Jack’s office keeps the club’s revenue figures confidential.
Mar-a-Lago’s value has been a controversial subject over the past few years, thanks to a New York judge’s order in a civil case in February 2024, eight months before Trump’s election to his second term. Justice Arthur Engoron ruled that Trump and his real estate company fraudulently overvalued his real estate assets — including The Mar-a-Lago club and its 17.5 acres of ocean-to-lake property — to get more favorable bank loans and insurance terms.
Engoron imposed $454 million in penalties, with interest, against Trump and other defendants and barred him and The Trump Organization from conducting business in New York for three years, in addition to other penalties.
An appeals court threw out the monetary penalty in August.
In the case, Engoron cited figures about the valuation of Mar-a-Lago from Jacks’ office, based on the income approach, going back more than a decade — from a value of $18 million in 2011 to $27.6 million in 2021.
Trump, on the other hand, has variously claimed Mar-a-Lago is worth a minimum of $420 million and perhaps as much as $1.5 billion.
The property is home to Trump’s landmarked mansion-turned-club-building as well as the Beach Club and several outbuildings.
Tax bills for other Trump-linked properties in the town also rose, bringing the grand total with Mar-a-Lago to about $1.6 million, up from $1.43 million last year. Tax bills for three houses owned by Trump-related entities next door to the club totaled $271,312 for a residence at 1094 S. Ocean Blvd.; $146,670 for a smaller home at 124 Woodbridge Road; and $356,422 for a larger oceanfront house at 1125 S. Ocean Blvd. A vacant parcel next door to the latter house generated a tax bill of $21,002.
The new bills include taxes levied by taxing authorities plus an assessment to help pay for the town’s ongoing project to bury utility lines and fees charged by solid waste authorities.
The starting point for determining tax bills in the county is each property’s “total market value.” Once tax caps and any exemptions are figured in, the property’s “taxable value” emerges.
The Trump-linked properties in the county have a combined total market value of about $160.27 million, a hike from about $145 million in last year’s tax rolls. Of this year’s total, $118.9 million is taxable, the records show.
In the town of Palm Beach alone this year, the market value of Trump-related properties totals $125.44 million, with the total taxable value reduced to about $84 million.
All of the properties linked to Trump in the county generated higher taxes this year. The taxes due on the clubhouse at the Trump International Golf Club, for instance, jumped from $209,152 last year to $217,576 in the new tax rolls. Trump’s company does not pay taxes on the land comprising the club’s two golf courses but instead leases it on a long-term basis from the county and the authority that governs Palm Beach International Airport.
At the golf club in Jupiter, the clubhouse-and-spa building — along with an outbuilding and the golf course itself — saw a hike in their total tax bill, from $395,486 to $400,330.
Trump, like every other county taxpayer, could get a discount on the amount demanded by his bills. Those who pay their bills in full in November get a discount of 4%, with the discount decreasing by 1% each month through the end of February. Taxes become delinquent if not paid by April 1, 2026.
Tax bills reflect rates and fees set by municipalities, the county, the public school district and other taxing authorities.
Darrell Hofheinz is a USA TODAY Network of Florida journalist who writes about Palm Beach real estate in his weekly “Beyond the Hedges” column. He welcomes tips about real estate news on the island. Email dhofheinz@pbdailynews.com, call (561) 820-3831 or tweet @PBDN_Hofheinz. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Trump’s new property tax bills, including Mar-a-Lago’s, jump in Palm Beach County
Reporting by Darrell Hofheinz, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
