Lake County property tax: millage rates, homestead exemption and a worked bill

At a glance

Lake County millage rates for 2025

Millage is the tax per $1,000 of taxable value. These are the Lake County Property Appraiser's 2025 final millage rates. This page covers Lake County, Florida.

In Clermont the total is the county general fund (5.0254), voted debt service (0.0400), the ambulance MSTU (0.4629), schools (3.0870 state plus 2.9980 local), the Lake County Water Authority (0.2940), the St. Johns River Water Management District (0.1793) and the city rate of 4.5900.

Unincorporated parcels pay a stormwater MSTU (0.4957) and, in most areas, a fire MSTU (0.4800) instead of a city rate, which gives totals of roughly 12.97 to 13.52. The Wellness Way MSTU (0.4585) applies only to certain Clermont and unincorporated mill groups. Some parcels elsewhere in the county also pay the North Lake Hospital district levy (0.3859), which Clermont's main groups do not.

Nearby Minneola and Groveland run about 1 mill higher than central Clermont, while Montverde is lower. Proposed 2026 rates were on the August 2026 TRIM notice.

Worked example: tax on a typical Lake County home

This example uses Zillow's typical home value for Lake County in August 2026, $361,482, and the 2025 City of Clermont millage of 16.6766. It assumes the property appraiser's assessed value equals that figure, which is a simplification: the just value on a tax roll is set as of January 1 and often differs from a sale price. The formula is taxable value × millage ÷ 1,000, worked out separately for school and non-school levies because the second homestead exemption does not apply to school taxes.

On these assumptions the homestead exemption is worth about $690 a year on a home at this value. Treat both figures as estimates only. Your actual bill depends on the appraiser's value, your exact taxing district, any other exemptions and the rates adopted for the year. Non-ad valorem assessments such as solid waste, stormwater, fire or CDD charges are billed on top and are not included here.

In a Wellness Way mill group, at 17.1351 mills, the same value comes to about $5,481 with homestead and $6,194 without.

How to file for the Lake County homestead exemption

File with the Lake County Property Appraiser. The appraiser's exemptions page explains how to apply and lists the documents needed. The deadline is March 1, and you must own the home and live in it as your permanent residence on January 1. Buy and move in during 2026, and you would file by March 1, 2027. Missing the deadline generally waives the exemption for that year.

The first $25,000 of assessed value is exempt from all taxes, including school taxes. A second exemption covers assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000 for non-school taxes only, and now rises with inflation: it was $25,722 for 2025 and is $26,411 for 2026, so the full exemption is up to $50,722 and $51,411. The appraiser may ask for your Florida driver license, vehicle registration and voter registration at the new address. If you are leaving another Florida homestead, file the portability form (DR-501T) with your application.

Save Our Homes cap, portability and the 10% cap

Once a home is homesteaded, its assessed value can rise no more than 3% a year or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. The cap was 2.9% for 2025 and is 2.7% for 2026. It limits the value, not the bill, so higher millage or new assessments can still raise what you pay.

The cap does not pass to a buyer. The home is reassessed at just value on the January 1 after a sale, so ask for the parcel's just value rather than relying on the seller's bill. Portability moves up to $500,000 of the benefit to a new Florida homestead established within three years of January 1 of the year you left the old one.

Second homes and rentals have a 10% annual cap on assessed value for non-school levies, and no cap on school levies. It resets on a sale.

When bills arrive and how the discounts work

The Lake County Tax Collector mails bills once the tax roll is certified. Taxes are due from November 1, and Florida law sets the early payment discounts: 4% in November, 3% in December, 2% in January and 1% in February. March is full price, and unpaid taxes become delinquent on April 1 (or 60 days after the bill is mailed, if later).

Taxes are normally prorated between buyer and seller at closing. Our guide to Florida closing costs explains how that shows up on the settlement statement.

Charges that are not in the millage

Non-ad valorem assessments are billed separately, and can include charges such as solid waste or street lighting, depending on the parcel.

If a home is in a community development district, check the assessment before you commit. On new construction in Clermont, the CDD's debt and maintenance assessment can add a significant amount to the annual bill, so ask for the figure on the specific lot.

What Amendment 3 on the November 2026 ballot would change

Amendment 3 on the November 3, 2026 ballot would raise the non-school homestead exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, then index it to inflation. It would also cut the non-homestead assessment cap from 10% to 5% and set up a process for counties and cities to raise the exemption further. School taxes would keep the $25,000 exemption. It needs at least 60% of the vote and would take effect January 1, 2027. People who were not Florida residents on December 31, 2026 would get the larger exemption only from their fifth year of exemption.

As a rough illustration, raising the non-school exemption from $51,411 to $150,000 adds $98,589 of exemption. At the 2025 City of Clermont non-school rate of 10.5916, that is about $1,044 a year. It is not a forecast, because rates and fees would change.

Common questions

Sources

• Lake County Property Appraiser: 2025 Final Millage Rates
• Lake County Property Appraiser: Millage rates
• Lake County Property Appraiser: Property tax exemptions
• Florida Department of Revenue: Property Tax Information for Homestead Exemption (PT-113)
• Florida Department of Revenue: Additional Homestead Exemption Adjustment (revised January 2026)
• Florida Department of Revenue: Save Our Homes annual increase table (revised January 2026)
• Florida Department of Revenue: Save Our Homes Assessment Limitation and Portability Transfer (PT-112)
• Palm Beach County Property Appraiser: Assessment caps (10% non-homestead cap)
• Florida Statutes: section 197.162, discounts for early payment
• Florida Statutes: section 197.333, when taxes are due and delinquent
• Florida Department of State: Proposed Constitutional Amendments for the General Election, November 3, 2026
• Tax Foundation: Florida Property Tax Proposal, 2026 details and analysis