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

At a glance

Sarasota County millage rates for 2025

Millage is the tax per $1,000 of taxable value. These totals are built from the Sarasota County Tax Collector's 2025 millage sheet, for the roll certified on October 3, 2025.

The countywide levies total 4.6487: county general revenue (3.2273), mosquito control (0.0520), the hospital district (1.0420), West Coast Inland Navigation (0.0394), the Southwest Florida Water Management District (0.1831) and two debt levies. Schools add 6.0950.

The City of Sarasota and unincorporated areas also pay the emergency medical services levy of 0.7300, which Venice, North Port and Longboat Key do not. The city then adds 3.2730 for its general fund plus 0.1348 of voted debt. Venice (4.1855) and North Port (3.7667) add their own city rates to the 10.7437 countywide base.

Special districts can push individual parcels higher, such as the Sarasota Downtown Improvement District (2.0000) or the Siesta Key Village improvement district (2.4647).

Worked example: tax on a typical Sarasota County home

This example uses Zillow's typical home value for Sarasota County in August 2026, $396,714, and the 2025 City of Sarasota millage of 14.8815. 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 $598 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.

The same value in unincorporated Sarasota County, at 11.4737 mills, comes to about $4,127 with homestead and $4,552 without, before the fire and other assessments described below. For a wider budget, see the Sarasota cost of living guide.

How to file for the Sarasota County homestead exemption

File with the Sarasota County Property Appraiser. You can apply online through the appraiser's website. 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 Sarasota County Tax Collector certified the 2025 roll on October 3, 2025, and bills follow once the 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

In Sarasota County, county fire service is billed as a non-ad valorem assessment rather than millage where it applies, and the tax collector's 2025 sheet also lists solid waste districts, stormwater charges, sewer and water assessments and street lighting districts.

The same sheet lists more than a dozen community development districts. If you are considering new construction around Sarasota, ask for the CDD's assessment on the specific lot. The property appraiser also warns buyers not to assume the previous owner's exemptions and caps carry over, which they do not.

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 Sarasota non-school rate of 8.7865, that is about $866 a year. It is not a forecast, because rates and fees would change.

Common questions

Sources

• Sarasota County Tax Collector: 2025 ad valorem taxes and non-ad valorem assessments
• Sarasota County Tax Collector: Millage rates
• Sarasota County Property Appraiser: 2025 roll certification
• Sarasota County Property Appraiser: Estimating taxes
• Sarasota County Property Appraiser: Apply online for homestead
• 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