Florida property tax by county: how bills are calculated

At a glance

How a Florida property tax bill is calculated

Every Florida bill follows the same steps, whatever the county. The property appraiser values the home, exemptions come off, and each taxing authority applies its millage rate to what is left.

Just value

Each January 1 the county property appraiser sets a just value (market value) for every parcel, based on the property as it stood that day.

Assessed value

The assessed value is the just value after any cap, such as Save Our Homes for homesteads or the 10% cap for other property. It can never be higher than just value.

Taxable value

Exemptions come off the assessed value to give the taxable value. Because the second homestead exemption applies only to non-school levies, a homestead has two taxable values: one for school taxes and one for everything else.

Millage

Local taxing authorities, such as the county, city, school board and water management district, each set a millage rate. One mill is $1 per $1,000 of taxable value, so a home with $300,000 of taxable value in an area with 18 mills owes $300,000 × 18 ÷ 1,000 = $5,400.

Non-ad valorem assessments

Ad valorem tax is only part of the bill. Non-ad valorem assessments, such as solid waste, stormwater, fire or community development district charges, are flat amounts added on top, and no exemption reduces them.

Property tax in nine Florida counties

The table uses each county's 2025 final millage for the main city Bright covers, Zillow's August 2026 typical county home value and the 2025 homestead exemption. It assumes assessed value equals the Zillow figure and leaves out non-ad valorem assessments, so treat it as an estimate. Each county page shows the full math and other local rates.

2025 rates and estimated bills

Rates vary inside each county

Rates vary within each county too. In Hillsborough, Plant City was 18.2926 against Tampa's 19.8428. In Orange, Winter Garden was 16.2943 against 18.0878 for most of Orlando.

Each county guide has the full rate table by city, the worked bill with the math shown, local filing links and the flat charges common in that county: Alachua, Duval, Hillsborough, Lake, Lee, Orange, Palm Beach, Polk and Sarasota.

The Florida homestead exemption and other exemptions

Exemptions come off the assessed value before the millage is applied. Apply for all of them with your county property appraiser, which decides who qualifies. If an application is denied, you can petition the value adjustment board (see below).

Homestead exemption: up to $51,411 for 2026

The first $25,000 of assessed value is exempt from all taxes. A second exemption covers assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000 and applies only to non-school taxes. Since 2025 that second amount has been adjusted for inflation: it was $25,722 for 2025 and $26,411 for 2026, according to the Florida Department of Revenue.

How to apply

If you own a home and it is your permanent residence on January 1, you can claim a homestead exemption by filing Form DR-501 with the county property appraiser by March 1. Many appraisers accept applications online.

Widow, widower, blind or disabled: $5,000

Florida residents who are widowed, blind or totally and permanently disabled can take $5,000 off the assessed value of their property (section 196.202). It stacks with the homestead exemption and is claimed on the same application, Form DR-501.

Veterans with a disability of 10% or more

An honorably discharged veteran who is a Florida resident and is at least 10% disabled from wartime service or misfortune can receive a $5,000 reduction in assessed value (section 196.24). It is not limited to homestead property, and a surviving spouse may be able to carry it over.

Veterans with a total and permanent service-connected disability

Honorably discharged Florida veterans with a service-connected total and permanent disability can have their homestead fully exempt from property tax (sections 196.081 and 196.091). A similar exemption covers disabled veterans confined to wheelchairs. You can apply before the VA paperwork arrives; once it does, the exemption dates back to your application.

Combat-disabled veterans 65 or older

Veterans 65 or older with a permanent, service-connected disability can get a percentage discount on the homestead's tax equal to their VA disability rating (section 196.082). It carries over to a surviving spouse who holds title, lives in the home and has not remarried.

Seniors 65 or older with limited income

Counties and cities can each adopt an extra homestead exemption of up to $50,000 for owners 65 or older whose household income is under a limit that is adjusted every year (section 196.075). A second local option fully exempts a home with a just value under $250,000 if the owner is 65 or older, meets the income limit and has lived there at least 25 years. Neither is automatic: ask your county property appraiser which levies in your area have adopted them and what this year's income limit is. You file Form DR-501SC with proof of income.

Totally and permanently disabled owners

A homestead owned by a quadriplegic is fully exempt. So is one owned by a paraplegic, hemiplegic or other totally and permanently disabled person who uses a wheelchair or is legally blind, if gross household income is under the state limit (section 196.101). First-time applicants need a disability certificate from two Florida-licensed doctors or from the VA.

Surviving spouses of first responders and service members

The surviving spouse of a first responder who died in the line of duty can receive a total exemption on the homestead (section 196.081(6)). Military members deployed outside the continental US, Alaska and Hawaii on a designated operation can exempt a share of taxable value equal to the share of the prior year they were deployed (section 196.173, Form DR-501M).

Building living quarters for a parent or grandparent

Counties may reduce the assessed value of a homestead by the value added when you build living quarters for a parent or grandparent aged 62 or older (section 193.703, Form DR-501PGP). Ask the appraiser whether the reduction is available locally.

Save Our Homes, portability and the 10% cap

The Save Our Homes 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. Assessed value never exceeds just value. The cap limits the value, not the bill, so higher millage or new assessments can still raise what you pay.

What happens to the cap when a home sells

The cap does not pass to a buyer. Any sale or transfer of title resets it, and the home is reassessed at just value on the following January 1, so a long-held home can have a much lower bill than the one you will get. Ask for the parcel's just value on the property appraiser's record rather than relying on the seller's bill. Transfers between spouses and certain transfers at death do not trigger a reassessment.

Portability

Portability moves up to $500,000 of your accumulated Save Our Homes benefit (the gap between just value and assessed value) to a new Florida homestead. You must establish the new homestead within three years of January 1 of the year you left the old one, not three years after the sale. File Form DR-501T with the homestead application by March 1.

The 10% cap on second homes and rentals

Non-homestead property has a 10% annual cap on assessed value for non-school levies, and no cap on school levies. It resets on a sale. Amendment 3 would lower it to 5% (see below).

TRIM notices, bills, discounts and installments

The TRIM notice in August

In August, property appraisers mail the Truth in Millage (TRIM) notice. It shows your values, exemptions and the proposed rates, and lists the dates of the public budget hearings. If you disagree with the value, it explains your options, including a petition to the value adjustment board.

Bills and early payment discounts

Final rates are adopted in September, and tax collectors mail bills from November 1. Florida law sets the early payment discounts at 4% in November, 3% in December, 2% in January and 1% in February. Taxes are delinquent on April 1, or 60 days after the bill is mailed if that is later.

Paying in quarterly installments

If your estimated tax is more than $100, you can apply to the tax collector by April 30 to pay in four installments based on the prior year's tax (section 197.222). The installments are due by June 30 (6% discount), September 30 (4.5%), December 31 (3%) and March 31 (no discount). You must make the June payment to join the plan for that year, and you do not need to reapply in later years unless you drop out.

If taxes go unpaid

Taxes still unpaid on April 1 (or 60 days after mailing, if later) are delinquent, and the tax collector sells tax certificates on properties with delinquent taxes. If your lender pays from an escrow account, check the tax collector's site each spring to confirm the bill shows as paid.

Taxes at closing

Taxes are usually prorated at closing, so check the settlement statement. See our guide to Florida closing costs and the first-time homebuyer guide.

How to appeal a Florida property tax assessment

If you think your county property appraiser has your value wrong, or an exemption was denied, you have two routes and can use both at once. The steps below follow the Florida Department of Revenue guide to value adjustment board petitions (PT-101).

Start with an informal conference

Call or visit the property appraiser's office and ask for an informal review. Bring recent sales of similar homes, photos of condition problems and any appraisal. Many value disputes are settled here. Talking to the appraiser does not extend the petition deadline.

Petition deadlines

To appeal a value, file a petition with the value adjustment board clerk within 25 days after the TRIM notice is mailed, usually mid-August, so the window typically closes in early to mid September. The same 25 days applies to portability decisions. For a denied exemption or classification, you have 30 days after the denial notice, and appraisers must mail denials by July 1. The board may charge up to $50 to file.

Pay while you wait

A petition does not stop the bill. For a value appeal you must pay all non-ad valorem assessments and at least 75% of the ad valorem tax before it becomes delinquent, or the board must deny the petition. For an exemption appeal, pay the non-ad valorem charges plus the amount you agree you owe.

The hearing

Many counties use special magistrates to hear petitions and recommend decisions to the board. At least 15 days before, you give the appraiser your evidence, and for hearings after September 1, 2025 the appraiser must give you theirs 15 days ahead too. You can represent yourself or use a licensed appraiser, broker, attorney or CPA. The board must issue final decisions within 20 days of its last session, and after that the only appeal is to circuit court.

Property tax legislation and the November 2026 ballot

Amendment 3: the homestead exemption and the non-homestead cap

On June 2, 2026 the Legislature passed a joint resolution that appears on the November 3, 2026 ballot as Amendment 3. It would raise the homestead exemption for non-school taxes to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, with inflation adjustments after that. School taxes would keep the $25,000 exemption.

Other parts of Amendment 3

It would also cut the annual cap on non-homestead assessment increases from 10% to 5%, require a uniform procedure for counties and cities to raise the exemption up to full assessed value, and allow special districts to do the same by referendum. People who were not Florida residents on December 31, 2026 would get the current exemption first and the larger one from their fifth year of exemption.

Limits on local spending, and Amendment 2

The amendment also limits what counties and cities can spend property tax on, listing categories such as public safety, schools, infrastructure and natural resources. It needs at least 60% of the vote and would take effect January 1, 2027. The ballot also includes Amendment 2, which would exempt certain tangible personal property on agricultural land.

Common questions

Sources

• 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
• Lake County Property Appraiser: Property tax exemptions
• Florida Department of Revenue: Additional Homestead Exemption Adjustment (2025)
• Sarasota County Tax Collector: 2025 ad valorem taxes and non-ad valorem assessments
• Alachua County Tax Collector: Final 2025 tax roll millage rates
• Hillsborough County Property Appraiser: Final 2025 millage rates
• Orange County Property Appraiser: 2025 Final Millage Rates
• Florida Department of Revenue: Petitions to the Value Adjustment Board (PT-101)
• Florida Department of Revenue: Property Tax Benefits for Active Duty Military and Veterans (PT-109)
• Florida Department of Revenue: Property Tax Benefits for Persons 65 or Older (PT-110)
• Florida Department of Revenue: Other Available Property Tax Benefits (PT-111)
• Florida Department of Revenue: Property tax exemptions and additional benefits
• Florida Statutes: section 197.222, prepayment by installment method