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

At a glance

Orange County property tax rates by city

One mill is $1 of tax per $1,000 of taxable value. Orange County uses mill codes, so two homes in the same city can have slightly different totals. The figures below are from the Orange County Property Appraiser's 2025 final millage rates, used for bills mailed in November 2025.

2025 rates by city and taxing area

Why rates differ inside the county

Everyone pays the county general levy (4.4347) and the school board (3.2010 state required plus 3.2480 local). Most areas also pay the library levy (0.3748) and either the St. Johns River (0.1793) or South Florida (0.2301) water management district. Orlando adds 6.6500 and Winter Garden adds 4.8565. Unincorporated parcels pay 4.6480 for the unincorporated taxing district and fire services instead of a city rate.

Some Orlando codes carry extra districts, such as the downtown DTI levy of 1.0000, so check the parcel's mill code.

For 2026, the proposed rates on August TRIM notices were 17.9818 for the base Orlando code and 16.1883 for Winter Garden, mainly because the state school rate fell to 3.0950. Final rates are set in September.

Every Orange County city, 2025

Orange County has 13 cities and towns. The table gives each one's own 2025 operating rate and the total on its mill codes, from the Orange County Property Appraiser's final 2025 sheet. Where a city spans more than one code, the range is shown.

The highest totals, in Bay Lake and parts of Lake Buena Vista, come from the 12.4236-mill levy of the former Reedy Creek district around the Disney property. Elsewhere, the spread inside unincorporated Orange comes from dozens of small lake, transit and neighborhood improvement districts, such as Lake Holden (2.5337) or Lake Mary (3.0000), that apply to a few mill codes each.

Orlando's rate over five years

The Department of Revenue's municipal data shows Orlando's own operating rate at 6.6500 mills every year from 2020 through 2025, while the city's taxable value rose from $53.10 billion in 2024 to $56.40 billion in 2025. Changes in an Orlando homeowner's total millage over that time therefore came from the county, school and water district levies, not the city. For 2026 the proposed base Orlando total is 17.9818, down from 18.0878.

Worked example: tax on a typical Orange County home

This example uses Zillow's typical home value for Orange County in August 2026, $400,602, and the 2025 City of Orlando millage of 18.0878. 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.

The math, line by line

What the estimate leaves out

On these assumptions the homestead exemption is worth about $752 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 Winter Garden, at 16.2943 mills, comes to about $5,867 with homestead and $6,528 without. See also the Orlando cost of living guide.

Orange County exemptions: what is local

How the homestead exemption works, and the statewide veteran, widow and disability exemptions, is covered in our Florida property tax guide. In Orange County you apply with the Orange County Property Appraiser, online through its exemption portal, by March 1.

Senior exemptions in Orange County

The Orange County Tax Collector's 2025 taxpayer report lists two senior benefits available locally: the Limited Income Senior exemption for homesteaded seniors under the state income limit, and Limited Income Senior Plus for long-term residents who meet the income and filing rules. Each only reduces the levies of governments that have adopted it.

Which cities grant the senior exemption

The Department of Revenue's 2025 municipal data records senior homestead exemptions against city taxes in Orlando ($43.8 million of value), Apopka, Ocoee, Winter Garden, Winter Park, Belle Isle, Oakland, Edgewood, Eatonville and Windermere. It records none in Maitland, Bay Lake or Lake Buena Vista. If you live in one of those three, the exemption will not reduce the city portion of your bill.

Homestead tax deferral

The tax collector also runs the homestead tax deferral program, which lets a homesteaded owner defer part of the tax based on age and household income. The application is on the tax collector's site.

Save Our Homes and portability in Orange County

Orange County's taxable value rose about 46% between 2021 and 2025, so many long-held homesteads now sit well below market value under the 3% cap. A buyer does not inherit that gap: the home is reassessed on the next January 1. Check the just value on the property appraiser's record before you budget, and file for portability with your March 1 application if you are leaving another Florida homestead. The full rules are in our Florida property tax guide.

Paying Orange County property taxes

The Orange County Tax Collector, Scott Randolph, mails bills by November 1, and the full amount is due by March 31. Discounts run from 4% in November to 1% in February, and the postmark date counts for mailed payments.

Online payment and fees

Online you can pay by eCheck with no fee, or by credit card, Visa debit card, PayPal or wire transfer. Card payments carry a 2.50% processing fee with a $2.50 minimum, rising to 3.95% for commercial and international cards.

In person and by mail

The six branch offices are Downtown (301 S. Rosalind Ave.), West Oaks Mall in Ocoee, Clarcona, Sand Lake, Lee Vista and 417, and University. In person the office takes cash, checks, money orders, cashier's checks, credit cards and Apple, Google or Samsung Pay, but not eCheck or debit cards. By mail, send the notice stub to Property Tax Department, P.O. Box 545100, Orlando, FL 32854, with the check payable to Scott Randolph. Appointments are available and speed things up.

Installments

To join the quarterly installment plan you must be current on your taxes and your prior year's taxes must exceed $100. The application is online.

Where the money goes

In its 2025 report the tax collector says it collected about $3.80 billion of real estate taxes and distributes revenue to 63 taxing authorities. The largest shares went to the School Board ($1.43 billion), Orange County ($1.36 billion) and the City of Orlando ($383.3 million).

Charges that are not in the millage

Flat charges on the Orange County bill

Non-ad valorem assessments are flat charges added to the bill, such as solid waste or street lighting charges, depending on the parcel.

Community development district (CDD) assessments also appear on the bill. On new construction in Winter Garden or around Orlando, ask for the CDD's current assessment for the specific lot.

How to check a parcel before you buy

Look up the parcel on the tax collector's site and open the most recent bill. Each non-ad valorem line shows the levying authority and the amount. Note any CDD debt assessment and ask the district whether it can be prepaid, and ask the seller whether any special assessment has been approved but not yet billed.

What Orange County itself bills

The Department of Revenue's 2025-26 report on non-ad valorem assessments shows Orange County government levied about $149.1 million of them. Solid waste was the largest piece at $84.2 million, followed by drainage and water management ($19.6 million), street lighting ($19.2 million) and fire ($4.9 million). City charges, such as a city garbage fee inside Orlando, and CDD assessments are on top of that.

Appealing to the Orange County value adjustment board

The statewide VAB rules are in our Florida property tax guide. In Orange County the board is administered by the Orange County Comptroller's VAB clerk at 109 E. Church Street, 4th Floor, Suite 450, Orlando (407-836-5447).

2026 deadline and fees

The 2026 deadline for value petitions was Friday, September 18, 2026, 25 days after TRIM notices were mailed. A later petition is only heard if the board's designee finds good cause, so include a letter and documents explaining the delay. Exemption and classification denials have 30 days from the denial letter. The standard filing fee is $50, and a reduced $15 fee applies to certain late-filed applications, such as late portability or late exemption requests.

How to file

File through the county's online petition portal, where the fee can be paid by card with no convenience fee. You can also mail the signed form to the Orange County Value Adjustment Board, P.O. Box 38, Orlando, FL 32802-0038, or deliver it in person, with a check payable to Orange County BCC. A partial tax payment is still due before the delinquency date, normally by March 31, or the petition is denied.

Legislation and the 2026 ballot: what Orange County expects

Amendment 3 would raise the non-school homestead exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028 (see our Florida property tax guide). Orange County government estimates it would cut county property tax collections by about $165 million in 2027 and $275 million in 2028. Its breakdown for 2027 is $89 million from countywide taxes, $46 million from the fire levy and $30 million from the sheriff's levy. For an Orlando homesteader, the extra $98,589 of exemption at the 2025 non-school rate of 11.6388 would be worth roughly $1,147 a year before any rate changes.

Orange County tax data: values, bills and budgets

Median property tax paid in Orange County

The Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey puts the median real estate taxes paid by Orange County homeowners at $3,227 a year, with a median owner-occupied home value of $432,500. That is lower than the worked example because it includes owners with long-capped values and extra exemptions.

How taxable value has changed

Department of Revenue data puts Orange County's total taxable value at $235.1 billion for 2025, up 7.6% from $218.5 billion in 2024 and 46% from $161.1 billion in 2021. Taxable value in the county's cities rose from $103.9 billion to $111.8 billion over the last year. Bay Lake alone accounts for $13.4 billion, more than Winter Park's $9.8 billion.

Common questions

Sources

• Orange County Property Appraiser: 2025 Final Millage Rates
• Orange County Property Appraiser: 2025 Final Millage Rates (detailed view)
• Orange County Property Appraiser: 2026 Proposed Millage Rates (detailed view)
• Orange County Property Appraiser: Tax roll and millage rates
• Orange County Tax Collector: About property tax
• Orange County Government: Property Tax Amendment 3
• 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 Statutes: section 197.162, discounts for early payment
• Florida Department of State: Proposed Constitutional Amendments for the General Election, November 3, 2026
• Florida Department of Revenue: Petitions to the Value Adjustment Board (PT-101)
• Florida Department of Revenue: Property Tax Benefits for Persons 65 or Older (PT-110)
• Orange County Tax Collector: Viewing and paying your property taxes
• Orange County Tax Collector: Locations
• Orange County Tax Collector: 2025 Taxpayer Report
• Orange County Comptroller: Value Adjustment Board
• Florida Department of Revenue: 2025 municipal report (data book)
• Florida Department of Revenue: 2021 municipal report (data book)
• Florida Department of Revenue: 2025 taxable value by county (data book)
• Florida Department of Revenue: 2021 taxable value by county (data book)
• Florida Department of Revenue: Non-ad valorem assessments by county, FY 2025-26
• Census Reporter: Median real estate taxes paid (B25103), Orange County, ACS 2024 1-year
• Census Reporter: Median value (B25077), Orange County, ACS 2024 1-year