Florida property tax, explained

How Florida property taxes are calculated

Property taxes in Florida are administered at the county level. Each county’s property appraiser determines the assessed value of your home as of January 1 each year. Local taxing authorities — the county, school district, municipality, and special districts — each set a millage rate, expressed in mills (dollars per $1,000 of taxable value). Your tax bill is the taxable value multiplied by the combined millage.

Taxable value is not the same as market value. It is the assessed value after subtracting exemptions you qualify for, the largest of which is the homestead exemption. Because millage rates and local assessments vary, two similar homes in different Florida counties can carry meaningfully different tax bills.

The Florida homestead exemption

If the home is your permanent primary residence as of January 1, you can apply for the homestead exemption, which reduces the taxable value of your home. The standard exemption removes up to $25,000 of assessed value for all taxing authorities, plus an additional $25,000 that applies to non-school taxes for value between $50,000 and $75,000.

To claim it, you file with your county property appraiser, generally by March 1 of the tax year. The exemption applies only to a primary residence — not second homes or investment properties — which is one reason occupancy matters so much in Florida real estate.

Save Our Homes and the assessment cap

Florida’s Save Our Homes provision caps how much the assessed value of a homesteaded property can rise each year — at 3% or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. Over time, this can create a growing gap between a home’s market value and its capped assessed value, which is a benefit long-term homeowners keep as long as they maintain the homestead.

When you sell and buy another Florida homestead, portability lets you transfer some or all of that accumulated Save Our Homes benefit to your new home, within limits. It is worth understanding before a move, because it can affect the tax picture on your next property.

How property taxes affect your mortgage

Most lenders collect property taxes along with your loan through an escrow account, setting aside a portion each month and paying the county when taxes are due. That means your property tax estimate is part of the total housing expense a lender reviews when qualifying you, alongside homeowners insurance and any association dues.

Because Florida taxes are assessed locally and reset when a property changes hands, the tax a previous owner paid may not reflect what a new buyer will owe. When we help you plan financing, we look at the likely reassessed taxes for the specific property, not just the prior year’s bill, so the housing-cost estimate is realistic.

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