Florida property tax
Your bill is taxable value multiplied by the millage rate — and taxable value is rarely what your home is worth. Market value, assessed value and taxable value are three separate figures on the same notice. Almost every opportunity to reduce a Florida property tax bill lives in the gap between them.
The three values, in order
| Value | What it means | Who sets it |
|---|---|---|
| Market value | What the appraiser believes the property would sell for on 1 January | Property appraiser |
| Assessed value | Market value, limited by the Save Our Homes cap of 3% or CPI, whichever is lower† on a homesteaded property | Property appraiser |
| Taxable value | Assessed value minus exemptions — for 2026 the homestead exemption is $51,411† | Property appraiser |
| The bill | Taxable value × millage rate, summed across every taxing authority | County, city, school board and districts |
A rising bill has two possible causes and they have different remedies. If market value rose, that is an assessment question and it may be appealable. If the millage rate rose, the assessment is fine and the appeal will fail — that decision was made by elected boards at public hearings, and the place to contest it is those hearings, not the Value Adjustment Board.
What your bill is, and what an appeal would save
Take the assessed value and the millage rates straight from your TRIM notice — both are printed on it. This is an estimate for deciding whether to act, not a substitute for the county’s own figures.
| Bill with no exemption | $7,200 |
| Saved by the homestead exemption $51,411 for 2026 | −$754 |
| Your estimated bill | $6,446 |
|---|---|
| After a 10% assessment reduction | $5,726 |
| Saved per year by a successful appeal | $720 |
A 10% reduction would save about $720 a year — and because the Save Our Homes cap then grows from a lower base, the benefit compounds for as long as you own the property rather than being a one-year win.
Whether you have a case is a separate question. The board can only decide whether the market value exceeds what the property would genuinely sell for. If comparable sales support your assessment you will lose, whatever the saving would have been. Check what actually wins before filing, or send us your TRIM details and we will tell you which it is.
Estimate only. Millage varies by county, city, school board and special district, and some parcels carry additional non-ad-valorem assessments that are not modelled here. The homestead exemption is applied as two tranches because the second does not apply to school millage — treating it as one figure overstates the saving.
The homestead exemption is two exemptions
The first $25,000† applies to every millage, including school. The additional $26,411† applies only to non-school millages — which is why your saving is smaller than the headline total suggests, and why two homes with identical exemptions in different counties save different amounts.
Amendment 5, approved in November 2024, indexes the additional exemption to inflation annually. The 2026 total is $51,411†. Any page quoting a flat $50,000 has not been reviewed since the amendment took effect — which is a reasonable way to judge how current the rest of that page is.
Save Our Homes is usually worth more than the exemption
The cap limits how fast assessed value can rise on a homesteaded property to 3% or CPI, whichever is lower†. Market value can climb as fast as the market does; the value you are taxed on cannot. Over a decade in a rising market the accumulated difference typically dwarfs the exemption — and it is transferable when you move, up to $500,000†.
It is also the reason two identical houses on the same street can carry very different tax bills. The one that changed hands recently was reassessed to market; the one held for fifteen years was not.
The TRIM notice is not a bill
The Truth in Millage notice arrives in August and is routinely thrown away because it looks like an invoice. It is the only document that shows all three values together, alongside what each taxing authority proposes to levy and when their public hearings are. It also starts the 25 days† appeal clock, measured from the mailing date printed on it.
- Check the market value against what comparable homes near you actually sold for.
- Check that every exemption you qualify for is listed. A missing homestead exemption is common and costly.
- Check the physical details — square footage, bedrooms, bathrooms, lot size, pool. Errors here are frequent.
- Note the hearing dates if the millage, rather than the value, is what moved.
Where to go next
Common questions
How is property tax calculated in Florida?
Taxable value multiplied by the millage rate, summed across every taxing authority. Taxable value is market value limited by the Save Our Homes cap and then reduced by exemptions, so it is usually well below what the home would sell for.
How much is the Florida homestead exemption in 2026?
$51,411 — $25,000 against all millages including school, plus $26,411 against non-school millages only. The second portion is indexed to inflation annually under Amendment 5, so it changes every year.
What is the Save Our Homes cap?
A limit on how fast the assessed value of a homesteaded property can rise: 3% or CPI, whichever is lower. Market value is unrestricted, so the gap between the two grows over time and becomes the largest saving most Florida homeowners have.
What is a TRIM notice?
The Truth in Millage notice, mailed in August. It is not a bill. It shows market, assessed and taxable values, the levy each taxing authority proposes, and their hearing dates — and it starts the 25-day clock for appealing your assessment.
Why did my Florida property tax go up if the assessment cap protects me?
The cap limits assessed value, not the millage rate. If elected taxing authorities raised millage, your bill rises even with the cap intact. That is contested at their public hearings, not through an assessment appeal.
Property tax in Florida is administered county by county. Exemption amounts and statutory rules are statewide, but millage rates, forms and portals are local. Confirm figures for your own parcel with your county property appraiser.