Appeal your property tax assessment
You have 25 days† from the day your TRIM notice is mailed to file a petition with your county’s Value Adjustment Board. The fee is $50† per parcel, you do not need a lawyer, and the only question that matters is whether the appraiser’s market value is higher than what your home would actually sell for.
The 25 days† runs from the mailing date printed on the TRIM notice, not from the day it reached you or the day you opened it. There is no general extension and no informal appeal that pauses the clock. Miss it and your only remaining route is a circuit court action, which is slower and materially more expensive. Put the date in a calendar the day the envelope arrives.
Do you even have a case?
Most people who feel their taxes are too high do not, in fact, have an appeal. The board cannot lower your bill because it went up, because the millage rate rose, or because you cannot afford it. It can only decide one narrow question: is the market value the appraiser assigned higher than what the property would genuinely sell for on 1 January of that tax year?
| Situation | Worth appealing? |
|---|---|
| Comparable homes nearby sold for clearly less than your assessed market value | Yes — this is the core case |
| The record has your square footage, bedroom count or lot size wrong | Yes — factual errors are the easiest wins |
| Condition problems the appraiser could not see: roof, structure, flooding, cast iron | Yes, with evidence |
| A homestead exemption or portability transfer was denied | Yes — but a different form |
| Your bill went up but the value looks right | No — that is the millage rate, not the assessment |
| You think taxes are too high generally | No — the board has no power over that |
If your assessed market value is at or below what your neighbours’ comparable homes actually sold for last year, you will lose, and you will have spent the fee and an afternoon to do it. Check the sales before you file. We would rather tell you not to bother than take a case that cannot win.
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.
What actually wins
Boards respond to evidence about this property, not arguments about fairness. In rough order of how well they work:
- Recent comparable sales. Three to five genuinely similar homes — same neighbourhood, similar size, age and condition — that sold near 1 January of the tax year for less than your assessed value. This is the strongest evidence there is.
- Factual errors in the property record. Wrong square footage, a bathroom that does not exist, a pool that was filled in, the wrong lot size. Pull your own property card and read it line by line. These are corrected more often than they are argued.
- Condition the appraiser never saw. Mass appraisal is done from the outside and from records. A failed roof, cast iron drain lines, an unpermitted addition, active structural movement — none of it shows up unless you show it. Dated photographs and contractor estimates carry real weight.
- Your own recent purchase price. If you bought at arm’s length near the assessment date for less than the assessed value, that is close to definitive.
A neighbour paying less. Your own tax bill history. The millage rate. Your income or hardship. What Zillow says your home is worth. Boards hear all five constantly and none of them addresses the question the board is empowered to answer.
How the process runs
- The TRIM notice arrives, usually in August. It is not a bill. It shows the proposed market value, assessed value, exemptions, and what each taxing authority intends to levy.
- Call the property appraiser first. Most counties will discuss the value informally, and a clear factual error is often fixed there without a hearing. This does not pause the deadline, so file anyway if the date is close.
- File the petition within 25 days†. Use DR-486† for a value or exemption-denial appeal, or DR-486PORT† if a portability transfer was refused. The fee is $50† per parcel.
- Exchange evidence. You and the appraiser each provide your evidence before the hearing on the schedule the board sets. Evidence produced for the first time at the hearing is often excluded.
- The hearing. Usually before a special magistrate rather than the board itself. It is short, informal, and much less adversarial than people expect. You present, the appraiser responds, you answer questions.
- The decision arrives in writing. If the value is reduced, the correction flows through to the bill.
Filing a petition does not suspend the tax. To keep your rights while the appeal is pending you generally must still make the required payment by the deadline. If you win, the difference is refunded. Skipping payment because you are appealing is how people turn a value dispute into a delinquency.
Do you need to hire anyone?
No. Florida does not require legal representation for a residential Value Adjustment Board petition, and the form has a signature section for an agent acting under a letter of authorization from the owner. Plenty of homeowners file and present their own case successfully — the hearing is designed to be usable by people who are not lawyers.
Representation is worth paying for when the numbers are large, when the comparable-sales analysis is genuinely contested rather than obvious, or when you simply will not have the time to assemble evidence and attend on the date assigned. On a modest single-family assessment where the record contains a plain factual error, doing it yourself is entirely reasonable.
If your exemption or portability was denied
This is a different appeal on a different form, and it is more often winnable than a value case because it usually turns on documents rather than judgement. A denied portability transfer uses DR-486PORT†. Remember that the portability window is three tax years†, measured from 1 January of the year you last held the exemption — a detail that catches people who counted from their closing date.
We handle assessment appeals as a representative under a letter of authorization, which Florida allows without a lawyer. Before you contact us, check the table above — if comparable sales support your assessment, the honest answer is that you have no case and we will tell you so rather than take the work. Send us your TRIM details and we will say which it is.
Related
Common questions
What is the deadline to appeal property taxes in Florida?
25 days from the date your TRIM notice is mailed. The clock runs from the mailing date printed on the notice, not the date you received or read it. There is no general extension.
How much does it cost to file a property tax appeal in Florida?
$50 per parcel. This was raised from $15 effective 1 July 2025, so guides still quoting $15 are out of date.
Do I need a lawyer to appeal my property tax assessment in Florida?
No. Legal representation is not required for a residential Value Adjustment Board petition, and the petition form provides for an agent acting under a letter of authorization from the owner.
What evidence do I need to win a property tax appeal?
Recent comparable sales below your assessed market value, factual errors in the property record such as wrong square footage, and documented condition problems the appraiser could not see. A recent arm’s-length purchase below the assessed value is close to definitive.
Do I still have to pay my property tax while appealing?
Yes. Filing a petition does not suspend the tax, and you generally must make the required payment by the deadline to preserve your rights. If the appeal succeeds, the difference is refunded.
Can I appeal because my tax bill went up?
No. The Value Adjustment Board can only decide whether the assessed market value exceeds what the property would genuinely sell for. An increase driven by the millage rate is set by the taxing authorities, not the appraiser, and is outside the board’s power.
Procedure and deadlines are set by Florida statute, but counties differ on forms, portals and hearing schedules. Confirm the specifics with your own county’s Value Adjustment Board before filing. This is general information, not legal advice.