Florida property tax rates by city and county are not set by the state; they are assembled parcel by parcel from the separate millage rates adopted each year by your county, your city (if you’re inside one), your school board, and any special districts that reach your address. That is why two similar homes a few miles apart can carry very different bills. A total rate of 15 mills in one place and 22 mills across a county line produces thousands of dollars of difference on the same market value, and exemptions and assessment caps then push the real bills further apart.
How a Florida Property Tax Bill Is Built
Every bill starts from three values the county property appraiser assigns as of January 1. The just (market) value is what a buyer would reasonably pay on the open market, determined from comparable sales and standard appraisal methods.1St. Johns County Property Appraiser. Significance of January 1 for Our Office The assessed value is the just value adjusted downward by any assessment cap you qualify for, which is often well below market. The taxable value is the assessed value minus your exemptions. That last number is what the tax rate is applied to.
Rates are quoted in mills. One mill equals $1 of tax per $1,000 of taxable value.2Florida Department of Revenue. A Florida Homeowner’s Guide: Millage Multiply the total millage by taxable value and divide by 1,000. A taxable value of $200,000 at 18 mills produces a $3,600 annual bill. The “total” is the sum of every taxing authority’s rate that reaches your parcel, which is where the city and county variation comes in.
The Taxing Authorities That Stack on Your Parcel
Your total millage rate is the sum of independent rates set through each taxing body’s own annual budget process, with required public hearings before adoption.
- County government. Funds law enforcement, courts, road maintenance, and general administration. Typically the largest single component.
- Municipal government. If your property sits inside a city or town, you pay an additional city millage for local police, fire rescue, parks, and similar services. Property in unincorporated areas skips this levy entirely, which is one of the biggest reasons an unincorporated address can be cheaper than a city address in the same county.
- School board. Funds public school operations and capital projects. School millage often rivals the county rate in size and applies to virtually every property in the county.
- Special districts. Water management districts, fire control districts, library districts, hospital districts, and community development districts (CDDs) each add their own millage. CDDs are common in newer planned communities and can add $1,500 to $3,500 per year, appearing as a separate line rather than in a mortgage estimate.
Because these authorities overlap differently across a single county, a city advertising a low 4-mill municipal rate can still sit inside a total effective rate above 20 mills once the county, school, and special district levies are stacked on top.3Greenacres Florida. The Florida Formula: Understanding Florida’s Property Tax System When you compare cities, compare the total, not any one component.
Where to Look Up the Actual Rate for an Address
The most reliable source is the county property appraiser’s website for the county the property is in. Most appraiser sites have a parcel search that displays the current assessed value, any exemptions in place, and a full breakdown of every taxing authority’s millage rate for that specific parcel. The county tax collector’s site handles billing and payment history.
Every August, property owners also receive a Truth in Millage (TRIM) notice listing the parcel’s proposed just, assessed, and taxable values alongside each taxing authority’s proposed rate, plus the dates, times, and locations of the public budget hearings before each authority adopts its final rate in September.4Property Appraiser of Miami-Dade County. Notice of Proposed Property Taxes (TRIM Notice) For side-by-side comparisons across cities and counties, the Florida Department of Revenue publishes annual tables of adopted millage levies for every county and municipality.5Florida Department of Revenue. County and Municipal Property Tax Data Sources and Calculation Methodologies
Why Identical Homes Pay Different Amounts
Millage rates only tell part of the story. Florida caps how much the assessed value can rise each year, and the caps differ by property type.
Save Our Homes Cap for Homesteaded Properties
If your home has a homestead exemption, the Save Our Homes (SOH) amendment restricts annual increases in assessed value to the lower of 3% or the change in the Consumer Price Index.6Florida Department of Revenue. Save Our Homes Brochure For the 2026 tax year, the CPI-based cap is 2.7%, so that is the maximum increase.7Florida Department of Revenue. Save Our Homes The cap kicks in the year after you first receive the exemption and stays as long as you keep it.
This is the single biggest reason two similar houses on the same street can carry wildly different bills. A homeowner who bought 15 years ago may have an assessed value hundreds of thousands below market, while a recent buyer starts at full market value. When the property sells, the SOH benefit resets and the new owner is assessed at full just value on the following January 1.6Florida Department of Revenue. Save Our Homes Brochure
10% Cap for Non-Homestead Properties
Rental homes, second homes, vacant land, and commercial property are protected by a separate 10% annual cap on assessment increases. It applies to every taxing authority’s millage except school board levies.8Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 193.1555 – Assessment of Certain Residential and Nonresidential Real Property The 10% cap resets on a change of ownership or if the property is combined or split, and the property returns to full just value assessment at that point.
Portability When You Move
Selling a homesteaded property doesn’t erase accumulated SOH savings. Florida portability lets you transfer up to $500,000 of the difference between your assessed value and market value to a new homestead anywhere in the state.9Collier County Property Appraiser. Portability Questions You must establish the new homestead within three tax years of abandoning the old one, and you file Form DR-501T with your homestead application (DR-501) by March 1 of the first year you qualify on the new home.10Florida Department of Revenue. Transfer of Homestead Assessment Difference (Portability) Missing the March 1 deadline forfeits portability for that tax year. If the new home costs more, the portable amount reduces your starting assessed value without closing the gap entirely; if it costs less, the benefit is prorated down. When two former homesteaders combine households, only the higher of their two SOH savings amounts transfers.
Exemptions That Reduce What You Owe
Exemptions cut your assessed value before the millage is applied. None are automatic; you must apply.
Standard Homestead Exemption
Available if the property is your permanent residence as of January 1. You file Form DR-501 with the county property appraiser by March 1 of the tax year. The exemption provides up to $50,000 in two tiers. The first $25,000 is exempt from all property taxes, including school levies. A second $25,000 applies to assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000 and is exempt only from non-school taxes. In practice, the school board portion of your bill is calculated on a higher taxable value than the county and city portions.11Florida Department of Revenue. Property Tax Information for Homestead Exemption
Widows, Widowers, and Blind Persons
An unmarried widow, widower, or legally blind permanent Florida resident qualifies for a $5,000 reduction in assessed value, up from $500 starting with the 2023 tax roll.12Florida Department of Revenue. Other Property Tax Benefits Brochure Remarrying ends eligibility for the widow or widower exemption.
Disabled Veterans
Veterans with a service-connected disability of at least 10% from wartime service may receive a $5,000 reduction in assessed value on any property they own, not only a homestead. Veterans with a total and permanent service-connected disability can receive a complete homestead exemption.13Florida Department of Revenue. Veteran Benefit Brochure Veterans 65 or older with a combat-related permanent disability qualify for a homestead discount equal to their disability rating; a 70% rating produces a 70% discount.14Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 196.082 – Discounts for Disabled Veterans; Surviving Spouse Carryover In some cases a surviving spouse may carry over the exemption or discount.
Additional Senior Exemption
Homeowners 65 or older who already have the standard homestead exemption may qualify for an additional exemption if total household adjusted gross income falls below a CPI-adjusted threshold. For 2026, the income limit is $38,686.15Florida Department of Revenue. Two Additional Homestead Exemptions for Persons 65 and Older The amount varies by county because each county’s governing body must vote to adopt it, so not every county offers it. Where available, it can exempt up to $50,000 of additional assessed value from non-school taxes.
Payment Schedule and Early Payment Discounts
Florida property taxes become due on November 1, and paying early earns a sliding discount:16Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 197.162 – Tax Discount Payment Periods
- November: 4% discount
- December: 3% discount
- January: 2% discount
- February: 1% discount
- March: full amount due, no discount
On a $5,000 bill, paying in November saves $200. Mailed payments are dated by postmark. Escrow accounts run by mortgage servicers typically pay in November or December to capture the largest discount, but confirm with your lender. Taxes not paid by March 31 become delinquent on April 1.17Florida Department of Revenue. Tax Collector Property Tax Calendar Once that happens, a 3% interest charge plus advertising costs are added and the tax collector eventually sells tax certificates on unpaid parcels, so the cost of waiting far outweighs the discount you would have earned by paying early.
Comparing Cities and Counties Before You Buy
Three numbers decide what a Florida property actually costs each year: the total millage that applies to that specific parcel, the just value on the appraiser’s roll, and the assessment cap and exemptions that will apply to you as the new owner. A low headline city rate is meaningless without the school levy and any special districts added in, and last year’s bill under the previous owner is meaningless once SOH resets on transfer. Pull the parcel record from the county property appraiser, add up every line of the millage breakdown, apply the exemptions you will actually qualify for, and compare that figure against the same calculation for parcels in other cities and counties on your list.