The Florida TRIM notice is the “Truth in Millage” statement your county property appraiser mails every August showing what each local taxing authority proposes to charge you in property taxes for the coming year. It is not a bill. It is your one clear window to check your assessed value, confirm your exemptions, and, if something is wrong, file a petition before the numbers become final. You have 25 days from the date printed on the notice to challenge the assessment or a denied exemption. Miss that window and you generally lose the right to contest for the year.
When the Notice Arrives
Property appraisers mail TRIM notices on or around August 24 each year.1Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Property Tax Calendar Most owners receive them between mid-August and the end of the month. Watch the date printed on the notice, not the day it lands in your mailbox: the 25-day appeal clock starts from the mailing date.
If nothing has arrived by early September, call your county property appraiser and request a copy. Not receiving the notice does not pause the deadline or reduce what you owe. Many counties also post TRIM data online, so you can pull up your parcel while waiting for a replacement.
What the Notice Shows
Every Florida county uses the same format under state law.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 200069 – Notice of Proposed Property Taxes and Non-Ad Valorem Assessments The page is stamped “DO NOT PAY — THIS IS NOT A BILL” at the top, which is why some owners set it aside. Setting it aside is the mistake.
The tax section lists each taxing authority that touches your parcel: county, school district, city, water management district, and any special districts. For each one, seven columns show:
- Last year’s taxes, in actual dollars.
- Last year’s adjusted (rolled-back) tax rate, meaning the millage that would produce the same total revenue as last year given this year’s property values.
- Your taxes if no authority changed its budget.
- The proposed millage rate each authority actually wants to adopt.
- Your projected bill if those proposed rates pass.
- The date, time, and location of that authority’s public budget hearing.
Comparing the “no budget change” figure to the “proposed budget” figure tells you, in dollars, which authorities are asking for more and how much it costs you personally.
Flat charges for services like solid waste, stormwater, or street lighting appear in a separate section for non-ad valorem assessments, because they aren’t based on your property’s value.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 200069 – Notice of Proposed Property Taxes and Non-Ad Valorem Assessments
Check Your Exemptions
If the property is your primary residence, the notice should reflect the homestead exemption. The first $25,000 of assessed value is exempt from all property taxes. An additional exemption of up to $25,000 applies to assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000, but only for non-school taxes.3Florida Department of Revenue. Property Tax Information for Homestead Exemption That second exemption is adjusted annually for inflation using the Consumer Price Index.4Florida Senate. Florida Code 196031 – Exemption of Homesteads
Other exemptions that should appear if you qualify include those for seniors, disabled veterans, and surviving spouses of first responders or military members. If any exemption you claimed is missing, treat that as urgent and act inside the 25-day window.
Homesteaded properties also benefit from the Save Our Homes cap, which limits annual increases in assessed value to 3% or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less, no matter how fast market value rises.5Florida Department of Revenue. Save Our Homes Assessment Limitation and Portability Transfer Over time, that produces a gap between assessed and market value. Verify the assessed value on the notice reflects the cap if you’ve held the homestead for more than a year.
Check the Market and Assessed Values
Beyond exemptions, look at the market value and assessed value the appraiser has assigned. Market value is built from comparable sales, replacement cost, and potential rental income. Errors do happen. Common ones include wrong square footage, a wrong property classification, or no accounting for damage or deterioration.
Pull recent sale prices for similar homes nearby and compare. If the appraiser’s figure looks high, start collecting evidence: a private appraisal, comparable sale data, photographs of condition issues. That evidence is what you’ll use if you decide to petition.
How to Petition the Value Adjustment Board
If your assessed value looks too high or an exemption was wrongly denied, you file a petition with the Value Adjustment Board (VAB). The deadline is 25 days after the TRIM notice mailing date, and the notice itself prints that date so you don’t have to count.6The 2025 Florida Statutes. Florida Statutes 194011 – Assessment Notice; Objections to Assessments Missing it generally waives your right to challenge the value for that year.
Filing
Petitions go to the clerk of the VAB in your county, usually through an online portal, though paper filings by mail are still accepted. The form is DR-486, which asks for your opinion of value and the basis for your disagreement.7Florida Department of Revenue. Form DR-486 – Petition to the Value Adjustment Board Counties may charge a filing fee of up to $50 per parcel; some charge less, and some waive the fee for homestead exemption denials.8The 2025 Florida Statutes. Florida Statutes 194013 – Filing Fees for Petitions
Evidence Exchange and Hearing
At least 15 days before the hearing, you have to give the property appraiser a list of your evidence, copies of your documents, and a summary of any witness testimony. The appraiser owes you the same on the same timeline, and if the appraiser misses it, the hearing is rescheduled.6The 2025 Florida Statutes. Florida Statutes 194011 – Assessment Notice; Objections to Assessments Strong evidence includes an independent appraisal, comparable sale listings, photographs of condition issues, and documentation supporting a denied exemption.
A special magistrate hears the case and makes a recommendation to the board. The burden of proof is on the property appraiser to show the assessment is correct, not on you to show it’s wrong. That shifts the dynamic of the hearing in your favor and is worth knowing before you walk in.
You Still Have to Pay While the Petition Is Pending
Filing does not pause your tax bill. If you’re challenging assessed value, you must pay all non-ad valorem assessments and at least 75% of your ad valorem taxes (minus any early-payment discount) before the April 1 delinquency date. If you’re challenging a denied exemption, you must pay all non-ad valorem assessments plus the tax amount you concede you owe. Skip these payments and the board will deny the petition.9Florida Senate. 2021 Florida Statutes 194014
Late Filing
Late petitions are possible only for good cause: a circumstance beyond your control such as serious illness, hospitalization, a death in the immediate family, or a natural disaster. Not knowing about the deadline or forgetting to file does not qualify.10Florida Department of Revenue. Petition to the Value Adjustment Board – Request for Hearing
Non-Ad Valorem Charges Go Somewhere Else
The flat-rate charges on your notice, for services like trash pickup, drainage, or community development districts, are not based on property value, and the VAB is not the venue to dispute them. Those complaints go directly to the entity that levies the charge. Contact information usually appears on the notice or on your county property appraiser’s website.
Public Hearings on Proposed Rates
The notice lists the date, time, and location for each taxing authority’s budget hearing. School boards, city commissions, county boards, and special districts each hold their own sessions, typically in September, to finalize budgets and adopt millage rates for the fiscal year starting October 1. Authorities can still amend their proposed rates at the hearing. Even if you don’t plan to speak, sitting through one gives you a clearer picture of which local bodies are driving your bill and why.
After the Notice: The Bill, Discounts, and Delinquency
The actual tax bill arrives in November, separate from the TRIM notice. Florida gives a sliding discount for paying early:
- November: 4% discount
- December: 3% discount
- January: 2% discount
- February: 1% discount
- March: no discount, full amount due
These discounts are set by statute and apply in every county.11Florida Senate. Chapter 197 Section 162 – Florida Statutes On a $5,000 bill, paying in November instead of March saves $200.
Taxes become delinquent on April 1 of the following year, and unpaid balances accrue interest at 18% annually.12Florida Department of Revenue. Tax Collector Property Tax Calendar By June 1, the county sells a tax certificate on the property to an investor at auction, and if the certificate stays unredeemed for two years the holder can start the process for a tax deed sale. If you know you’ll have trouble paying, call your county tax collector before April 1 and ask about installment or payment options.