The property tax rate in St. Johns County runs about 13.47 mills for a typical home in the unincorporated area, which works out to roughly $13.47 for every $1,000 of taxable value. That aggregate figure combines separate levies from the county commission, the school board, the fire district, the water management district, and a handful of smaller authorities. If you live inside a city or a special taxing district, your rate is higher. If you have a homestead exemption and have owned the property for a while, your taxable value is almost certainly lower than what your home would sell for.
What Makes Up the 13.47 Mills
One mill equals one dollar of tax per $1,000 of taxable value. For the 2025 tax year, the levies on a typical unincorporated parcel break down like this:1St. Johns County Tax Collector. 2025 Millage Sheet
- County General Fund: 4.4999 mills
- County Transportation: 0.8444 mills
- County Health Unit: 0.0160 mills
- School Board, state required: 3.0240 mills
- School Board, local discretionary: 3.2480 mills
- Fire District: 1.4700 mills
- St. Johns River Water Management District: 0.1793 mills
- Mosquito Control: 0.1600 mills
- Florida Inland Navigation District: 0.0270 mills
Added together, those come to about 13.47 mills. Each authority sets its own rate every year through public hearings required by Florida’s Truth in Millage law, and the Property Appraiser certifies the taxable values the rates get applied to.2Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 200.065 – Method of Fixing Millage Rates move modestly from year to year.
How Location Changes Your Rate
The 13.47-mill figure is for a typical parcel in the unincorporated county. Inside city limits, you pay an additional municipal levy. The City of St. Augustine adds 7.50 mills, pushing a resident’s total above 16 mills. St. Augustine Beach adds 2.50 mills plus a small bond levy of about 0.08 mills.1St. Johns County Tax Collector. 2025 Millage Sheet
Even outside the cities, special districts can add to your bill. Municipal Service Taxing Units pay for localized services like street lighting, beach restoration, and specialized fire coverage. The Summerhaven MSTU carries a 7.34-mill levy of its own. Coastal highway and beach restoration districts add somewhere between 0.50 and 2.00 mills, depending on the district. Two homes with the same market value can end up with very different tax bills because one sits inside a special district and the other does not. The Truth in Millage (TRIM) notice mailed to you each August lists every taxing authority that applies to your parcel.
From Market Value to Taxable Value
Your bill does not start with the sticker price of your home. It starts with the just value the St. Johns County Property Appraiser sets as of January 1 each year, and then state law applies two layers of reduction before any millage rate touches it.
Save Our Homes Cap
If your property has a homestead exemption, the assessed value cannot rise more than 3% in a year, or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower.3Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 193.155 – Homestead Assessments Over time this creates a gap between what your home would sell for and the number the tax collector uses. Someone who bought in 2015 at a lower market value may have an assessed value hundreds of thousands below today’s sale price. That gap saves real money every year.
If you sell a homesteaded property and buy another one in Florida, you can carry that accumulated Save Our Homes benefit to the new home, up to $500,000. You have three years from abandoning the old homestead to establish the new one, and you have to apply by March 1.
The Homestead Exemption Has Two Pieces
Florida’s basic homestead exemption is often described as $50,000, but it does not work as a flat deduction. The first $25,000 of assessed value is exempt from all property taxes, including school district taxes. A second $25,000 applies to assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000, and that second piece does not reduce school taxes.4Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 196.031 – Exemption of Homesteads For a home assessed at $200,000, you pay county and special district taxes on $150,000 of value, and school taxes on $175,000. The slice of value between $25,000 and $50,000 is fully taxable by every authority.
Other Exemptions Worth Checking
Several additional exemptions can trim your taxable value further. Each one requires a separate application to the Property Appraiser, typically by March 1.
Seniors 65 and Older
Homesteaded residents aged 65 and older whose household adjusted gross income falls below a state-set limit may qualify for an additional homestead exemption of up to $50,000. For 2026 the income limit is $38,686.5Florida Department of Revenue. Two Additional Homestead Exemptions for Persons 65 and Older This exemption has to be authorized by the county or city through a local ordinance and only applies to taxes levied by the government that granted it.6Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 196.075 – Additional Homestead Exemption for Persons 65 and Older The income threshold adjusts each year.
Disabled Veterans
Veterans with a service-connected total and permanent disability who use their Florida property as a homestead are entitled to a complete exemption from property taxes on that home. A letter from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is required, and the benefit can transfer to an unremarried surviving spouse in certain cases.7Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 196.081 – Exemption for Certain Permanently and Totally Disabled Veterans Veterans with a partial wartime disability rating of at least 10% qualify for a $5,000 reduction in taxable value. Veterans 65 and older with a combat-related disability can receive a percentage discount on their homestead taxes matching their VA rating.
Widows, Widowers, and Totally Disabled Residents
Unremarried surviving spouses and residents who are totally and permanently disabled qualify for a $5,000 reduction in taxable value. Applicants must be permanent Florida residents, and surviving spouses must provide a recorded death certificate. Remarriage ends eligibility.8Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 196.202 – Property of Widows, Widowers, Blind Persons, and Persons Totally and Permanently Disabled
Running the Math on Your Bill
You only need two numbers to estimate your tax: your taxable value and the total millage rate for your location. Both are printed on the TRIM notice mailed in August, and both appear on the Property Appraiser’s parcel lookup. The formula: multiply taxable value by the millage rate, then divide by 1,000.
A homesteaded property with a taxable value of $250,000 in unincorporated St. Johns County, at the 2025 aggregate rate of 13.4686 mills, would owe about $3,367 before any early-payment discount. The same property inside the City of St. Augustine, at about 16.11 mills, would owe roughly $4,027. The $660 difference is the cost of city services.
Paying Early Earns a Discount
The St. Johns County Tax Collector mails bills by October 31. Payments open November 1, and the final deadline is March 31.9St. Johns County Tax Collector. Dates and Deadlines Florida applies a sliding discount by month:10Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 197.162 – Tax Discount Payment Periods
- November: 4%
- December: 3%
- January: 2%
- February: 1%
- March: none
On a $3,400 bill, paying in November saves about $136. You can pay online at sjctax.us by electronic check or credit card, in person at the Tax Collector’s office with cash, check, or card, or by mail. Credit and debit cards carry a 2.3% processing fee, which can easily wipe out the early discount. E-check avoids that fee.11St. Johns County Tax Collector. Make Payments
Quarterly Installments
If your annual bill is more than $100, you can split it into four quarterly payments. You have to apply with the Tax Collector by April 30 of the year before you want to start, and your payments are based on the prior year’s tax amount.12Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 197.222 – Prepayment of Estimated Tax by Installment Method The installment discounts are 6% in June, 4.5% in September, 3% in December, and none on the final March payment.9St. Johns County Tax Collector. Dates and Deadlines Once you make the first payment, you are locked in for the year and cannot switch to the lump-sum discount. Miss a quarterly payment and the shortfall rolls into the next one with no discount.
If You Think the Assessment Is Wrong
Challenges start informally. Call the Property Appraiser’s office, ask how the valuation was built, and bring documentation: recent comparable sales, photos of damage, an independent appraisal.13Florida Department of Revenue. If You Disagree with the Value of Your Property If that does not resolve it, file a formal petition with the Value Adjustment Board through the Clerk of Court. The deadline for a valuation dispute is 25 days from the mailing date on the TRIM notice. For a denied exemption, you have 30 days from the denial notice. The filing fee is $50 per parcel, waived for homestead exemption denials. Late petitions can be accepted with a written showing of good cause.14St. Johns County Clerk of the Circuit Court. Value Adjustment Board
Successful appeals bring hard evidence. The board weighs your documentation against the appraiser’s. Walking in and saying the taxes feel high will not get far.
What Happens If You Don’t Pay
Any unpaid taxes become delinquent on April 1. Florida does not phase in the penalty. Delinquent real property taxes immediately accrue interest at 18% per year, with a minimum charge of 3% even if you pay within the first few weeks.15Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 197.172 – Interest Rate, Calculation and Minimum That interest runs until the county sells a tax certificate on your property.
Tax certificates go to investors at an annual auction. The investor pays your delinquent taxes plus interest and takes a lien on your property. You can redeem the certificate by paying the full amount plus the investor’s interest. If you do not redeem it, the certificate holder can apply for a tax deed after two years, and the Clerk of Court then schedules a public sale. The sale is published four weeks in advance, and if the property is not redeemed before the auction, the highest bidder takes ownership.16St. Johns County Clerk of the Circuit Court. Tax Deeds Losing a home over unpaid property taxes is uncommon, but the two-year window moves faster than it sounds.