Property tax in Tallahassee is set by five taxing authorities, and for FY2026 the City of Tallahassee adopted a millage rate of 4.4072, down slightly from 4.4200 the year before.1City of Tallahassee. FY26 Approved Budget The city’s share is only about 22 cents of every property tax dollar; Leon County, the Leon County School District, the Children’s Services Council, and the Northwest Florida Water Management District each levy their own millage, and the combined rate for a home inside city limits typically runs in the neighborhood of 19 to 20 mills. What you actually owe depends on your home’s taxable value, the exemptions you qualify for, and when you pay.
How Your Bill Is Calculated
Every property starts with a just value, which is the property appraiser’s estimate of what the home would sell for on the open market as of January 1. That number is adjusted downward (or held steady) by any assessment caps you qualify for to produce the assessed value. Exemptions are then subtracted from the assessed value to arrive at the taxable value, which is the figure your bill is actually based on.
The math from there is simple: multiply the taxable value by the total millage rate and divide by 1,000. A home with a taxable value of $200,000 and a combined rate of 19.5 mills would owe $3,900 for the year. Because the school district applies exemptions differently than the other authorities, your Truth in Millage (TRIM) notice calculates the school portion and the non-school portion separately. The Leon County Property Appraiser mails TRIM notices each August, before final rates are adopted at September budget hearings.
Assessment Caps That Limit Future Increases
Save Our Homes
If your home has a homestead exemption, the Save Our Homes cap limits how fast your assessed value can rise. After the first year at just value, the assessed value can grow by no more than 3 percent or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less.2Florida Department of Revenue. Save Our Homes Assessment Limitation If the market jumps 15 percent in a year, your assessed value still moves only by the capped amount. The gap between market value and assessed value is your SOH benefit, and it tends to grow year over year. Assessed value can never exceed just value, so in a down market the two may converge.
Non-Homestead Cap
Rental properties, second homes, and commercial real estate are capped too, but less generously. Annual assessment increases are limited to 10 percent, and this cap does not apply to the school-board portion of the bill.3Florida Statutes. Florida Code 193.1554 – Assessment of Nonhomestead Residential Property The cap resets whenever the property changes hands, so a buyer should expect the assessed value to jump to full just value in the first year after closing.
Exemptions That Lower Your Taxable Value
All of these exemptions require the property to be your permanent residence as of January 1 of the tax year.4Florida Statutes. Florida Code 196.031 – Exemption of Homesteads
Standard Homestead
The homestead exemption works in brackets, which catches a lot of homeowners off guard. The first $25,000 of assessed value is exempt from all property taxes, including school taxes. The next $25,000, the portion between $25,001 and $50,000, gets no exemption. An additional $25,000 exemption then applies to value between $50,001 and $75,000, but only against non-school levies.5Florida Department of Revenue. Property Tax Information for Homestead Exemption Everything above $75,000 is fully taxable. On a home assessed at $250,000, homestead removes $50,000 from the non-school tax rolls and $25,000 from the school tax rolls.
Senior Exemption
Leon County residents 65 or older whose total household income falls below an annually adjusted threshold (originally $20,000 and indexed to the Consumer Price Index each January 1) may qualify for an additional exemption of up to $50,000.6Justia Law. Florida Code 196.075 – Additional Homestead Exemption for Persons 65 and Older A separate provision can exempt the full assessed value for long-term residents who have owned and lived on the property for at least 25 years, are 65 or older, and meet the same income limit, provided the home’s just value was under $250,000 when they first qualified.
Disabled Veterans
Veterans with a service-connected disability rating of at least 10 percent are entitled to a $5,000 reduction in taxable value, with a VA certificate of disability as sufficient proof. The exemption extends to an unremarried surviving spouse.7FindLaw. Florida Code 196.24 – Disabled Veterans Exemption Veterans who are permanently and totally disabled due to service qualify for a complete exemption on their homestead. A surviving spouse keeps the full exemption as long as they hold title, continue living on the property, and do not remarry; a spouse who later sells and buys a new home can transfer an exemption amount equal to the one most recently received.8Florida Senate. Florida Code 196.081 – Exemption for Totally and Permanently Disabled Veterans
First Responder Surviving Spouse
Surviving spouses of law enforcement officers, firefighters, paramedics, and correctional officers who died in the line of duty qualify for a full exemption on their primary residence under Florida Statute 196.173. The Leon County Property Appraiser’s office requires applicants to record the original or certified death certificate with the Leon County Clerk of Courts.9Leon County Property Appraiser. Exemptions
Taking Your Save Our Homes Benefit With You
When you sell a homesteaded property and buy another one in Florida, you can transfer some or all of your accumulated Save Our Homes benefit to the new home. The maximum transferable amount is $500,000, and you have three tax years from January 1 of the year you last held homestead to establish the new one and claim the transfer.10Florida Statutes. Florida Code 193.155 – Homestead Assessments
If the new home’s just value equals or exceeds the old home’s, the full SOH benefit (up to $500,000) transfers as a dollar-for-dollar reduction. If the new home costs less, the benefit is proportionally reduced based on the ratio of the two homes’ just values. To apply, file Form DR-501T with your homestead application by March 1.11Florida Department of Revenue. Transfer of Homestead Assessment Difference
How and When to Apply
The deadline to file for homestead exemption is March 1 of the tax year. Applications go through the Leon County Property Appraiser on Form DR-501.12Leon County Property Appraiser. Homestead Exemption You’ll need your parcel identification number, the date you moved in, identifying information for all owners, a Florida driver’s license, vehicle registration, Social Security numbers for each owner, and proof of permanent residency such as a Florida voter registration card or declaration of domicile.
Miss March 1 and Florida law provides a late-filing window that stays open until 25 days after the property appraiser mails TRIM notices (typically mid-to-late September). Late applicants must show extenuating circumstances, and approval is not automatic. A denial can be appealed to the Value Adjustment Board. Disability-related exemptions require additional documentation, such as a certified physician’s statement on Form DR-416 or a letter from the VA or Social Security Administration.9Leon County Property Appraiser. Exemptions
Challenging Your Assessed Value
If you believe the property appraiser overvalued your home, you can file a petition with the Leon County Value Adjustment Board. The window opens when TRIM notices go out in August and closes 25 days after mailing.13My Florida Legal. Value Adjustment Board Petition Filing Deadlines For the 2025 tax year the Leon County VAB charged a $15-per-parcel filing fee; an increase is anticipated for 2026 after legislation raised the maximum allowable fee to $50 per parcel.14Leon County Clerk of Courts. 2025 Petition Deadline – Leon County
A value petition challenges the appraiser’s estimate of market value, not the tax rate itself. Bring recent comparable sales, repair estimates, or an independent appraisal to the hearing. Petitions challenging the denial or removal of an exemption follow a separate track and must be filed within 30 days of the denial notice.
When to Pay and the Early-Payment Discount
Tax bills go out in late October and the collection window opens November 1. Florida law gives a sliding discount for early payment:15Florida Statutes. Florida Code 197.162 – Discount for Early Payment
- November: 4 percent off
- December: 3 percent off
- January: 2 percent off
- February: 1 percent off
- March: no discount, but still on time
On a $4,000 bill, paying in November saves $160. The Leon County Tax Collector takes payments online by electronic check or credit card, by mail (postmarked by the deadline), and in person at service centers. Credit cards carry convenience fees, so electronic check is the cheapest online option.
What Happens If You Don’t Pay
Property taxes become delinquent on April 1.16Leon County Tax Collector. Delinquent Taxes A 3 percent penalty is added immediately, and the unpaid balance begins accruing interest at 18 percent per year, calculated monthly.17Florida Statutes. Florida Code 197.172 – Interest Rate, Calculation and Minimum Delinquent accounts are advertised in a local newspaper for three consecutive weeks in May.
By June 1 the tax collector is required to hold a tax certificate sale. Investors bid on the right to pay off your delinquent taxes in exchange for a lien on the property. Bidding starts at 18 percent interest, and competing bidders drive the rate down; the certificate goes to whoever accepts the lowest rate. If no one bids, the county takes the certificate at 18 percent. You redeem the certificate by paying the taxes plus all accrued interest and fees. If a certificate goes unredeemed for two or more years, the holder can apply for a tax deed, which can lead to a forced sale of the property.
A Note for Business Owners
Everything above concerns real property. If you own a business, you also owe a separate tangible personal property tax on furniture, equipment, fixtures, and other business assets held as of January 1. File Form DR-405 with the Leon County Property Appraiser by April 1.18Florida Department of Revenue. Tangible Personal Property Tax Return Filing on time automatically applies a $25,000 exemption; miss the deadline and you lose that exemption entirely, which means tax on the full assessed value of your business assets. The tangible personal property tax uses the same millage rates as real property.